In some spaces, abolition has become a buzzword, and it often feels either confusing or downright frightening to folks, or it's immediately associated with the movement to end slavery in the United States, not as something that is contemporary or important right now. The word, however, has been used in activist movements for decades, and more widely following the murder of George Floyd in 2020, and I think it's important to understand the roots of it and how it is seen by those who are calling for it.

To be clear, I am not an expert on it and so I'll point to those who have been immersed in these movements for a long time to explain, but I am struck by the notion spoken aloud by many abolitionists that abolition begins with the individual - it is a sensibility, a way of showing up that is not immediately adverse or punitive (even, and maybe especially, with ourselves). If you've followed my work or the podcast you may be familiar with my friend Jason Sole, who is a self-described abolitionist and activist. (If you're interested and you haven't heard us talk before, you can check out our conversation here). I have been lucky enough to get to engage with Jason in amazing conversations for a couple of years and I have learned so much from him about what it truly means to think about policing, punishment, and how we can reimagine what it means to be in community and take care of one another.

Last Thursday, Jason invited me to attend an online event hosted by One Million Experiments and I wanted to share it with you all because I think it's so important for us to know that abolition isn't just a philosophical concept or a buzzword, but it's something that is alive and happening in our communities. The name of the organization was inspired by activist, writer, and organizer Mariame Kaba and her assertion that there is no one solution or system that should or could replace our carceral/police/"justice" system, that it will require us to engage in "one million experiments" to find ways to keep each other safe and create communities of care.

This organization is dedicated to exploring all the ways people are doing that throughout the country and sharing them via their podcast and a series of documentary films. They're having online gatherings every other Thursday that are open to anyone so that we can see what folks are doing in individual cities (last week was Minneapolis, and they talked with Jason as part of his work). If you're interested, you can find out more and/or sign up here. If you want to watch last week's event, the link to the YouTube video is here.

It is often hard to imagine what a world without police would look like, but the fact is, in so many instances, policing is something that causes more harm, that fractures communities more than it could ever repair them. Police don't prevent crime - they show up and start the process of punishment, of deciding what facts are important and which ones aren't, and act within the larger context of capitalism (property crime is often seen as far more egregious than harm done to humans), white supremacy (because, of course, who is seen as valuable in this culture is rooted in a history of racism and steeped in violence), and patriarchy. Abolition is about making sure that we don't ignore the issues of our fellow humans until harm is caused and then we jump to punishment first. If this idea resonates with you, check out One Million Experiments and see what's already in play in your area.

Other Stuff

The website is inching nearer to completion and I can't wait for it to be live so I can share it with folks. I am so shadow-banned on IG and FB that almost nobody sees my posts there, so I'm hopeful that people will find the website and sign up for this newsletter and connect with me in different ways so that I don't have to rely on social media to stay current with people. If you're reading this but you're not signed up for the newsletter, please consider doing so. It's a good way to not only see what I'm currently thinking about, but also to hear about workshops and other things I'm doing that you can join in with.

And to that point, I've got a couple of upcoming offerings in case you didn't know:

1. November Collective Grief & Rage Ritual workshop - Mondays in November from 12pm-1:30pm PST. There's still room if you want to sign up and you can do that here.
2. Preparing to Resist workshop - I'm offering this 90 minute workshop once in November, once in December, and once in January. It's designed to help folks figure out how they can best position themselves to be of service to the social movements that are so desperately needed right now to fight the fascist, authoritarian, tech takeover. Sign ups are here.
3. Stay tuned for 2026 offerings (I can't believe I just typed that - ack!) because I'll definitely be doing more Grief and Rage workshops and the 12-week generative writing workshops. I think I've found a place in Santa Barbara to offer Grief and Rage in person and I'm super excited about that, too. I'll post a full calendar of offerings on the website when it's live.
4. I'm still plugging away at publishing the latest memoir on BuyMeACoffee.com and we're up to Chapter 8, but you can start wherever you want to by visiting the Memoir Guide. Posts are free for anyone and everyone, but you can show your appreciation for the writing and the work by buying me a coffee, becoming a monthly supporter, or simply sharing your enthusiasm for the book with others.
5. In December, I'm offering an online Parent Ed event for parents around kids and technology. Check it out and pre-register here.

Thank you so much for being here and reading my musings. I am so grateful for the community of folks who are willing to keep learning and growing together and, as always, I'd love to hear from you if you have ideas, feedback, thoughts, suggestions or questions.