the moderate flank? :: on being racists :: police abolition

Here is a weekly round up of what I’ve been writing about on social media.

The Moderate Flank?

Within the UK environment movement, (possibly just within England) a new group is forming called The Moderate Flank.

There is nothing moderate about what is happening in the world and the response cannot be moderate either.

I understand that middle class people are afraid: afraid of losing the nature around them, losing their lifestyles, the futures of their young people, afraid of being disruptive, afraid of leaving their comfort zones. And this would be true if the task were to end racism, colonialism, genocide, and not just ecocide.

When I worked for Deep Adaptation Forum, I once said to its founder, "What would it look like to adapt deeply to a world without racism?" It would change everything: what supermarkets looked like, everything; our lifestyles would have to change.

Middle class, Western people tend not to want to adapt to anything that would require that. Even I have this in me.

But we have to recognise that a moderate approach to the oppression in the world will not end that oppression.

The best you can hope for is that you will have made friends. And that is definitely part of the appropriate response to climate change: to make friends, build community.

It's going to be a rough ride, no matter what. The question is: who are we willing to sacrifice to have a chance to ride it out ourselves? I want as many of us as possible to come to the conclusion: We will sacrifice no one.

I am a racist —and so are you.

One of the first things I say in a training for white people is that they are racists. This is shocking for self-selecting participants. They are mortified to be accused of being as such.

Yet, we are trained very well in our culture to see some people as "others" and to dehumanise them. Particularly with Black people.

If we can approach anti-racism work with the understanding that we are (intentionally or not) racist in many of our thoughts and behaviours then we are going to be better able to model allyship.

We need that humility... and the curiosity to continue the lifelong unlearning of racism.

(I also do this anti-racism training for Black staff and POC staff because we've all got it, and sometimes it is even internalised.)

What Are the Police Good for?

Curious about police abolition?

Have a think about each thing you think the police are good for. Then check out the stats on how much of the time they do this, as well as how effective they are doing this.

Then brainstorm other ways to get those needs met.