Now that a jury in Manhattan has officially convicted disgraced movie producer Harvey Weinstein on two counts including rape, it can be hard to reconcile your support of abolishing prisons while also hoping Weinstein rots away in a dank, moldy cell for the rest of his days. Thankfully, you can use the following strategies to continuing to fight for restorative justice while also feeling genuinely psyched about the possibility of life without parole for Weinstein.
Adjust your expectations.
It would be great to live in a just world where everyone got the help they needed before committing criminal acts, but since that’s no longer a possibility for Weinstein, it’s okay to celebrate that for once, someone is actually going to face consequences for a lifetime of rape, coercion, and predation. You’re all about a government that rehabilitates instead of punishing its citizens, but with Trump in the White House and Brett Kavanaugh on the Supreme Court, let’s just take a win when we can, okay? This is all very complicated!
Use your resources.
Attend rallies, donate money to advocacy groups, and vote for candidates who will reform the judicial system to better serve the needs of the people. And while you’re doing all that, have a little private smile knowing that that monstrous, vile man got away with so much, but not everything.
Look at the stats.
Incarcerated people in this country are disproportionately people of color, people with untreated mental illness, and the poor…none of which applies to Weinstein! He’s not some weed dealer who could have been an entrepreneur if only the police hadn’t targeted his community; he’s a rapist who has never face a smidge of oppression or consequences for his own actions. So it’s natural to derive just the slightest hint of satisfaction in knowing he can’t buy his way out of this one – just this one time.
Reframe your mentality.
You’re not happy about a man going to prison, you’re happy about the progress of society to get us to this point where finally one powerful man was held accountable for his abhorrent treatment of women. It’s okay to have this one, as a treat (for centuries of not believing women).
The movement does not have to be hurt by your feelings if you just keep those feelings applied to Weinstein, and Weinstein only. So go ahead and feel them! No one is stopping you!
