I came across a substack post by a prominent activist that made some observations about the state of abolition in the US and some of its flag-bearers. As I began reading, I couldn't help but come away from the post feeling as if the author had an axe to grind with abolition (or individuals who express that they are abolitionists) more-so than merely offering a timely critique. What could have prompted this, I wondered to myself. Further down the page things became clearer to

For the uninitiated, the quote is from baseball great Yogi Berra. Yogi was a man who - despite great intentions - often struggled to get the message across. The comparison seems apt for many on the left who have similarly genuine intentions but have also failed to stick the landing when it comes to conveying the point. What I'm referring to is propensity on the left to buy into the framework that all of the cruelty of the Trump administration represents an aberration as oppos

Lately I have tried to remember that you can start over quite literally whenever you want. You can start over when you bottom out. You can start over when things appear fine on the surface. You can even start over right after you just started over. There are no rules for this and there doesn't have to be (unless you want there to be and you make them, which is also an option - how lovely!). There's something beautiful about recognizing the autonomy of being able to start over