Because when you say Black Lives Matter the average white person gets scared and reacts because to them, all lives are good. Saying Black Lives Matter makes them think that their life doesn't matter.
This is being willfully obtuse and not arguing in good faith.
It's not my job nor is it the job of my fellow brothers and sisters in the movement to focus test better slogans or explain to privileged white folks what defund the police means. They've seen us march and riot for decades and cops have continued and will continue to kill us.
That's not some universal position of activists like you are suggesting it is.
Dude, if the individual suggested actions WITHIN defund the police poll highly, you have an actual opportunity to do something about them. But instead they're hidden inside of an idiotic slogan that nearly everyone misinterprets.
I can respect that. It's MY job to find a way to reach white people, because I'm white. So I care about how it sounds to them. It's how to reach them. Dumb as it may be.
Believe me when I say this, as someone in the criminal justice system, the police have no business being sent out in the majority of 911 calls. But, you won't get the change you want if you can't explain your position to people who can't figure it out by hearing what your chanting.
Okay but America doesn't do that. Like I really wish it did. We set one police precinct in Minneapolis on fire. Guatemala firebombed their congress. I completely agree that if we actually, say, tossed molotovs through the windows of Seattle City Hall stuff would escalate in a hurry, but we had an entire summer of unrest and for the most part it was successfully "contained" and even counter-propagandized. Do we just do another 2, 3, 4 years of escalating unrest until we reach that point? If that's what people think has to happen okay we can at least talk about that, but that's not the impression I usually get
Based on my conversations, some people legit think it means there won't be anymore police. There is a history in the black community of their neighboorhoods being both overpoliced and underserved. An example being, someone making a 9-1-1 call to report a crime being committed, and it taking forever for the police to show up. This is why black comedians for decades have made the joke about if you need immediate help from the police, say that a white woman is being harmed, and they'll be there in 5 seconds.
Obama is a dangerous political figure because people look at him like he's the Black Pope. Those NBA players got played LOL. They gave deference to someone uninterested in our liberation.
As activists are free to do so. I don't have any problem with them. They play a necessary role in bringing issues to the public's attention. But I want politicians who are amenable to change to be in office so things can actually happen. Any politician who runs in a competitive election on Defund the Police is not going to win. I do think there is room for elected officials to demonstrate leadership on issues to influence public opinion, but you don't need to take an extreme (relative to national opinion) position on an issue to do that.
People are not dumb. Defund isn't some mysterious word that has an obscure meaning. People who say they're "confused" do not care for the agenda itself.
Like serously, Obama has offered virtually zero help in the fight against police brutality and he's kicking back and offering flimsy advice like we owe something to him.
I'm not keen on trying to appeal to these people, or tolerate their racism and/or stupidity for their votes. But there's no way to get those congressional seats otherwise. A top down approach from state or federal government will only further drive those people away.
I know that but that's not what defund actually means. And if somebody understand defund as completely withdrawing funding from police that's fair.
Stop being vague about your position in the criminal justice system, be honest about it so people can accurately assess your own motivations in this discussion.
I just had the "black lives matter, too" talk with my mom, she's past all lives matter though at least
