Fuck the Police Means We Don't Act Like Cops to Each Other

by Clementine Morrigan

Fuck the Police Means We Don't Act Like Cops to Each Other is a collection of writing on resisting cancel culture and building a left grounded in compassion, kindness, freedom, and respect for difference. This zine explores many related issues including: defining cancel culture, how cancel culture perpetuates harm rather than addressing it, what it means to take responsibility when we've harmed someone, the practice of intervening on violent situations, a trauma informed challenge to the 'believe survivors' narrative, the need for dissent and disagreement on the left, nervous system education, and overcoming people pleasing. This zine takes the work of justice and liberation seriously, values the healing and autonomy of survivors, believes no one is disposable, and seeks to build communities that are not punitive or authoritarian. This is a love letter to left we are building together, toward a more just world where we aren't afraid of our friends.

Genres: Nonfiction, Politics

98 pages, Unknown Binding

First published January 1, 2020

About the author

Clementine Morrigan is a writer. She is the writer behind the zines Love Without Emergency, Fuck the Police Means We Don't Act Like Cops to Each Other, Fucking Crazy, and Fucking Girls. She also wrote the books Sexting, Fucking Magic, Trauma Magic, You Can't Own the Fucking Stars, The Size of a Bird, and Rupture. She has been writing and publishing for more than 20 years and has many more projects on the way. They are also a podcaster as one half of the podcast Fucking Cancelled and they're the creator of the popular Trauma Informed Polyamory workshop. They also teach other online workshops like Bisexual Girls with Baggage and Disorganized Attachment Is a Fucking Trip. She is an ecosocialist, an anarchist, an abolitionist, an opposer of cancel culture, a trauma educator, a sex educator, a person living with complex ptsd, a sober alcoholic, a polyamorous bisexual dyke, and a proud dog mom to Clover “the dog” Morrigan.

Reviews

[Sunni · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this zine. I can’t fully articulate how breathtaking and amazing this work is. I love how Morrigan (which also feels like an affirmation), says”I can live in my integrity, even though it is scary, because I am brave, and because my desire for the world I want us to build is stronger than my fear.”

Glad to have another addition to my journey into Transformative Justice. Truly one that will forever sit in my bones.

[Felix · Rating 5 out of 5]

A deeply thoughtful response to and antidote for cancel culture.

[arwen · Rating 3 out of 5]

would benefit from a lot of editing, and also including some data and more examples (other than just personal experiences) would have been good. but overall an interesting and meaningful read

[Sara P · Rating 5 out of 5]

My only complaint about this book is that it’s not longer/more fleshed out! However, it is perfect for what it is trying to convey.

I want to thank the author for having the guts to publish this, with all of its vulnerabilities and hard truths. It facilitated MANY talks within my friend group & the rest of the community - as we are all trying to move on from cancel culture and be a better support system to each other.

I think I still have a lot to learn, and some tough inner-work to do, before I can be the best version of myself to the people around me. Thank you for starting my journey :)

[Rhea · Rating 5 out of 5]

A really excellent compliment to We Will Not Cancel Us, because Morrigan goes into trauma responses and how they play into cancel culture so deeply. Their sharing of personal stories - of believing someone else’s cancellation, of being canceled herself, and of overstating harm in relationship were very helpful examples to flesh out this heady stuff. I feel inspired to live in a world less focused on punishment and more focused on actual healing for all involved.

[Kristin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really meaningful read, I enjoyed hearing from this perspective and Morrigan put a lot of thought into framing her narrative and explaining her line of thinking. The writing overall was good, but there were definitely some parts that were weaker than others. Overall, a good (and very important) read.

[Itch Iseatingnandos · Rating 5 out of 5]

Vital. Clementine for president of the world!

[Martyna · Rating 5 out of 5]

cudowny zin o cancel-culture, o tym, że wykluczanie ze społeczności zamyka konwersację i że wszyscy ludzie są tak samo skomplikowani, jak my nawet, jak o tym czasami zapominamy

[London · Rating 5 out of 5]

"In twelve steps the way it works is that no matter what you have done you are unconditionally welcomed and supported in the community ... developing a community of friends who are there for you. You don't have to earn it. It's given freely.

Then you go through a process of self-searching to take an honest look at your actions and where you've caused harm to yourself and others ... people can look honestly at themselves because they are not afraid that doing so will mean losing everything ...

it is in this loving context that people can feel remorse without spiraling into shame.

And then from there we take all that info and begin to brainstorm on how we can take the right action and be responsible in our communities, and to the people we have harmed ...

It is also about the living amends of ongoing changed behavior and commitment to healing and growth."

(A somewhat condensed snippet from THE TWELVE STEPS passage of Clementine Morrigan's zine)


There's a lot to be said about the reality of cancel culture, and people with far more informed and prepared than I to give their opinion on it, but I liked this passage in particular. It's an oftentimes messy, controversial, and difficult subject to get into, but a take-away I was glad to see in here.

Forgiveness is difficult to come by, especially in such a fast-paced and ever-evolving environment like the internet. It's easy to see a wrong and to plead for justice - for punishment - for the perpetrator of the crime, of which all of us hold only partial details, to be condemned to what the collective masses deem a suitable punishment, often in the form of total isolation.

It's the act of punishing without allowing for any chance of rehabilitation, redemption, or personal growth - it's something that's easy to do when confronted with uncomfortable information and a very visible target through the impersonality of the web.

People stop being people who have done wrong or made a mistake, and somewhere in the mess of it all, come out as an irredeemable monster. An evil not worthy of change.

It's worth the reminder that even people who do bad things are deserving of help - especially so if that help is for their betterment and growth as a person. The bad thing should be acknowledged, the person who did it should be held accountable, and they should be allowed to grow from that experience, rather than continually and consistently condemned for it for all their lives.

People aren't monsters - they're people, and sometimes people fuck up. And that's okay.


This zine was a slow but interesting read. Its topic isn't light or easy to digest, but it's interesting and informative in a way I don't usually expect from my reading - it's a challenging perspective that left me wanting to make the world a little kinder, and a little safer, however I interact with it going forward.

I'll definitely be passing this along to a few friends in the future - it's a read worth sharing!