General

The "defund the police" movement respects and needs police officers. It is simply a matter of reorganising budgets to respond more appropriately to traumatised populations. Most populations in poverty have intergenerational trauma issues that arise as expressions of aggression and lack of self control between citizens. As such, jail and violent force is not only inappropriate but it escalates, exacerbates and perpetuates problems. When instead of force the responders are trained in mental health, when they use empathy techniques, when they come with social workers who can offer real help and good advice - the chance to transform a community arises. People want functionality. People want a healthy community. People want their neighbours to have health. Once their brains are helped to switch into empathy-mode they can start to achieve their own goals and dreams. Perhaps an analogy would help too.

Imagine a see-saw. The social problems are on one side and punishment and threat is on the other. As social problems increase, so must the threats of law if it is to balance. Yet there is an obvious choice here... you could remove social pressures instead of adding threats... and that's the logic of "defund the police," we keep police, yet we start to change the way we balance things, we start to remove social pressures instead. It's part of social evolution. It is the start of putting love into action and rejecting emotional indifference. It is the start of better things to come.

General

For most folks, you couldn't pay them to live in an area without police. Defunding police isn't about that. It is about altering budgets to produce superior social outcomes. Thus it is a movement that respects police and adds mental health and social services to the roster. It's boosting care for youth and giving avenues for artistic expression. It's helping folks to have a stable home and feed their family.

Yet we should remember to raise up our hero cops, be willing to say that many are really good people who put their lives on the line to protect others. We need to know that in our times of great need, when we call for police, they will come. And when we recruit them right, when we train them right, when they are supported right with people trained in empathy and mental health, the entire community can be reassured by their presence. So let's hear it for the hero cops, for those who do it right. Let's hear it for the hero cops who want the scum cops to do hard time for evil murders and lynchings they committed in uniform. After all, it is better to let each person speak from the soul and commit themselves to their own path rather than be spoke for by the actions of those they personally abhor. Let our cops march with black lives matter. Let our cops choose if they want to wear a new uniform that shows their allegiance to the black community. Perhaps that would help to give a better feeling of safety in the community - that there are police who want to visually signal that they are there to serve, that they want to help and reject domination and power methodology.