The Shooting Gallery: Police Violence MEGATHREAD

[Oexmelin]

But "defund the police" will be toxic in the suburbs.

Aka, where police officers live.

[Grey Fox]

In Montreal, 92% of cops don't live on the Island.

Staggering stats.

[Syt]

Question for the room, because it came up in my Twitter feed, and I genuinely wonder.

Would we see the same amount of public support for the protests against police brutality and racism, if it was overwhelmingly black protesters who protested and were assaulted by the police?

I.e. does the copious footage of white Americans being treated so harshly increase the overall positive perception of the movement?

[garbon]

Question for the room, because it came up in my Twitter feed, and I genuinely wonder.

Would we see the same amount of public support for the protests against police brutality and racism, if it was overwhelmingly black protesters who protested and were assaulted by the police?

I.e. does the copious footage of white Americans being treated so harshly increase the overall positive perception of the movement?

Of course it does.

[Valmy]

Question for the room, because it came up in my Twitter feed, and I genuinely wonder.

Would we see the same amount of public support for the protests against police brutality and racism, if it was overwhelmingly black protesters who protested and were assaulted by the police?

I.e. does the copious footage of white Americans being treated so harshly increase the overall positive perception of the movement?

Yes. Some people just will not move until they feel personally impacted.

[Barrister]

Question for the room, because it came up in my Twitter feed, and I genuinely wonder.

Would we see the same amount of public support for the protests against police brutality and racism, if it was overwhelmingly black protesters who protested and were assaulted by the police?

I.e. does the copious footage of white Americans being treated so harshly increase the overall positive perception of the movement?

It probably helps.  But I don't think people would be indifferent if it was overwhelmingly black protesters being assaulted.  After all this entire moment started when a black man was killed by police.

[Valmy]

I would suggest that those people were already on board.

[Oexmelin]

But I don't think people would be indifferent if it was overwhelmingly black protesters being assaulted.  After all this entire moment started when a black man was killed by police.

Indifferent, no. Moved to action? Willing to reconsider their position? Entirely different thing.

I have been struck by how diverse the demonstrations I have attended are, this time around.

[Syt]

The comment that prompted my question was a comment by a (black) guy who said it took just one week of white kids being treated the way blacks have been treated for decades to suddenly get momentum on police reform. And I couldn't help thinking that he had a point.

[Valmy]

The comment that prompted my question was a comment by a (black) guy who said it took just one week of white kids being treated the way blacks have been treated for decades to suddenly get momentum on police reform. And I couldn't help thinking that he had a point.

I mean if you research it a little bit white people have been mistreated at a rate that most countries would find outrageous for decades, it is just not comparable to what black people have experienced. Which is why I foolishly thought we would all rally behind BLM back in 2014.

But, as DGuller pointed out at the time, it was just kind of accepted as collateral damage.

But it makes a huge difference when things are put on film and white people see said white people getting abused and then go "hey that could be me!". So hopefully this time things work out.

But this also shows just how out of control and out of touch and in their bubble the police are. We are all conditioned to support the police and other first responders so getting so much of the country turned against them takes some truly shocking tone deafness and inteptitude.

[The Larch]

Minneapolis is only a small part of the overall Minneapolis-St. Paul metro area:



It's the urban core, that will have more blacks, and more upscale whites.  It votes overwhelmingly democratic.

But "defund the police" will be toxic in the suburbs.

So what? What do administrative boundaries have to do with the argument? The point is that there are initiatives in this regard not just from activists but from public officials as well. The mayor of LA just slashed something like 150 million dollars from the LAPD budget to divert it to social initiatives.

Some politicians are listening: the Los Angeles Police Department was set to receive a large increase in its annual budget from $1.189 billion last year to $1.86 billion (most of the budget increases were for new police bonuses) for 2020-2021 before Garcetti axed that move Wednesday, cutting $100-$150 million.

In New York, more than 40 city council candidates are calling for a $1 billion cut to the NYPD's $6 billion budget over four years to help fund other programs such as the city's summer youth employment program.In cities such as Minneapolis, Dallas, Philadelphia, and Nashville, similar movements are gaining traction.

[fromtia]

I agree politically it has gone very well for BLM.  They just need to watch out for over-reach.  On Twitter I've seen a bunch of calls to Defund the police, or get rid of the police - I don't think there's any public appetite for anything like that.

Agreed. Tucker is pushing a narrative when I last watched of crazy black leftists calling for getting rid of the police entirely and ending a black "genocide" - it's Fox obviously so it's bonkers, but "defund the police" isn't going to play well. I absolutely agree with the idea that take some of that generous police funding and move it to social services where it would be better spent. That's a bit more fine grained than "defund the police" though obvs.

[fromtia]

Good job ignoring my point. FFS, just how much disclaimer do I have to add for not be taken for a fascist whenever I don't assume every policemen enjoys beating up innocents?

Aren't the police committing enough atrocities as it is, why do you want to dilute them by going apeshit overboard?

[Valmy]

I mean we need to have police. They just mean disbanding the current organizations and start new ones right?

[Grey Fox]

I mean we need to have police. They just mean disbanding the current organizations and start new ones right?

Yes.