Will Smith on "Black LIves Matter" and "Defund the Police."

[brush]

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/will-smith-black-lives-matter-defund-police_n_6151e5e3e4b0016411976688

“‘Abolish the police. Defund the police.’ I would love if we would just say ‘Defund the bad police.’ It’s almost like I want, as Black Americans, for us to change our marketing for the new position we’re in. So ‘critical race theory,’ just call it ‘truth theory,’” Smith said. “The pendulum is swinging in our direction beautifully. And there’s a certain humility that will most capitalize on the moment for the future of Black Americans, without discounting the difficulty and the pain and the emotion.

“This is a difficult area to discuss, but I feel like the simplicity of Black Lives Matter was perfect,” he said. “Anybody who tries to debate Black Lives Matter looks ridiculous. So when I talk about the marketing of our ideas, Black Lives Matter was perfection.”

By comparison, he argued, “‘Defund the police’ doesn’t get it done, no matter how good the ideas are.”

[mopinko]

1. no doubt it's a message that has to be defined immediately when you say it.

if you dont get a chance to define it, you're screwed.
if there isnt a follow up question of- what does that mean- yeah, no, we're fucked.

but i've yet to hear a message that says what is meant that is short enough for a soundbite. mostly because this problem has been around forever and they've all been tried.

i'm sorta hopeful that vax mandates are gonna weed out a lot of trouble.
but i almost want to get a tattoo w the full expression about bad apples.
cuz the thing is, you're supposed to throw them out. but i dont see that happening anywhere.

[brush]

6. Will's ideas are thoughtful and I'm in agreement.

What he says about critcal race theory is just pure common sense. Critcal race theory may as well be a foreign language to most people. "Truth Theory" makes sense.

Defund the police is a prickly subject here on DU but you're correct. If there's no follow-up question to explain what is meant—actually re-allocate police funds—you've lost most people because the phrase literally means "no money for the police". Black and Brown people know what is the intent because we've experienced bad policing in our hoods for generations but instinctively most of us know that phrase is bad marketing. It's a vote loser.

[malaise]

8. He is a genuinely thoughtful man

[mopinko]

12. oh, i know. that's how i got ffr.

and i still say- when the people getting their heads stove in send up some words, imma use them.
but the way it's reported and distorted is an obvious reality.

i had the fun experience of being a guest of cook county for a day recently, and honestly, all these whiners should spend a night in jail.
i mean, i know this shit, but it's really hard to fathom the depths of the petty cruelty of it if you are any kind of decent person. i mean, right down to the disgusting food they serve.
to innocent people. i am, actually, innocent. *
and that's how they treated an old white lady who kept her mouth shut.

i grew up in a small town, and couldnt wait to get away from the small town cops.
but big city cops are an equally odious animal for the most part.
glad to see them sick or unemployed. either way, hang on to your freedums, ya morons.

* i failed to appear in court because i had not been summoned. twice

[WhiskeyGrinder]

2. "I would love if we would just say 'Defund the bad police.'" Yeah but that's redundant.

[brush]

7. You are correct. So give us your best shot at a slogan.

[WhiskeyGrinder]

9. I'm a fan of "abolish the police," myself. It says exactly what it means.

But when it comes to slogans, "abolish the police" is an activist slogan, not a political one.

[BannonsLiver]

3. Will's 100 percent right

I’m not a fan but he’s right about the bad messaging.

[Baitball Blogger]

4. Others have said the same thing. Lets hope that Will Smith will get across.

[bamagal62]

5. Yep. Very bad messaging.

Not sure who started the sound bite, but I imagine it was a Republican. It sends the wrong message and is not what’s intended at all.

[Maraya1969]

10. Why don't they call Critical Race Theory - HISTORY

[WhiskeyGrinder]

11. Because Critical Race Theory is not history.

[Mosby]

16. People have no idea what it is.

People assume it's about looking at race critically.

[WhiskeyGrinder]

17. Well it is -- a theory that looks at race and its role critically.

[brush]

13. Come on now, you're making too much sense.

[LiberalFighter]

14. Black ball the bad police.

[brush]

15. You've got something there.

I'd shorten it even further by taking out the word "the".

[rogue emissary]

18. I like the "Truth Theory" for framing that idea.