LogFAQs > #940620016

I'm having trouble wrapping my mind around this movement. For starters, everyone has a different opinion on what "defunding" means. Some say that it means reform while others are saying it means complete abolishment. It doesn't seem like there is any unified vision for what defunding the police would mean or look like.

Perhaps the most frustrating part of this is that none of these activists seem to propose any realistic alternatives; I've read numerous articles and it seems like they just wanna get rid of the police and be done with it. They simply deflect everything and pin it on the police. Concerned about rapists or murderers running free? Well, the cops are rapists and murderers too! How about this proposal for social workers to respond to mental health calls? Are social workers gonna be trained and armed in case of a mentally unstable individual with a weapon? There's so many questions that need to be answered but all these "defund the police" advocates act like all citizens are peaceful people that wouldn't harm a fly if police/poverty didn't drive them to it.

I'm not saying these people are wrong or right, I'm just saying that abolishing police outright seems like the equivalent of cutting off your head because you suffer from migraines. I'd like to have a serious discussion about the issue but it seems like everybody is unwilling to listen to the other side. I agree that we need to end qualified immunity (immediately) in order to hold officers legally accountable for their actions. Police brutality is a huge issue that has affected my own family too. But getting rid of police altogether? I guess I shouldn't be surprised since it's 2020, but this sounds like an AnCap argument, not a liberal argument.