Monthly Archives: September 2020

Look, folks. The “defund the police” meme was a stupid, lazy mistake-someone trying to put a big idea into a small, bumper sticker-sized slogan, and it’s backfired. Shame on us. The truth is, and you all know it, even though you may pretend to be shocked and outraged by the “anarchists” who want to “defund the police”, I’m a lifelong (63 years) lefty, and I’m here to tell you that nobody wants to shut down the police, and no one wants anarchy in the streets. Nobody. Despite what this President and his believers and spokespeople tell you, inciting fear and loathing for the people who are angry about the power and violence that seems to be built into the police departments of cities around the country we are not calling for the elimination of the police. Those you brand as “Antifa” don’t want chaos and violence any more than you do. And if you’re sure it’s that group of folks you fear, know this- most (nearly ALL) of us want nothing to do with them-as I hope you feel about the KKK, “Boogieboys” or Qanon who hijack your reputations. What we are trying to say is that we are not out to turn our country into a “socialist state”. We are not for a government that wants to keep you locked up and to tell you how to live. We don’t want that any more than any one of you. What we do want is for the people of this country to acknowledge that while our country is a wonderful, strong nation, we are not perfect and never have been. We want to acknowledge that there is an unequal access to most things for some, and the most obviously one-sided and dangerous thing right now is the disparity in justice for folks who are black, brown, and poor. It is the endless roadblocks to housing, employment, health care, education, and wealth, and especially the repeated violence of police-white police- against black men that has created the violence and anger that has spilled into the streets. The “defund the police” thing is a shortened way of saying that rather than filling police departments with enough military firepower to create a war, and then handing that firepower to poorly-trained, uneducated young men with with a desire to “save the world” and be a hero or prove his manhood is a recipe for disaster from the start. The “defund the police” call is saying that it’s time to take the money that’s been set up to give military-level weaponry to fight against our own citizens and use it to better train the police, and better educate them. It’s saying that it’s time to redistribute some of that money into programs for community policing programs, uplifting neighborhoods, providing physical and mental health care for everyone, including rehab programs for drug addicts and those formerly incarcerated, and more assets and attention to understanding of, resolutions for, and the bitter effects of poverty and bigotry on individuals and communities. It might take a bit of discomfort for you to consider that what the police in our country are afraid of is the same thing the police in all fascist nations fear, and that causes all of that poison and anxiety and terror to threaten law enforcement- it is the knowledge that everyone they see or are called to assist is quite possibly in possession of at least one firearm. Oh, the idea that someone’s precious second amendment rights may be stepped on is a horror. It’s ironic then, isn’t it? That the very “right” they fight for so strenuously has caused the greatest fear that the police have nowadays in doing their job. Those who are insistent upon their “right” to own and carry weapons whenever & wherever they please, for “protection” or intimidation are the creators of the biggest problem the police face, and is the thing that makes their trigger fingers twitch as they walk out the doors of their stations. Tough to “protect and serve” when you can’t tell who needs protecting from who needs arresting. Put together the elements of bigotry, abuse, and fear and there will never be peace. We aren’t saying we don’t want to have law enforcement; what we are saying is that we want to stop throwing more & more money and fatal weapons at police, hoping that by doing the same thing over & over, they will create a different result one day. Rather, let’s take some of that military funding and spend more of it toward finding ways of PREVENTING violence and desperation in the first place. Not only will the communities feel safer, so will the cops. This campaign cycle is already ugly; it’s going to get a lot worse, and you all know why. It is Donald Trump. Plain and simple. That’s not a future tense-his brand of ugliness started before Obama was ever in office, but became obsessive when he became President. His belief that no black man should be President has never been a secret, and his rage over the fact that not only was a black man President, he was a well-respected, honored, immensely intelligent black man who managed to dig our country of a dangerous financial depression and left office beloved by millions around the world. There is no doubt that, whether you believe the man is guilty of the many crimes he’s been accused of, or maybe you can get past his association with criminals that he’s hired, then fired, and who have subsequently been arrested and sent to prison; or even if you buy into his fake “Christianity”, and his pretending to be a “moral” man of fine character, (all of which are delusional fantasies he’s sought to implant in your brains) you undoubtedly know that his claim that “Sleepy Joe” is going create chaos and anarchy and set the world on fire is ridiculously stupid on its face. First, is he “Sleepy Joe” or is he Josef Stalin? Is there a way to be both? Hardly. But he offers up two different disparaging monikers so you have a choice of which one you relate to best. But really, you do know, (or can find out if you are interested) that Joe Biden has spent the last 30+ years in public service, actually giving a damn about this country and it’s people instead of his own pocketbook and ego. And besides, all the terrible things Trump is threatening WILL happen in the future under a Joe Biden presidency are already happening NOW! Under THIS president! You remember how violent and destructive it was when Obama had that spiteful Joe Biden as his menacing and vindictive VP, right? And how everyone was so afraid of Biden’s malicious temper and his use of belittling nicknames and obsessive need to prove his “greatness” at the cost of destroying everyone around him? What a miserable time it was.... Oh, wait...that’s not what it was like...the leaders of our country then, while obviously not perfect (but who were actually humble enough to admit that) were calm, informed and dignified all those many years ago. Remember? Back when the rest of the world didn’t consider our once revered nation a complete laughingstock... Or could never believe that we would align with the world’s most dangerous despots and dismiss our allies...or that we would become a people to be pitied or dismissed. No. The thing is, that is exactly what’s happening right now as you read this. As our soldiers still languish in wars promised to end. As our families, friends and neighbors die of a virus that he knew was deadly but refused to act because the earliest victims were old and predominantly black and brown, and who bold-face lied about it to his own citizens. And lied. And lied some more. And as our longest lasting, most aggressive nemesis manipulates our democratic elections in order to prove that the great experiment in democracy has failed. Think about those things. Think about what your words and choices really are, and what your vote says about you in the eyes of your children and grandchildren.