Abolish the Police

do it yesterday. i am losing my mind at ppl who think this dumbass eight is enough plan or whatever the fuck it's called is anything. how do i get off the internet.

liberals are convinced that they can turn the police into nice boys who really care for the people they are funneling into the prison industrial complex

but if cops had to announce "i'm going to shoot you" before they shot you, maybe that would be your ticket to heaven. it would CHANGE. EVERYTHING.

i just remembered one time deray mckesson was speaking at a conference i was at, and i knew there was no one i could talk to who would understand why he sucks, so i went to get a pastrami sandwich and came back when it was over

How was the sandwich

it was great, i want another

I prefer the defund/shrink approach to abolish. There is a bad historical meme going around now that policing originated with slave patrols, which is sort of a distorted half-truth. Societies of all kinds have always had some form of policing or other. Ours is clearly bloated, hyper-militarized and racist and needs to be radically reduced and changed.

Abolish the uniform guys, retain parking enforcement and grizzled detectives hiding hearts of gold under their gruff exteriors

Societies of all kinds have always had some form of policing or other.

citation needed

it is not relevant to me whether the origin was in slave patrols. we can keep kurt wallander around to solve violent crimes, and we can keep all the stars of parking wars. everyone else has to go.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Police#History xp

oh, so you mean "modern civilization" not the hundreds of thousands of years of hunter gatherers, OK.

IMO that history shows the problems that resulted from the "first fence" more than anything:

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/560830.My_Name_is_Chellis_and_I_m_in_Recovery_from_Western_Civilization

not only is it broadly modern civilization but it's far from a continuous history and most police forces in their modern organization, powers and tactics aren't much older than the mid 19th century

on the other hand even if they were ordained by god in the garden of Eden abolish the fuckers

oh ok so we should build a neoprimitive society with 7 billion people on the planet, that should go well

well the 19th century was when much of the world's population urbanized

this isn't a reformist thread

NV otm

they are agents of capital and should be shown no remorse or mercy

as i said, the police as constituted today are very much a function of the capitalist societies that introduced them, form something else by all means but the police institutions we have were rotten at conception

and they don't keep us safe, either

this seems as good a place as any to vent: my local solidarity rally tomorrow is not allowing anti-police signs. I wish them the best with it but I'm going to pass. Small city in Canada.

there's probably other threads for cautiously liking the police tbf

Without first dismantling capitalism, there's no practical difference between abolishing the police and privatising it.

I don't think short-term commitment to abolition can be used as a gatekeeping device for conversations about how to move forward from where we are now.

it is true that we must first seize the means of production before the withering away of the state can occur

anyway the specific bone of contention was that the police are not a natural offshoot of the state of nature who must always be with us as sinful fallen humans

thank you, yes that is what I was saying

You know that old canard, "It's easy to criticize the police but you'll soon change your tune when you actually need them"? Well, I think I've said it here before but whenever I've actually needed the police - break-ins, muggings etc - they have proved to be completely useless and generally given the impression they couldn't give a flying fuck.

Add laziness and ineptitude to their list of sins.

here here, NV. I will have to work to have this discussion more, locally, soon.

ok just spitballing here but what if we abolished the police

hm interesting expand on that

the first time i got burgled the first 15 minutes of interaction with the cops was persuading them we hadn't done it ourselves cos we lived on a "bad" estate

love to burgle myself

in the US last year, the $ seized by cops in (largely illegal imo) forfeitures was greater than the amount lost in actual burglaries

I’m seeing people ask things like “But if there are no police who will go after RAPISTS???” and well I have some very bad news for those folks

— andi zeisler (@andizeisler) June 5, 2020

the only problem w not having any cops is who will we arrest the cops with

Thank you, sleeve.

I prefer the defund/shrink approach to abolish.

man alive i know you're p well read so i'm surprised to see you attack police abolitionism with...the way most police abolitionist orgs describe the path to abolishing the police

I’m definitely not well read and um, yeah, exactly.

yes, whether you see it as a reform/end in itself or as a step on the path to abolishment it's an excellent set of demands people should be able to get behind

I don't know a single person who has ever had a positive experience with the police

Part of public support for the police is misplaced liking of actors in endless cop shows, the most insidious form of propaganda out there. Abolish TV studios

endless cop shows, the most insidious form of propaganda out there

otm. going all the way back to The Andy Griffith Show and Dragnet.

and Deputy Dawg

anybody want to comment on the abolishment and replacement of the Royal Ulster Constabulary?

fine idea. I endorse it.

mostly "lol, fuck the RUC"

It was weird to open this thread and not see a gang of yank libs calling abolitionists immature dumb idiots who are probably 11 years old or something but I take that more as a sign of the moment than any kind of indication that this isn’t Chinatown

anybody want to comment on the abolishment and replacement of the Royal Ulster Constabulary?

This was a Good Thing and ultimately necessary; the RUC as a ‘brand’ was toxic for too many normal people by the GFA

Even American police forces have nothing on those guys.

came up with more ideas for police reform that will be as ineffective as anything proposed by 8 Can't Wait pic.twitter.com/eK9Aj6KpMA

— ben wasserman (@benwassertweet) June 4, 2020

thoughts and prayers is a weak ending, "make guns too big to hold" and "no ice cream before bed" have I Think You Should Leave vibes tho

yeah, i would like to remove thoughts and prayers from the platform

no fuck it abolish the police

the guy knows what he’s talking about btw ^

Talk about funding a Neo-Nazi army

This other thread of his is v good too

THREAD: One of our clients was an 11-year-old Black child taking a shower before bed when DC police burst into her bathroom, pulled back the curtain, and pointed guns at her naked body. Cops said they found a little marijuana on her dad (who didn't live there) two weeks before.

— Alec Karakatsanis (@equalityAlec) August 4, 2022

The controversial West Side police academy will have mock neighborhood for training — raising the total cost of the project to $128 million. Here's what it will look like: https://t.co/77Mfg2RXpj. pic.twitter.com/oa2lB7tJo1

— Block Club Chicago (@BlockClubCHI) August 10, 2022

Now every Chicago trainee cop will be able to pretend they're Seal Team 6 training to take down Osama's compound

It will all be worth it to finally end mental illness in this cpountry.

suspended with pay, natch

Two Indiana officers were suspended after a stunning courtroom revelation that police thought a potential town council candidate was anti-police and arrested him, stopping him from running for office.

During a July 19 hearing, Franklin County Prosecutor Chris Huerkamp dropped charges that included drug possession against Trevin Thalheimer after an officer and witness recounted how Brookville police talked about Thalheimer. Huerkamp, who also did not pursue a rape charge police had investigated, said he was “disturbed beyond words” by the alleged police conduct and reported the incident to the Indiana State Police, which launched a criminal investigation. The transcript of the hearing was made public Monday.

Brookville Police Chief Terry Mitchum and the investigating officer, Ryan Geiser, were suspended with pay from the nine-person force Thursday by the town’s council, which ordered them to stay away from other officers and town property. The council installed an interim chief in a brief emergency meeting and said it would begin searching for a permanent replacement.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2022/08/10/indiana-police-arrest-political-candidate/

man how does this stuff keep happening?! so confusing, must just be an incredible unbroken string of coincidences stretching back hundreds of years

it's okay folks, just a few more bad apples to chase out and then things will be just absolutely hunky dory

Indiana's new state motto is "More Oklahoma than Oklahoma."

Eric Adams's New York doesn't have the money to pay for lifeguards at the beach past 6pm during an August heat wave, but it has plenty of money to send a team of armed cops to arrest someone for swimming at the beach without a lifeguard. https://t.co/HR9l6sT0FU

— Sam Feldman 🌹 (@srfeld) August 10, 2022

arresting people for not showing their ID immediately because they're in the water, typical NY policing (though not NYPD this time). classy.

really cannot recommend this newsletter highly enough

https://substack.com/profile/9600332-alec-karakatsanis

Idk about this one - https://newrepublic.com/article/167627/defund-social-workers

Tbh it’s not that there aren’t reasonable points in there but a pretty godawful headline and opening.

"Then Louise Casey’s second report into the Met is due in March, and is expected to be as damning, if not more so, than the first report, which found huge failings in how the force investigates officers. It led Rowley to admit that hundreds of racist, misogynist and corrupt officers have been allowed to continue to serve in the Met"

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2023/jan/16/met-police-david-carrick-one-woman-act-of-bravery-abuse

Met Police commissioner Mark Rowley says the force was investigating 1,000 sexual/domestic abuse claims involving about 800 of its officers - @BBCNews reports.

— Pippa Crerar (@PippaCrerar) January 16, 2023

In the UK police are to be given more powers to crack down on protest.

Worth repeating that police do not require an DBS certificate to work, which virtually every other job that comes in contact with the public does, because apparently it’s fine for them to vet themselves https://t.co/6gpPWIZY4W

— thierry ennui (@alexeptable) January 25, 2023

i didn't know that. unfuckingbelievable

Some police officers came round to my friend's house after their downstairs neighbour died and they had to bust in. One officer took her housemate's number – she thought for official purposes. No, instead he texted her 'Hey, how are you?'

— Moya Lothian-McLean (@mlothianmclean) January 26, 2023

The 363-page report condemns the force as institutionally racist, misogynist and homophobic. Staff routinely experience sexism, it adds. There are racist officers and staff, and a "deep-seated homophobia" in the organisation.

In London, Baroness Casey says policing by consent - the idea ordinary people trust the police to act honourably and be held accountable - is broken.

The report says leadership teams at the top of the Met have been in denial for decades, and there has been a systemic failure to root out discriminatory and bullying behaviour.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-65015479

Guess what happens next?

First the inquiry, then the crime

Who'd have thought it, eh?

London Evening Standard crowing about how they're gonna put undercover officers to uncover bad behaviour in the met. Yeah, that'll do it.

maybe there's a few good apples

There is always another view.

The influence of what sorry? pic.twitter.com/CvhJvC6qeU

— Tom Williams (@shirleymush) March 21, 2023

Fucking lunatic

I'm sorry to say we won't be able to hold the Metropolitan Police Commissioner to account tonight for the Casey Report's findings of institutional racism, misogyny and homophobia because his press office have again excluded #C4News

— Krishnan Guru-Murthy (@krishgm) March 21, 2023

It's astonishing he's still in post.. the stuff he's been talking about as responses are such weak-piss penny-ante crap. He seems completely out to lunch!

almost wish khan hadn't finished cressida dick because she should be front and centre eating shit for this. except she would just brazen it out like she always does. then again if you were in charge of an operation where someone gets murdered and it doesn't so much as pause your rise to the top why would you ever expect consequences.

The Irvo Otieno story is another example of how it isn’t just that police aren’t trained to be mental health workers, but people with mental health problems are despised and feared in the US. Truly sickening country