An oppressor, by design, is supposed to get away with systematically harming others. However, getting away with evil is only a part of the story. It is only a step, a means to an end.
The end, rather, is to repeat the evil. That is, evil wants to persist. Harm wants to go on. Evil people intend to repeat every single one of the things that they got away with.
When we talk about slavery, colonialism, empire, and apartheid, we must rest assured: these were rehearsals. We know that they were rehearsals because harm at such a scale cannot be short-lived and its effects cannot be accidental.
We did not END slavery, colonialism, empire and apartheid – we merely uninstalled them for system updates and bug fixes. The subscription continued. We negotiated a settlement with them. Independence days and emancipation proclamations are codifications of system updates and continued subscription.
The problem with not ending evil is that it will happen again. It will use the data and infrastructure that already exist, the data and infrastructure that we never properly dismantled. All it takes, all it will take, is a global “crisis” to reinstitute these prior “methods” of organising the world and treating people.
Lesson 1: You do not negotiate a settlement with evil.
Lesson 2: There is no alternative to justice.