I’m realizing that something socialists and prison abolitionists have in common is a desperate belief in the innate good in people, or the belief that people can change with enough encouragement. I believe hella people are not innately good, not capable of change, & greedy
I was reading some literature about restorative justice (still tryna be convinced on the abolitionist front) and a recurring theme is “making people admit” and “acknowledging that something happened” so ppl can be held accountable and it’s still not clicking for me
In what universe is a sadistic child rapist going to ask for accountability? In what universe do we help him change and trust him to walk the streets?
And turning that same concept to billionaires like Jeff Bezos and the millions of wannabe billionaires, why do we expect them to be innately good enough to want to see how exploitative capitalism is (or expect them to do something about it)?
It’s a numb feeling, but I’ve long accepted that some people are bad and not because of racism or misogyny or anything else but because they are greedy, self absorbed, or downright malevolent. What does that mean for radical action?
I’m still tryna get my thoughts together and work it out via an essay
