While I certainly understand how Trump might try to blow up a minority leftist view (that is wildly distorted and misrepresented) into a political talking point, his effort actually speaks to his desperation because the effort ultimately backfires.
Yes, there is a minority viewpoint that was to defund and disband some police departments in some areas where they are troubled, ineffective and counterproductive, but the fact that JOE BIDEN OPPOSES THAT VIEW, and puts him (yet again) at odds with the most PROgressive elements of the Democratic party (and other PROgressives), actually makes Biden seem to be arguing against the more radical voices and places Biden firmly in the mainstream of middle America.
And as for that defund/dismantle viewpoint, even though Biden rejects it (though Trump will, as usual, lie and say the opposite), the view itself is wildly misunderstood and misrepresented.
The idea behind “defund and dismantle” is that some police forces are just so corrupt and brutal that they cannot be reformed. They must be defunded, dismantled and then REPLACED with new systems of PUBLIC SAFETY agencies in which the first strategy is PROACTIVE — addressing social issues to prevent crises (the fence at the TOP of the cliff preferable to relying mostly on ambulances at the bottom) — and when REACTIVE measures do become necessary, initial contact is not aggressive and hostile, but focused on mediation, de-escalation and easing of tensions — use of counselors and mediators and using force only as a RARE last resort. We need systems of PUBLIC SAFETY that actually make the public safer and not in fear that those who are supposed to “protect and serve” will come into their neighborhoods and “point and shoot.”
When you have an old car that keeps breaking down, and you have to keep pouring money into repeated repairs, at some point you say it’s time to stop throwing away money on a lost cause, you get rid of the junker, and you buy a whole new car.
While I certainly understand how Trump might try to blow up a minority leftist view (that is wildly distorted and misrepresented) into a political talking point, his effort actually speaks to his desperation because the effort ultimately backfires.
Yes, there is a minority viewpoint that was to defund and disband some police departments in some areas where they are troubled, ineffective and counterproductive, but the fact that JOE BIDEN OPPOSES THAT VIEW, and puts him (yet again) at odds with the most PROgressive elements of the Democratic party (and other PROgressives), actually makes Biden seem to be arguing against the more radical voices and places Biden firmly in the mainstream of middle America.
And as for that defund/dismantle viewpoint, even though Biden rejects it (though Trump will, as usual, lie and say the opposite), the view itself is wildly misunderstood and misrepresented.
The idea behind “defund and dismantle” is that some police forces are just so corrupt and brutal that they cannot be reformed. They must be defunded, dismantled and then REPLACED with new systems of PUBLIC SAFETY agencies in which the first strategy is PROACTIVE — addressing social issues to prevent crises (the fence at the TOP of the cliff preferable to relying mostly on ambulances at the bottom) — and when REACTIVE measures do become necessary, initial contact is not aggressive and hostile, but focused on mediation, de-escalation and easing of tensions — use of counselors and mediators and using force only as a RARE last resort. We need systems of PUBLIC SAFETY that actually make the public safer and not in fear that those who are supposed to “protect and serve” will come into their neighborhoods and “point and shoot.”
When you have an old car that keeps breaking down, and you have to keep pouring money into repeated repairs, at some point you say it’s time to stop throwing away money on a lost cause, you get rid of the junker, and you buy a whole new car.