Shattering Abolition™: Against Reformist Counterinsurgency in the Streets of Oakland

What follows is a reportback on the APTP-organized “Justice for Tyre Nichols” Emergency March and Rally held on Sunday January 29, 2023 from some homies who were in attendance, as well as scattered thoughts and analysis for ‘fellow travelers’ on tactics, strategies, and potential ways to move given our current terrain of struggle.

Our critiques should not be read as disingenuous, or vindictive cheap shots, targeting particular groups for petty reasons. This is not our interest or intention; we leave that to those that play the game of politics. Rather we hope to illustrate a more general analysis of the ‘terrain of struggle’ here in the Town through engaging with specific, concrete moments that we find particularly instructive.

Tl;dr: 1) Abolitionist practice must support proletarian self-activity and foster the conditions for escalation and open revolt against the state and capital--and this happens on multiple scales; 2) NPIC ‘movement organizations’ are structurally incapable of doing this, and indeed are compelled to act against self-activity by quelling or redirecting potentially conflictual energies; and 3) They achieve this in part by claiming to represent a whole ‘community’ or ‘identity,’ delegitimizing those who take approaches not compatible with theirs.