Why Jan 6th attempted coup on the US should give legs to #DefundThePolice

[egbertowillies]

Much was made of the #DefundThePolice moniker. For many of us, in the aggregate, police do not represent the body of comfort that it does for many in the "majority" community.

https://egbertowillies.com/2021/01/16/why-jan-6th-attempted-coup-on-the-us-should-give-legs-to-defundthepolice/

[bullimiami]

1. it should be #ReformThePolice #PoliceThePolice #GetRacistsOutOfLawEnforcement

Defund doesnt even vaguely describe what needs doing.

[mzmolly]

2. Fully

agree. "Defund police" a shit talking point.

[egbertowillies]

5. What about starve the government?

[mzmolly]

9. Same.

We need a stronger Government, with greater integrity of late.

[Happy Hoosier]

3. "Defund" the police is a huge loser.

To quote Biden.... C’mon man!

[Phoenix61]

4. I really like #PoliceThePolice

It’s the best one I’ve heard. It accurately describes what we want to happen in the future. #DefundThePolice is terrible marketing and it doesn’t say what we want. It just says what we don’t want. It’s the classic “Don’t think of a pink elephant.” and instantly the image of a pink elephant pops into your head.

[egbertowillies]

6. Marketing requires probing. I think this forces thinking. We don't want a marketing

exercise but a justice exercise. I think capitalism has caused us to define everything as marketing a product. I think we need to work to change that. That is why I think Jan 6 can help change that for some.

[Phoenix61]

10. Marketing is about about presenting a product,

idea, whatever in a particular way. Specifically, in a way that appeals to the people you are trying to elicit a behavior in. Whether that behavior is buying a product, using a service, or voting for a particular candidate. We want lots of people to push their local law enforcement to change. How do we get them to do that? Tell them about Jan 6th? Show them photos, videos of it? Those are all examples of what we don’t want. They are why we want change but they don’t say what that change is. I think #PoliceThePolice does a fantastic job of that. It’s specific, concise, and action oriented and hard to argue against.

[Mister Ed]

7. Still the worst possible slogan for such a vital undertaking.

Nobody wants to literally defund the police, eliminate police forces entirely, and leave society in a state of anarchy. Not even those who use the slogan would want that.

It's understood by those who use the slogan that the idea is to reapportion police funding to provide greater support for massive reforms that would turn police back into public servants instead of members of a quasi-military occupying force. To provide police with training and skills that would encourage them and equip them to de-escalate low-level disturbances, instead of escalating them into shootouts.

But most important of all: to remove murderous, racist white-supremacist cops from the ranks, so that the police force can once again have the support and the cooperation of the communities they're hired to serve.

"Defund the police" is still the worst possible slogan I can think of to describe this vital undertaking.

[Raven123]

8. I disagree. To police with integrity, we need policemen with integrity.

[PatrickforO]

11. It is absolutely clear, not only from the decades leading up to

January 6, but from the insurrection itself, that we need to impose massive reform on police departments throughout the nation.

Defund the police is a bad slogan, though, Egberto. It is.

Reform...

Demilitarize...

Change the culture of...

Impose more civilian control on...

the police. Those are things we can get behind, but you have to remember most people are kind of morons when it comes to any in-depth policy proposal, so you really do have to be careful about giving the white supremacists a talking point they can use to instill fear in suburban white people. Because they will.

But I think most people can get behind 'demilitarize', change the culture, reform, increase civilian control. I know I can, but as a 62 year old white guy living in the suburbs, and as a practicing economist, as well as a public servant in local government, I would be really hesitant to 'defund' the police, because it implies that we want to 'get rid of,' which of course is not what you're saying, but it will definitely be what many people think: defund = destroy = get rid of.

What sane person wants to live in the lawless anarchy that would result if local government were not able to enforce the laws that are on the books.

But they DO have to stop killing unarmed black people, and they DO need to be stopped from treating people of color differently. And I absolutely see the need to root out white supremacists from their ranks.

But 'defund' was, is, and ever will be a poor choice of descriptor for this urgent need. You have a case, Egberto, where the slogan itself will impede the progress that must be made. You'll get LOTS of pushback on 'defund.'

[brush]

12. Defund the police is still the dumbest slogan ever as it requires...

a nuanced explanation, and many voters, especially low-info ones, don't do nuance and think it means get rid of police, which it literally means.

We need to go with something else and strike it from out vocabulary forever.

Police the police; reform the police; reallocate police funds; root out bad cops—and of those are better than the ridiculously horrible defund the police.

[GemDigger]

13. Here, "defund the police" didn't go well and gave our purple state a sweep of republicans.

We went from a vibrant purple to a deep, blood red.