uncreative

My psychologist: You have to, do things

me: 

But first, be aware that the protests aren’t over. It’s June 29th and there are still events and actions being planned regularly across the nation, and they still need your participation and support. If you’re able, please keep your focus there; this list is for what can be done long-term outside of the protests

Know your rights. Giving the police any more information than you absolutely have to will never and can never benefit you or anyone else - positive evidence given to the police is regularly thrown out in court, whereas negative evidence will be used against you. Know what to say and what you have the right to refuse. You don’t have to answer any questions without a lawyer present, you don’t have to give the police access to your house or car unless they have a current warrant signed by a judge. They will try to intimidate you - learn your rights and don’t let up, don’t ever cooperate with the police

Don’t snitch. If you see someone breaking the law in a way that doesn’t hurt anybody, keep your mouth shut. If cops knock on your door asking you questions about your neighbors or anyone you know, don’t answer

Don’t call the cops. If you can solve the problem in a different way, do it. Cops have on multiple occasions murdered the people they were called to help (or bystanders) without provocation. Don’t be complicit in that. Learn how to handle situations as a community or with the help of qualified experts

When you see an interaction with the police happening, stop and observe. If necessary, film the interaction. Organize and work with groups such as Copwatch to observe the police and hold them accountable

Use proper opsec, especially if you’re involved with anything that might make you a target for the cops. Downloading Signal is a great simple place to start

Learn about jury nullification, and spread the word. When serving in a jury, you have the right to vote not guilty on a defendant that you believe did commit the crime but doesn’t deserve punishment for it. Don’t be complicit in unjust punishment

Refuse to do work for the police or prison system. Workers keep the world running and the state relies on our compliance to keep our neighbors under their thumb. We can shut it down

Continue to support bail funds, even for non-protesters. Cash bail is unjust, and people shouldn’t be in jail just because they can’t pay

Continue to support legal defense funds as well, such as that of the National Lawyers Guild

Write to prisoners, either by yourself or with groups such as the Anarchist Black Cross or Black And Pink, and organize/support books to prisons programs, commissary funds, reentry programs, and other forms of prisoner support

Organize and support community-run crisis response organizations like the CAHOOTS program in Eugene, Oregon or the Birmingham Peacemakers in my hometown

Here are some other organizations to join that are doing good work in this area:

Black Lives Matter is obviously a huge voice in racial justice right now. The list of “official” chapters on their website is very incomplete, though, so you may have better luck doing a web search for “[your area] black lives matter” (beware of fakes though)

Showing Up for Racial Justice is another very active and widespread racial justice network

Critical Resistance is a grassroots prison abolitionist organization founded by Angela Davis

The Revolutionary Abolitionist Movement is another active prison abolitionist organization

The IWW’s Incarcerated Workers Organizing Committee works with prisoners to organize strikes, phone zaps, and other actions combating injustice in prisons

Again, the Anarchist Black Cross does great work supporting political prisoners through letter-writing and more. The link I’ve been including is to an unofficial federation of ABC groups, though - there may be a group in your area that’s not part of that federation, so a web search for “[your area] black cross” may be better

Black And Pink is a prison abolitionist organization focused on queer people and people living with HIV/AIDS

Antifascism is of course an important aspect of racial justice and community safety. See @antifainternational‘s guide to getting connected to your local antifascists - though, again, beware of fakes (the “antifa checker” accounts on fedbook and twitter can help)

The police state and prison industrial complex rely on the complicity and cooperation of all of us to function and be effective. By building a culture of noncompliance and active resistance, we can drastically reduce the state’s ability to oppress communities of color. Don’t let the struggle be forgotten with the changing of the news cycle - keep up the struggle until all are free!

Here’s a free PDF of “Are Prisons Obsolete” if you are interested in gaining a deeper understanding of the prison abolitionist movement. This reading answers many of the questions you likely have regarding the call to abolish prisons and police.

@geraniumlady​ I’m responding to this publicly just so others can see because i know you’re not the only one who is wondering this. Most of these are gonna be from anarchist websites or written by anarchists because we are the main group who are looking into a creating alternatives to police.

This article is a good article to start with that goes into how communities can deal with crime themselves and talks about other places that have already started managing crime in their communities this way. 

https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/policing-is-a-dirty-job-but-nobodys-gotta-do-it-6-ideas-for-a-cop-free-world-199465/

Here’s a video about what our societies could do instead of having traditional police and prison systems. Its from the point of view of an anarcho-communist and is one part of a series of videos about how anarchism works and what an anarchist society would look like, but this video is easy to understand without having watched the ones before it in the series and points of this video can be translated onto our current society. 

https://youtu.be/Hmy1jjRnl8I

Here’s an article from the anarchist library about crime and police alternatives as well.

https://theanarchistlibrary.org/library/scott-of-the-insurgency-culture-collective-the-anarchist-response-to-crime

And here is a page that leads to a google doc that is an in-progress list of resources on the subject of alternatives to police.

https://www.anarchistagency.com/critical-voices/what-to-do-instead-of-calling-the-police-a-guide-a-syllabus-a-conversation-a-process/

Sorry to make an already long post longer, but here are what the highlighted sections say:

In the United States, modern police forces arose at a time when crime was already diminishing. Rather, the institution of police emerged as a means to give the ruling class greater control over the population and expand the state’s monopoly on the resolution of social conflict. This was not a response to crime or an attempt to solve it; on the contrary, it coincided with the creation of new forms of crime. At the same time police forces were being expanded and modernized, the ruling class began to criminalize predominantly lower class behaviors that had previously been acceptable such as vagrancy, gambling, and public drunkenness.Those in authority define “criminal activity” according to their own needs, then present their definitions as neutral and timeless. For example, many more people may be killed by pollution and work-related accidents than by drugs, but drug dealers are branded a threat to society, not factory owners. And even when factory owners break the law in a way that kills people, they are not sent to prison.

@geraniumlady​ I’m responding to this publicly just so others can see because i know you’re not the only one who is wondering this. Most of these are gonna be from anarchist websites or written by anarchists because we are the main group who are looking into a creating alternatives to police.

This article is a good article to start with that goes into how communities can deal with crime themselves and talks about other places that have already started managing crime in their communities this way. 

https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/policing-is-a-dirty-job-but-nobodys-gotta-do-it-6-ideas-for-a-cop-free-world-199465/

Here’s a video about what our societies could do instead of having traditional police and prison systems. Its from the point of view of an anarcho-communist and is one part of a series of videos about how anarchism works and what an anarchist society would look like, but this video is easy to understand without having watched the ones before it in the series and points of this video can be translated onto our current society. 

https://youtu.be/Hmy1jjRnl8I

Here’s an article from the anarchist library about crime and police alternatives as well.

https://theanarchistlibrary.org/library/scott-of-the-insurgency-culture-collective-the-anarchist-response-to-crime

And here is a page that leads to a google doc that is an in-progress list of resources on the subject of alternatives to police.

https://www.anarchistagency.com/critical-voices/what-to-do-instead-of-calling-the-police-a-guide-a-syllabus-a-conversation-a-process/

Sorry to make an already long post longer, but here are what the highlighted sections say:

In the United States, modern police forces arose at a time when crime was already diminishing. Rather, the institution of police emerged as a means to give the ruling class greater control over the population and expand the state’s monopoly on the resolution of social conflict. This was not a response to crime or an attempt to solve it; on the contrary, it coincided with the creation of new forms of crime. At the same time police forces were being expanded and modernized, the ruling class began to criminalize predominantly lower class behaviors that had previously been acceptable such as vagrancy, gambling, and public drunkenness.Those in authority define “criminal activity” according to their own needs, then present their definitions as neutral and timeless. For example, many more people may be killed by pollution and work-related accidents than by drugs, but drug dealers are branded a threat to society, not factory owners. And even when factory owners break the law in a way that kills people, they are not sent to prison.

Writing With Color – Featured Description Posts

Some of our most useful posts on describing People of Color, all in one place.

Words to Describe Hair

Words to Describe Skin Tone

Describing Asian Eyes

Describing Wide Noses

Describing Undead & Sick Dark Skin

Describing POC and Avoiding Caricatures

Describing Unnatural Skin Tones: Green

Describing Unnatural Skin Tones: Jaundice

Indicating Race of Characters (FAQ Questions #3-4)

Not Indicating Race at All – Note: You Probably Should

Praising Beauty Without Fetishizing

Olive Skin, Race and Ethnicity

Specific Description Posts  

Describing Skin as Swarthy (Spoiler alert: it’s sketchy)

Describing East Asian Skin as Porcelain (Spoiler alert: it’s also sketchy)

Describing Skin as Russet (Spoiler alert: it’s alright)

Describing PoC as Exotic (SA: it’s othering)

Describing Skin as Ebony (SA: it’s cliche)

Describing Natural Hair as Cloud-Like (SA: it’s cool)

Describing Black Hair as Unkempt (SA: it’s offensive)

Describing Black Hair as Kinky (SA: it depends)

Describing Skin as “Dark as Night” (SA: it also depends)

Describing Skin as Like Dirt or Soil (SA: See above)

Describing Skin as just “Dark.” (SA: it’s vague)

Describing Black Hair as “Nappy” (SA: it ain’t recommended)

Describing Skin With Food (SA: it’s a no-no)

If you’re lower-income/lower-resourced, you can access mental health care!

1. A lot of therapists offer what is known as a sliding scale, which means that they will work with you to set a price that works for you. There is no set formula for figuring it out– but they’ll ask you how much you think you can pay and maybe how much you make. You could get up to a 50% discount, maybe even up to a 70% discount, on treatment. 

2. See if your job has an Employee Assistance Program (EAP), which can provide you with short-term mental healthcare, referrals, and financial assistance.

3. Reach out to therapists you’d be interested in seeing and say, “I’m curious if you have any pro bono slots open right now. I’m really motivated to do the work, I just don’t have the money. Is that something you’d be open to?” It might take some trial and error to find someone whose answer is yes!

4. Your house of worship might have options. Pastoral counseling– AKA getting counseling from a trained minister, rabbi, priest, imam, etc.– is usually free and another thing to look into. Most counselors, if not all, will be members of the American Association of Pastoral Counselors, so they will have proper training. 

5. Look into nearby graduate schools or teaching hospitals, which usually have clinics where trainees see people at a reduced rate. The people training to be psychologists, social workers, and family therapists have to get on-the-job experience. And if you’re worried about seeing a trainee: not only are they getting training, they will also be supervised by someone who’s licensed.

6. Consider group therapy or support groups, which are cheaper or free. Support groups– which are kind of like group therapy, but with an emphasis on education and community– are a low-cost or free option. Look into: NAMI, SAMHSA, & 211.

7. Utilize short-term crisis lines and long-term peer counseling services (which are free, from organizations like Project LETS.

8. Most therapists take on a number of clients for free, so don’t be afraid to ask if they have pro bono spots open. Every licensed clinician has an ethics code that they adhere to and part of that ethics code says that they’re supposed to provide some of their services free of charge as a gesture of goodwill.

9. If you’re a student, take advantage of your free campus resources– then ask for a student discount elsewhere when you exhaust those.

10. The Psychology Today Therapist finder is a great resource to find providers who offer a sliding scale– just mark it on your search settings.

via CreativeSoul Photography on FB:

From this perspective, three defining features of ADHD emerge that explain every aspect of the condition:

1. an interest-based nervous system

2. emotional hyperarousal

3. rejection sensitivity”

We’re all having “hard conversations” about racism, police brutality, and #BlackLivesMatter I hope. 

You’ve probably noticed that detractors often use the same “racist talking points” in response. Here’s a researched and sourced guide to help you answer, for the times you may get stuck.

Feel free to save these images and share them!

Transcript of the last image with links:

What you just read was written by Mariame Kaba.

Support and donate to her organization, Project NIA, a grassroots organization with a vision to end youth incarceration.

Listen to her tell the people’s history of prisons on the Intercepted podcast.

Read the article “What Abolitionists Do” on Jacobin by Dan Berger, Mariame Kaba, and David Stein.

The rest of the transcript below the cut: