First and foremost, if this topic is unwanted, then I'm fine with mods locking the thread up. However, I'm trying to approach this in a calm, civil, rational way, so please bear with me...
We've been getting quite a few farewell threads here and I feel that some people underestimate the impact Abby's tweets in particular had on this situation, rather than just showing support for BLM.
Abby's tweets were met with a lot of positive responses from fans, proclaiming how the police force must indeed be disbanded because "All Cops Are Bastards".
I can say truthfully that I feel uneasy around cops, but that's likely only because I've never been in a situation where they were there and I needed them to be there. They wield authority. They have guns. It's scary. However, it's necessary. A civilized society has law and order, enforced by the officers (police), to keep citizens safe. So ACAB confuses me, as I'm sure it confused or dismayed those users canceling their subs and saying goodbye to GB. I'd appreciate any of the multitude of users I've seen on here calling for the dismantling of the police force to lay out a strategy where the end result is a better life for America's Black citizens (and of course all other citizens if the system has been so improved).
From my perspective, this is the situation:
- Interactions with cops means you might interact with bad ones, who might end your life. Whether it be ignorant untrained behaviour or intentional misconduct. This is not the norm, it's just more likely the more interactions are racked up. Improvements on this front can be made via more thorough psychological vetting and training, but there will always be some that slip through. I'm under the impression that most people are assholes if they can get away with it anyways. That's hard to fix.
- By ratio, Black people interact with cops a much larger amount than any other group. This is due to criminal activity.
- I'm sure there are plenty of community outreach programs trying to get kids away from drugs, violence, gangs, but this is where the bulk of the effort needs to be put into. Don't commit crimes, don't interface with cops (to the best of your abilities). Participate in something productive. Focus on education, extracurricular activities, build a business, add to the growth of the community, etc.
That's really it. I don't see dismantling a pillar of civilized life as a viable option, but I'd like to hear a proposal for how it would be done without majorly crippling the day to day life of your average citizen during the transition period (transition to?....).
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