You don't have to be racist to participate in systemic racism.
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mekka okereke :verified:replied to mekka okereke :verified: on last edited by
When people say, "Fewer cops reduces crime" they're not being hyperbolic. US policing is so violent and racist, that the only thing that has been consistently shown to reduce the level of police violence against Black people is... not having police there at all.
Reduce the number of police interactions, and reduce the number of negative police interactions experienced by Black people. Solve problems without guns.
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Misuse Casereplied to mekka okereke :verified: last edited by
@mekkaokereke Most police departments, if not all of them, behave like shitty state-backed protection rackets. So of course they make crime worse. They are committing a lot of crimes.
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Paul Cantrellreplied to Misuse Case last edited by [email protected]
@MisuseCase @mekkaokereke
For anyone whose response to “police behave like shitty state-backed protection rackets” is “huh?” or “show me!,” hoo boy do I have a story for you:Small business owners say they're pressured to hire off-duty MPD cops for security • Minnesota Reformer
Small business owners — particularly immigrant owned — say they've been pressured by police to hire off-duty officers to provide security.
Minnesota Reformer (minnesotareformer.com)
I live in the neighborhood, I know what these cops are like, and still…the number of times my jaw dropped reading that article….
(For those who don’t live in the neighborhood: El Nuevo Rodeo was a short block away from the 3rd precinct, epicenter of the George Floyd uprising.)
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🍥SarahBurnout🍥replied to Paul Cantrell last edited by
minnesota ought to follow california's lead and require even law enforcement to be licensed as private security guards to prevent this. following the same model, private security guards are required to work for a private security company and freelancing is forbidden. also, even leo's must have the same weapons permits security guards must have to possess them on the job. no permits==no weapons, no exceptions.
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Paul Cantrellreplied to 🍥SarahBurnout🍥 last edited by [email protected]
@homelessjun @MisuseCase @mekkaokereke Yeah, I think there’s a whole low of painfully obvious low-hanging policy fruit here that would help rein in police brutality.
The question is why such things have trouble making it through even a solidly left-leaning city’s local government. (If you want me to turn green and gigantic and start smashing things, ask me about the first Minneapolis city election post-George-Floyd.)
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🍥SarahBurnout🍥replied to Paul Cantrell last edited by
cities are often in thrall to law enforcement, or at least too weak to stand up to them.
changes must occur at the state level.
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Paul Cantrellreplied to 🍥SarahBurnout🍥 last edited by
@homelessjun @MisuseCase @mekkaokereke
I’m open to trying any available avenue to rein in the lawlessness of police, though I suspect a state-level approach may work better in CA than in closely divided MN. Even some pretty basic reforms have struggled at the state level here. (Though to the credit of Gov Walz and AG Ellison, the executive branch has accomplished some important things: Chauvin conviction, scathing MPD report, consent decree) -
🍥SarahBurnout🍥replied to Paul Cantrell last edited by
indeed. it wasn't easy but it was done, bit by bit, and rather quietly. iirc, it took over 30 years just to get to where police had to follow the same rules every other privacy security guard and company had to.
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Paul Cantrellreplied to 🍥SarahBurnout🍥 last edited by
@homelessjun @MisuseCase @mekkaokereke
Well, here’s hoping we follow that example over here! I realize these things take time…but dang it, it’s already •been• a really long time. I’ll take heart from what you said. -
🍥SarahBurnout🍥replied to Paul Cantrell last edited by
i hope it happens. in the long term, it is to everyone's benefit, even law enforcement's.
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@inthehands @homelessjun @MisuseCase @mekkaokereke it’s not much of a question when you realize that any change to the law gets turned into a police labor issue, and the union will just stop working… much like they did after the Floyd protests. When cops stop showing up to white folks’ calls, and local news orgs (who need police favor if they want to get statements on breaking news) run articles about how crime is in the rise (regardless of reality), citing statements from police, white donors stop donating or switch to whatever “law and order” candidate is the most oppressive. Sometimes it’s a retired cop.
The whole system of civic violence is broken, but so entrenched it will require a substantial, determined force to dislodge it.
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@homelessjun @inthehands @MisuseCase @mekkaokereke
It's also worth remembering that even the slightest pushback can result in quite a lot of nastiness. Remember this whole thing?NYPD Union Doxes Mayor's Daughter on Twitter
A New York City Police Department union known for its controversial attacks against Mayor Bill de Blasio tweeted out the personally identifying
Gizmodo (gizmodo.com)
They basically threatened the sitting mayor's daughter, and effectively got off without any reprisals. This is...kind of horrific when you think about it.
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@mathaetaes @homelessjun @MisuseCase @mekkaokereke
100% accurate that Mpls Police went on invisible strike post-uprising. Folks had sulky officers delaying responses or even openly refusing to answer 911 calls.And police deliberately fomented the violence of the uprising itself, amped it up past the breaking point. Actively stopped firefighters from putting out fires.
I wish all this were more widely understood — nationally, and even here in the city.
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@homelessjun @inthehands @MisuseCase @mekkaokereke
I know a couple of people who were licensed security guards in CA. They were unarmed guards by choice - they'd passed the (very easy at the time) test to be armed. -
@PJ_Evans
Smart people. -
@inthehands While serving as a firefighter/EMT, I was twice stopped from rendering aid to a shooting victim because it would “contaminate “ the crime scene. @mathaetaes @homelessjun @MisuseCase @mekkaokereke @Itchy
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Kevin LaRose He/Himreplied to Paul Cantrell last edited by
@inthehands @RamenCatholic @mathaetaes @homelessjun @MisuseCase @mekkaokereke Of course #Trump is claiming that #Minneapolis was completely burned down and they never built it back. Of course he says the same thing about #Portland as well. So far as I know both cities are still alive and kicking.
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Michael Buschreplied to Kevin LaRose He/Him last edited by
@Thumper1964 @inthehands @RamenCatholic @mathaetaes @homelessjun @MisuseCase @mekkaokereke A group of MNGOP and allied media outlets have lately been pretending that the Twin Cities burned to the ground 4 years ago - while standing in a crowd of 100,000 people on the fair grounds between St. Paul and Minneapolis.
No lie too outrageous for the bigots.
But the DFL has also not acted to stop offenses by police (instead, the mayor of Minneapolis wants to give MPD more money for no good reason).
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Ben Ford :grinchsmile:replied to Paul Cantrell last edited by
@inthehands @mathaetaes @homelessjun @MisuseCase @mekkaokereke here in Portland too
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Morten Grøftehaugereplied to Paul Cantrell last edited by
@inthehands @MisuseCase @mekkaokereke Wait so Chauvin knew Floyd from his extra gig running a protection racket?