Great post, Sara. And hello, Wendell! You are adorable.
I've had a ton of things to rethink in the last year as I've become more radicalized than ever. I think the biggest thing would be the idea that police are necessary and generally benevolent contributors to the good of the society. I don't think I've carried a more wrong idea in my head as this. When one learns the history of police, and talk and LISTEN to people who experience oppression from police, who have justifiable reason to fear them no matter where they meet them, you'll know that story is false. In Missoula, people say, "Oh, but cops aren't bad here." That's because we are like 98% white folks. Ask the 2% what they think. Check your privilege. It is an institution that needs torn down and completely overhauled.
Ohh such a good one! This would be one for me too.
Back after George Floyd's murder, I was skeptical about the defund the police response because I just accepted that we needed police, but after listening to lots of not-white folks explaining their experience + what a world without police might look like, I realized I was lacking in imagination, curiosity, and empathy about the institution itself. Gardeners know that when the roots are rotten, there's no saving the plant/tree. The roots of policing are rotten, so, like you said, the whole thing needs to be pulled out by the roots and probably replaced by several different types of institutions instead of one broken institution trying to hold too much.
Great post, Sara. And hello, Wendell! You are adorable.
I've had a ton of things to rethink in the last year as I've become more radicalized than ever. I think the biggest thing would be the idea that police are necessary and generally benevolent contributors to the good of the society. I don't think I've carried a more wrong idea in my head as this. When one learns the history of police, and talk and LISTEN to people who experience oppression from police, who have justifiable reason to fear them no matter where they meet them, you'll know that story is false. In Missoula, people say, "Oh, but cops aren't bad here." That's because we are like 98% white folks. Ask the 2% what they think. Check your privilege. It is an institution that needs torn down and completely overhauled.
Ohh such a good one! This would be one for me too.
Back after George Floyd's murder, I was skeptical about the defund the police response because I just accepted that we needed police, but after listening to lots of not-white folks explaining their experience + what a world without police might look like, I realized I was lacking in imagination, curiosity, and empathy about the institution itself. Gardeners know that when the roots are rotten, there's no saving the plant/tree. The roots of policing are rotten, so, like you said, the whole thing needs to be pulled out by the roots and probably replaced by several different types of institutions instead of one broken institution trying to hold too much.