1/While Democrats, Leftest, Progressives (pick your label) et al argue about the “Defund The Police” SLOGAN — let me remind y’all that Republicans have spent the last 55 years defunding education, healthcare, science, housing, social programs.

2/Some terms that activists, advocates, academics use — intersectionality, Neoliberalism, Defund The Police, prison abolition, are often coined to compartmentalize complex issues involving history, theory, and years of data. They’re not made with mainstream circulation in mind.

3/Keep in mind that activists, advocates, and academics often coin these terms because they want to give a name to the issue they are examining and/or working on that effect our lives. They’re looking at causality: how have these policies marginalized and harmed these groups?

4/While many of you are annoyed with that slogan— you’re forgetting about the work that’s done BEHIND the slogan/term and why the slogan/term was coined in the first place. These slogans/terms are often misused! (like neoliberalism is misused all the time)

5/I had a conversation with a friend who really hated the term prison abolition but then I let him know that prison abolitionist are working to get rid of solitary confinement (which led to Khalif Browder suicide) and they are working to make conditions better inside of prisons.

6/Yes prison abolitionists would like a world w/o prisons. They prefer we fund communities instead (mental health, healthcare, a living wage, accessible housing, free or affordable education, etc) over prison, but for now they work for the civil & human rights of the incarcerated

7/So while you’re jumping on the bandwagon of saying “defund the police” is a ridiculous slogan- ask instead “why was that slogan coined in the first place?” Then think of a better way to discuss the issue of police budgets & the social program budgets Republicans are slashing.