The "Defund the Police" meme?

[mtnsnake]

Considering everything Joe Biden was going up against, I think we are so fortunate to have come out ahead. Having said that, I have to wonder if the slogan "Defund the Police" may have cost Biden hundreds of thousands, maybe millions of votes with Independents and other fence sitters who were trying to decide who to vote for. Surely we can come up with better wording for memes than that, or better yet, no meme at all where one wasn't needed. Everyone already knew that Biden and Harris were going to do their absolute best to reform the police departments, so there was no need to come up with a slogan that the despicable Right could seize upon and use for an effective battle cry against us with their own "Back the Blue" meme, pitting us against police forces all across the country.

Thank goodness the ever alert Joe Biden was right on the ball when he came out and said "I’m totally opposed to defunding the police officers," keeping the damage to a minimum as best he could. Biden saved our asses over and over again during this campaign.

[Claustrum]

1. If there is anything good for republicans, they are very good at messaging and knows

what sounds good and bad to the electorate. They seize on these slogans or terms that scares people if they don't know the issue that well. We need to do better. I cringed the second I heard "defund the police" and "pack the court".

[AleksS]

2. There would never be a "good" time to take on

the corrupt blue establishment. But it had to be done some time. Joe handled it well.

[getagrip_already]

3. It wasn't helpful, and comes up over and over with people in my town.....

Big mistake in wording. Rather than police reform, or demilitarization, they chose a term easily equated with eliminate the police.

That comes from living in a bubble and being convinced or your own superiority. We have our own maga wing, even if nobody will acknowledge it.

[Delarage]

4. "Fund Mental Health"

Or "Fund addiction treatment" aren't as shocking or catchy, but is the gist. Second to rooting out white supremacist bad apples, of course.

[ebbie15644]

8. How about just police reform

[Delarage]

16. Works for me

[ebbie15644]

5. Agree and I was horrified

By our side bot only using this term but defending it. We gave Republicans an opening and people an excuse to vote for that p.o.s

[Nexus2]

18. Agreed

I cringed a little when that phrase came up.

[rockfordfile]

6. First we aren't defunding the police that's stupid. I don't it had any impact.

[MaryMagdaline]

7. All true.

I’m old enough to remember when riots in the streets (1968) cost us a very close election. While Trump’s incompetence early on with COVID hurt him, it also weakened Joe’s ability to get out and campaign and I think towards the end the open up the economy vote hurt us.

Joe ran a great campaign given all we were up against.

[Catherine Vincent]

9. What individual came up with it?

[mtnsnake]

14. I'm guessing it was a republican who came up with it

and planted the seeds for it right into our own garden

[Nexus2]

21. I first heard it among BLM advocates. But that's anecdotal.

[hlthe2b]

10. Say what you will about the R's but they do carefully craft their use of language...

I agree that that phrase was so loaded (and frankly quite understandably misconstrued, EVEN by those of us
supporting the intense need for police reforms).

The RW predictably DID use that against us and against Biden--even while he was clear that "defunding" was not his plan to enact police reform.


I'm not saying we should allow the RW and their willingness to redefine all of our messaging to always drive our use of language--"Black Lives Matter" being one such example where we should NOT.

Still, this was an unforced error that COULD have been quickly nipped in the bud--simply by re-naming the term for the goal.

[uponit7771]

11. No Multiple polls showed that majority of people knew it was sentiment not action or policy that was

... being expressed.

At some point this is looking like winger spew in regards to "defund the police" to excuse horridly wrong polling or Trump cheating

[WhiskeyGrinder]

12. I prefer "abolish the police," which is a policy, not a meme.

[KentuckyWoman]

13. Let the meme die.

I don't know who actually started that idiocy but they intended to hurt local and state Democrats.

[Autumn]

15. Yes we should have done better on that. I saw a couple of Reps saying defund the police

didn't necessarily mean do away with the police. It means that most police departments take up a huge chunk of a cities budget. They toss money away on unnecessary purchases and they should have to budget their money like other organizations do and some funds should be allocated for other needs of the community like Social services.. Democratic leadership dropped the ball on that, that should have been shouted from every screen.

https://traindemocrats.org/what-does-defund-the-police-mean/

So… Where Does the Money Go?
While divesting from the police, the “Defund the Police” movement seeks simultaneous investment in communities—specifically communities of color—who have systematically been denied various services by government agencies due to structural racism.

Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez was asked what America looks like with defunded police, she said:

“It looks like a suburb. When a teenager or preteen does something harmful in a suburb (I say teen bc this is often where lifelong carceral cycles begin for Black and Brown communities), White communities bend over backwards to find alternatives to incarceration for their loved ones to ‘protect their future,’ like community service or rehab or restorative measures. Why don’t we treat Black and Brown people the same way?”

Supporters argue that crime can be prevented if funds are shifted to services that help meet the needs of the people—like food, housing, or mental health services. And, when crime does occur, there’s a focus on development, not punishment.
By shifting to a community-based approach with a focus on safety, support, and prevention, supporters argue that a safer community can exist.

Some cities—such as Camden, New Jersey, that dissolved its police department in 2013 to switch to community-oriented policing—have seen crime rates drop. And, research suggests less crime occurs when there is less policing.

Instead of communities using police who are potentially unfamiliar and unknown in a neighborhood, social workers, mental health providers, advocates, and other trusted people would be empowered and provided resources to care for their communities.

[RelativelyJones]

17. The "Defund" idea is absolutely idiotic and not widely supported. An arrogant move to push it.

[TigressDem]

22. I agree it DOES sound horrible, but it MEANS DETACH the Police Dept and the CORRUPT Union.

In Minneapolis, it was the Police Union that supported the brutal tactics used on George Floyd and defended the perps in blue.

NO ONE should be above the law.

ESPECIALLY the law.

By taking the funding away and reassessing where it goes, the council could severe ties with the Police Union and stop Bob Kroll from shielding officers from consequences of breaking the law, especially murdering people in cold blood with witnesses. THAT should be a no brainer, right? Unless you hail from the REICH.




https://www.mprnews.org/story/2020/06/12/calls-for-mpd-union-leaders-resignation-grow-louder

[TigressDem]

19. RE Form the Police. Police Reform, but major.

SUPPORT ALL THE HARDWORKING POLICE who DON'T commit MURDER in the STREET.

Peace Officers working with community support to DE-Escalate problems VS throwing a lit match on tiny fires causing cities to burn down to the ground.

What kind of protect and serve is it when you snuff the life out of someone for a $20 infraction?

RIP George Floyd.

[Hoyt]

20. Of course "Defund the police" and trump's "they" are going to take over our suburbs BS had impact.

GOPers have been using that junk for decades.

[mtnsnake]

23. It did. Even my 90 yr old neighbor thought that Biden was gonna abolish our local police department

not that I'm sure she would have voted for Joe anyway.