The Black Lives Matter Thread

[DRW50]

I have to admit I'm uneasy about all the usual divisions and ugliness on the left over the "defund police" debate - many on the left seem to have no real idea what that would entail or how far it should go, and it's just becoming another conflict (with the usual suspects in the "dirtbag" and "we love Putin" groups stirring the pot) at a time when the whole country is already nervous about what happens next. I wish there was some type of plan. If there is I wish there was a way to put it forward. We need more national leadership, if that is at all possible. 

 

I did read that Minneapolis is going to start trying to disband their police force, but I'm not sure how that will go either, in terms of details and plans. 

 

In other news:

 

 

(I'm not going to go "yay Mitt" but I do think it's the closest we will get to bipartisanship in this moment so that's why I'm posting the tweet)

 

 

Meanwhile, in the UK:

 

 

[Khan]

 

And now, it seems, they're doing the same thing with #IStandWithJKRowling, in light of her...unfortunate remarks about trans people.

 

 

Agree.  Neither Mitt Romney nor George W. Bush get an attaboy from me just for doing the right thing.  Especially when neither man will go one step further and endorse Joe Biden.

 

TBH, I'm not sure how I feel about the #DefundThePolice debate either.  I guess the logic is that our tax dollars shouldn't go toward funding law enforcement officers who make it their business to target brown and black people?  Which is smart on one level -- after all, "money talks," or so the saying goes.  And right now, I am so anti-police that I'll admit that sounds awfully good to me.

 

But, if we succeed in defunding police departments, what happens to the resources that remain?  Will there be enough "to serve and protect" us when we REALLY need them?  Or, what if we succeed in defunding them to the point of bankrupting them entirely?  What will we have as an alternative to the police?  Would we REALLY turn back the clock to the days of militias made up of local, "well-meaning" townspeople?  If so, you can include me out, lol.

Edited June 8, 2020 by Khan

[DRW50]

 

There was an article out recently about Camden, New Jersey, and their efforts.

 

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-06-04/how-camden-new-jersey-reformed-its-police-department

 

I guess I can see why Romney won't endorse, but I'm not sure what W has to lose. Trump humiliated his brother and unlike Jeb's sniveling son, W has no political career left. 

 

Colin Powell endorsed Biden today (sorry if this was already posted); meanwhile, Condoleeza Rice is still in "stay off Twitter" mode. That's probably about as far as most Republicans will get, I suppose. 

 

https://www.cnn.com/2020/06/07/politics/colin-powell-donald-trump-protests-cnntv/index.html

[JaneAusten]

The Defund police movement is closer to what's being done in LA which is to allocate necessary funds from the police dept to handle issues that should be outside of law enforcement - mental health issues, domestic abuse. That might be the easy part and then you really need reform. All the way from qualifications, training, hiring. I had a friend years back who applied for a job with the Miami PD at the time and was told he scored too high - meaning his intelligence was too high, They want people who basically are just "following orders" in a lot of cases. Look at the officer that killed George Floyd. He had how many complaints and he was in process of mentoring/training two recruits.

[DRW50]

 

I can't remember where it was but I was reading a few days ago about a man who does training for police in protest type situations going to a protest and being severely injured by several cops. In moments like that I can see why some people have given up on most reforms. 

[JaneAusten]

It should indicate something to folks that as they lessened law enforcement  that a lot of the rioting stopped.  Granted as the protests have continued a lot of the initial anger died down, it wasn't lost on me that that was when law enforcement presence was at its height and no one will convince me it was not on purpose.  I can 't honestly believe NYC. At least most other cities have acknowledged issues but Cuomo and DeBlasio are too busy fighting each other to care about what's right under their nose.

[Vee]

Is there a good, long, substantive piece out there on de Blasio's foolishness and long fall during the pandemic and onward? I can't keep track of everything rn and have only fitfully monitored his tomfoolery since moving west. He was a fool when I lived there too.

Edited June 8, 2020 by Vee

[JaneAusten]

Cuomo is himself a hypocrite and a little sleazy, but at least he's competent and can get things done and doesn't get flustered(probably his best asset). de Blasio is a complete and utter failure. Being an activist - maybe he was effective at that - but it doesn't mean you can run the city of NY.  My niece works for the Public Health Dept there and de Blasio was so angry the health dept called him on his unwillingness to close the schools sooner, the back and forth on those masks that were to goto healthcare workers that was demanded for the NYPD, he took away the contact tracing efforts from their department and handed to the public hospital system in the city. He has shown his incompetence through this entire crisis.

https://www.cityandstateny.com/articles/politics/news-politics/duel-over-nycs-contact-tracing-program.html

[victoria foxton]

 

  

[Juliajms]

I agree with the people who say "defund the police" is a bad slogan.  The word "defund" has a meaning. If you have to explain what your slogan means because it doesn't actually mean what it says, that's a problem.  It's like some people just want to hand Trump chum for his base. 

 

It reminds me a little of when Hillary used the term "basket of deplorables" and the nuance of what she said was completely lost. Just that phrase remained and was used to say she meant every person voting for Trump was deplorable. It's not exactly the same, but the result will be the same. I can only imagine the ads accusing the radical left of wanting to "defund" the police and how we want chaos and anarchy in the streets.

[Juliajms]

Good answer on the part of Biden, thank god.

 

[Taoboi]

So he IS  a known Nazi and white supremacist. So him interacting (even smoking with the policemen) on video makes them all suspect. 

 

I know he deleted his FB. But I don't know how things turned out on Twitter.

 

 

[Khan]

 

It's Twitter.  Need we say more? 

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Agree!

Edited June 9, 2020 by Khan

[Taoboi]

Nope. Some woman decided to post a selfie in response to being against #blackouttuesday and that thread was full of hollering from me as everyone DRAGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG her for it.

[DRW50]

 

Not what you were talking about but it made me think of this vapidity. 

 

 

I guess at least this is a step up from "I'm going to burn down a business for the revolution and then go back to my parents' mansion."

Edited June 9, 2020 by DRW50