Presbyterian Peace Fellowship - What would happen if we abandoned punishment?

ABOLITION ACCOMPANIMENT WITH PRESBYTERIANS FOR ABOLITION Abolition: (noun) the action of abolishing a system, practice or institution. Abolition centers on getting rid of prisons, jails, police, courts and surveillance. Period.1 JOIN THE CONVERSATION Recently I was in a local shop with my five year old child, and he picked up a small bowl made of cork. He very gently was exploring the bowl, and in doing so put some pressure at the edges to feel its softness and flexibility. It broke in half. I walked up to the counter preparing myself to pay $25 for a pile of broken cork pieces, and laid our purchase down. The person working the counter said, "Hang on, let me go get my manager." Laine walked up to the counter, squared her shoulders toward my son and looked kindly and directly at him (not me). She smiled and leaned over and said, "It's ok, we all make mistakes." I encouraged my kiddo to offer appreciation for her grace and understanding, and that we hoped to see her soon. I was so grateful that this adult was able to center her attention and the emotion on my kid (the one who "transgressed") and not bypass the tension of the moment. And I was grateful that attention and care were centered on humanity and not punishment. My kiddo (and I) learned a powerful lesson that day about what it feels like to make mistakes and be held in care in spite of them. I walked away so overwhelmed by the possibility of a world that could be built if we practiced this kind of care and accountability instead of punishment. What would happen if we were able to truly see one another in our mistakes and extend grace, care and support for accountability in return? Practicing abolition requires our attention in the smallest and the biggest of our mistakes. We practice in these micro moments for the sake of being able to also choose this kind of deep care in moments when it feels like much more is at stake, when transgressions have been much more painful. Presbys for Abolition have been exploring how to be in practice in our personal lives as we also maintain public action. We were really excited to connect with so many people at our recent evening of art and testimony! We hope you will join us for our next conversation about how to practice abolition in our churches, our lives and the world. We will gather on: Wed., August 3rd at 8:00pm ET on Zoom. Let us know you are coming. We are eager to learn alongside you! Lucy Waechter Webb with Presbys for Abolition 1.12 Steps to Changing Yourself and the World: An Abolitionists Handbook by, Patrisse Cullors, p. 6. Image Credit: Roger Peet, "I made this blockprint while in Medellín, Colombia, after visiting the Museum of Peace. This small but powerful museum documents the intense history of Colombia’s civil conflict, so much of which was the result of a terrible need to punish people for their ideas, or just who they are. I think it’s relevant to the contemporary abolitionist movement in the US as well- we need to figure out better ways to deal with each other than just punishing each other into the ground."