Movement pushing to abolish the police

www.city-journal.org...

One might dismiss such proclamations as part of a fringe movement, but advocates of these radical views are gaining political momentum in numerous cities. In Seattle, socialist city council candidate Shaun Scott, who ran on a “police abolition” platform, came within 1,386 votes of winning elected office. During his campaign, he argued that the city must “[disinvest] from the police state” and “build towards a world where nobody is criminalized for being poor.”

First off, I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas and a Safe New Year.

Oddly, this was one of the first stories of the new year that I read. I have seen it in a few different forms/sites since.
The thought in almost all of the articles is the same; we don't need/want the police.

Here's my opinion. I do think there is some reform needed. I don't think there should be speed traps, or that people should ever be jailed for unpaid tickets etc. I think a lot of our justice system needs reform. I do however think we need police, and will for quite a while. I find it interesting that the people that possibly need them the most are the ones that want them gone the quickest. If statistics were released I would be willing to bet money that the groups that say they don't need police are actually the ones that are calling them the most.

For anyone that thinks this is a good thing, just research Home owner associations. The more I read into them the more I learned the truth. Getting rid of the police will do exactly the same. Getting rid of the police, won't get rid of the police, it will only get rid of the police for the poor/middle class. Maybe this is the plan in the grand scheme of things. Just remember, be careful what you wish for, you just might get it.

One might dismiss such proclamations as part of a fringe movement, but advocates of these radical views are gaining political momentum in numerous cities. In Seattle, socialist city council candidate Shaun Scott, who ran on a “police abolition” platform, came within 1,386 votes of winning elected office. During his campaign, he argued that the city must “[disinvest] from the police state” and “build towards a world where nobody is criminalized for being poor.”

It's Seattle .
Is there that many logical , reasoning folks still living there ?
I for one did not think so.

a reply to: Gothmog

It's Seattle .
Is there that many logical , reasoning folks still living there ?
I for one did not think so.

Unfortunately, it's not just Seattle. It's probably more prevalent there, but this kind of thinking is seeping everywhere.

We need police to document the crime scenes after people are killed. They certainly aren’t there to prevent crime. I rely on Smith and Wesson (and myself) for protection.

I think they should run a pilot program as a test case in, say, Seattle and San Francisco. Maybe throw in Chicago and Baltimore so it's not all west coast.

And keep federal law enforcement out, as well.

Let's see how it plays out there, then we can look forward.

We need police.

What we need to abolish are a whole lot of laws.

Like the one in California that allows for massive fines if you take a shower and do a load of laundry in a 24 hour period of time. If they are under a drought emergency, the fine increases to $10,000 per offense.
Just in case someone says that Snooes called it false, here is an explanation.

originally posted by: JAGStorm
a reply to: Gothmog

It's Seattle .
Is there that many logical , reasoning folks still living there ?
I for one did not think so.

Unfortunately, it's not just Seattle. It's probably more prevalent there, but this kind of thinking is seeping everywhere.

Yes, I believe Georgia will be the last stronghold of righteousness .
We don't take to well with that kind of thinking.

The Police, for all their poor press, are integral, if not the most integral social construct that keeps society functioning more or less safely for all.

There may be a few bad apples, but the day we get rid of the Police, is the day society devolves into chaos and a dystopian tribalism I reserved for the Apocolypse.

I fully support the thin blue line.

a reply to: JAGStorm

Honestly if police were only used for theft and violent crimes we wouldn't need anywhere as many of them and definitely wouldn't need nearly as much funding for them. But by the same train of though if someone is dropping their drawers to take a crap right in front of the window of your business you should be allowed to whack them upside the head with a broom.

a reply to: BlueJacket

I do too. I think people are their own worst enemies.

What I find most hilarious about all the articles I've read on this is the same basic, but wrong thinking.
That people won't commit crime without police. It also wrongly associates poverty directly with having police.

I personally think for positive change in our country we need a couple of things.
- bring shame back
- parenting classes
- education improvement
- financial literacy

a reply to: JAGStorm

Any large group of humans needs some kind of structure and a way to enforce it.

But yes, the cops in this country do seem to have a power trip and need to be reined in.
I speak from personal experience more than once.

But no cops at all? No way. That would just allow the criminals to take over and become the law themselves.

So essentially dog eat dog. might makes right, thugs, easy pickings ? Did they possibly think this through ? This liberality is a brain disease.... what else could you call it.

Unbridled crime opportunity

a reply to: butcherguy

What we need to abolish are a whole lot of laws.

This^^

a reply to: JAGStorm

- bring shame back
- parenting classes
- education improvement
- financial literacy

I'd like to add emotional teaching to that list.

I honestly believe that one of the biggest issues facing america is the lack of understanding ones own emotions.

a reply to: scraedtosleep

I'd like to add emotional teaching to that list.

I honestly believe that one of the biggest issues facing america is the lake of understanding ones own emotions.

Yes, absolutely. Mental health, emotional teaching should top the list!

a reply to: BlueJacket

I fully support the thin blue line.

a reply to: JAGStorm

Harris-Talley, meantime, has traced policing’s origins back to slavery. “How do you reform an institution that from its inception was made to control, maim, condemn, and kill people?” she asks. “Reform it back to what?” If cities can eliminate poverty through affordable housing and “investing in community,” she believes, the police will become unnecessary. Others arguethat cities must simply “help people resolve conflicts through peace circles and restorative justice programs.”

It seems they are saying that the police in the current form are simply corporate enforcers, spawned from times of slavery.

The police punish the poor, those who opt out of the system or simply cannot cope with it. So they are right, they are not simply saying just get rid of police they are saying reforming the system with help and housing with possibly eliminate the need for slave enforcement, let's face it punishing the poor for being poor isn't working.

There will always be a need for police to combat organised crime, murderers etc,

originally posted by: incoserv
I think they should run a pilot program as a test case in, say, Seattle and San Francisco. Maybe throw in Chicago and Baltimore so it's not all west coast.

And keep federal law enforcement out, as well.

Let's see how it plays out there, then we can look forward.

I'm with you on this one.

California needs to pass a law abolishing police and not allowing Federal law enforcement within their borders.

Then let's see where we are in 4-6 years.

a reply to: Lumenari

It would be this:

a reply to: JAGStorm

It would be this...