I have to wonder if the original idea for Defund the Police was planted by the Right Wing

[mtnsnake]

because it seemed like the instant that slogan hit the air waves, the "Back The Blue" signs appeared in every other yard that had Republican campaign signs in them. Defund the Police was such a catastrophic slogan that it could have cost us the election if we had been running against any other Republican candidate other than an incumbent moron, Donald J Trump. Was the slogan really coined by someone with good intentions, or do you think it could have been a Republican brain trust who nefariously suggested the idea for it?

Maybe in 2022 we can pin something that's borderline catastrophic on the Republicans, something like "Defund The Firemen" and have our "Support The Firemen" signs ready to rock and roll in our yards. Okay, maybe I'm being a little facetious with that example, but I wish our own think tanks would come up with some good ideas to stir up shit for the other side once in a while. Any thoughts?

[Hoyt]

1. Don't think we can blame "Defund" on GOPers. We just need to watch

how we frame things, even when everyone knows “defund” meant “reform.”

[AnyFunctioningAdult]

5. It especially becomes difficult

When you have a loud minority of voices on social media saying things like "Yes we literally mean defund."

[Ahpook]

12. Yes

I always took it as reform, which is badly needed.

Tighter screening, perhaps?

I've known quite a few cool street cops that could have busted my ass up and down, but they were cool under the circumstances, and so was I. It was an obvious respect on both sides that was very noticeable. Nothing serious, just some weed!

Then there is that rogue percentage you hope to never experience. I've never been shot at for the color of my skin, but certainly experienced a few problems.

We had one in Daytona that planted an empty, but had residue, baggie of cocaine in my car as he "searched" it. He threw out all kinds of threats, and what he could do to us, but eventually let us go. I still don't know what that shit was about!

Some of the rookie cops are the worst! They want that first bust, and itch for it.

[NurseJackie]

2. It's a possibility.

[JI7]

3. No. but they use it to attack other Democrats.

[BarackTheVote]

4. Yeah, the idea to defund was planted by Right Wingers...

when racist fascist cops were caught on camera murdering people of color.

[GulfCoast66]

6. Will the folks on DU ever understand

That there are some on the left of the political spectrum who don’t give a shit about the Democratic Party? The anarchist hate all organized parties.

The true socialist don’t like us because we are not socialist. Never have been, never will be. Not even close.

Not suggesting that all the folks that talked about defunding the police fall into that category. But many do.

[klook]

7. Jelani Cobb discusses this very question on Preet Bharara's most recent podcast.

According to Cobb, while the lightning rod phrase “Defund the Police” is more recent, the concept goes back decades and originated with mainstream politicians and in fact the police themselves.

Many cops (and police chiefs) don’t want to be responsible for mental health issues, for example. They just want their purview to be law enforcement.

Cobb, as a journalist and historian who’s covered policing and law enforcement policy since the Amadou Diallo murder, is in a position to know, so I trust his perspective on this.

He does seem to think that the phrase “Defund the Police” is problematic from a political perspective, but not the ideas it represents. He also has some interesting comments about the distinctions between BLM and AntiFa.

https://cafe.com/stay-tuned/why-biden-won-with-jelani-cobb/

[underpants]

15. Thank you. Good information

[alittlelark]

8. I'm sure is was well planned.

[Me.]

9. Seems LIke It's Already Being Done By MIdas Touch

[liberal N proud]

10. No, but it was framed incorrectly allowing them to exploit it

Defund the police was originally an idea to divert funds to mental health programs and drug prevention and treatment with the idea that less could be spent on law enforcement if certain things were treated differently.

The republicans took defund police and played right into fear of less law enforcement.

Democrats are terrible at doing this with good intentions only to see republicans snatch one line and blow it into a fear to use against them.

[zipplewrath]

11. Our local Police department

They just announced that they'd be sending out unarmed social workers and medical professionals for certain calls involving homelessness, suicide without violence, and apparent mental illness.

This is what the vast majority of "defund" efforts are about. And they are succeeding. There is always a political price for doing the right thing. Demanding, or even expecting that it be done "perfectly" is always generated, and never achieved, but progress proceeds anyway.

MLK was criticized by those otherwise sympathetic with him for the ways he chose to protest. But in the end, it is what was meant by "good trouble". I worry less about people that advocate imperfectly for what is right, than I do those that complain about the imperfections and less about what is wrong.

[underpants]

16. I always took BLM as being for shock value

It startles the listener and should provoke consideration of the issue.

It was quickly seized upon to creative division by offer alternative phrases that put people into camps - All Lives Matter and Blue Lives Matter. So what should be an effective instigator phrase becomes a marking of sides and identity politics.

[Captain Zero]

14. Republicans and TRUMP certainly said it more about Biden

Than Biden ever said it.

Biden never said it.
Once it was out there Republican Propaganda Machine certainly exploited it at every turn.

My 92 yo mother voted for Biden but said HIS 'Defund the Police' really bothered her.