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I want public safety. Whatever policing is, it’s not public safety. I want to replace it with something that •is•.
I don’t love having a choice between (1) very gradual attempts to lessen the harm of policing versus (2) aggressive attempts to let police brutality run utterly rampant — but that’s where we are in this US national election (re this post from @Nonilex).
Two thoughts on that, neither of which is about the candidates.
First: This sad choice isn’t a function of the candidates, the parties, or even the two-party system. It’s an honest reflection of where people are at in this country — unfortunately.
No candidate moving to replace policing with something radically different (as I would wish) could win a national democratic election in the US.
For candidates to change, we have to change how people see things. Change minds and the candidates will follow.
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Second: Those of us in left-leaning cities often have better choices on the table. Our center of gravity is different from the national one. We can & should try to replace policing with better approaches that actually provide public safety.
Let the national fight and the local fight each take the shape they need. They won’t be the same shape.
IOW: I’ll support in a national election positions I’d oppose in a local one. Politicians are tools, and we always use tools in a context.
/end