The people who say "Don't read anything offensive then." will believe themselves heroes preventing bloodshed when the massacres, mass executions, etc begin, yes.
The problem is that liberals will not like partisans retaliating against the punishers.
This is really hard for me to parse. I think I got it. But it's your point really that liberals are the problem here?
Nah, the problem is people who think they can sit on the fence, while one side is setting the fence on flames, and the other is trying to stop them.
Sure, their part of the fence might not be in flames, yet. But it will be, and if they don't help those who are trying to douse the flames of fascism right now, everyone will burn in them.
Riots are wrong because it makes it easy for the nazis and the ununiformed nazis to get at you and mobilize.
Small, random acts, guerrilla-style, and disappearing just as quickly, that's how you demoralize and hurt them. The resistance in nazi-occupied France didn't cluster up with banners and signs.
The problem is that our needs have become so corporatized that only institutions on the side of the law have automatic staying power. Such a force would need a huge, sustained amount of money and the ability to spend it to afford and pension its soldiers.
Marty: The future, it's where you're going? Doc: That's right, twenty five years into the future. I've always dreamed on seeing the future, looking beyond my years, seeing the progress of mankind. I'll also be able to see who wins the next twenty-five world series.
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HenroidMexican kicked from Immigration ThreadCentrism is Racism :3Registered Userregular
Academically speaking liberals / centrists have paved the way for fascism to take control of countries because they tend to believe The Rules Will Save Us.
Academically speaking liberals / centrists have paved the way for fascism to take control of countries because they tend to believe The Rules Will Save Us.
yeah. Hitler and his people, for example, never had a real political majority. they just had enough to dismantle the state, and enough disdain for the rule of law, and "gentlemen's agreements" to do so.
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BrodyThe WatchThe First ShoreRegistered Userregular
Wait, now the Kentucky AG is trying to say "witness reports" along with the officer testimony says they knocked/announced themselves, but at least one officer was wearing a body cam... Can't you just check the body cam footage?
"I will write your name in the ruin of them. I will paint you across history in the color of their blood."
The road to fascism is paved with dumbass leftists and center-leftists infighting. Don't infight until the fascists are defeated.
When one side is saying "fascists bad, we must take direct action against this" and the other side says "but is it really fascism? I guess we'll write a strongly worded letter" and then decides to condemn the leftists in the same letter, only one side is actually being dumbasses.
I didn't realize there were any in this thread communicating with us.
But it's also so useful information can be conveyed. Like this that I wrote up a while ago in another thread:
Some people are starting to wonder out loud with increasing frequency "what can I do to help?" Sometimes it's in the context of the protests that are ongoing, and sometimes it's in a general sense with the increasing leverage of fascism in the country (more than usual). I decided to compile some suggestions from a podcast (prior to the protests even) into text form, as well as add a few notes of my own. As far as I know, everything here is legal, and it certainly is non-violent and non-escalation in nature. There was on specific note from the podcast that risked both of those things despite being defensive in nature so I'm not including it.
All of these things help as law enforcement continues to attack the citizenry, now with federal support. The best 'weapon' we have right now is unity and support for our local communities and efforts. If I had to set a goal post for this, it's the days after the election when that mess is being sorted. There's 109 days until election day as of this post. Don't be scared, because you're not alone.
Direct Support
- Transportation - If you have a fit enough vehicle, you can help people get around as needed. Not just to and from events, but to places with bathroom access, food, or clinics & hospitals as needed (unless an injury requires life-saving EMT action).
- Medical Aid - The cops are absolutely going to hurt people, as well as outside agitators. If you have medical supplies and/or first-aid training, you are absolutely beneficial to protests.
- Infiltrator Security - Police send plainclothes cops into protest groups. Keep an eye out for ear pieces, and people who are acting suspiciously apart from the protestors. Coordinate with protest leaders on how to handle these individuals (and never use force).
- Escalation Security - Sometimes people who are just stupid show up to these events to escalate things and break the law. Depending on the circumstances, these people can be talked out of it or otherwise prevented with non-violent means. Never turn these people over to the police or inform the police of their presence; it will be used as justification against the crowd.
- Child Care - People have families and they need to be watched over, be it because of protest support, working, or other emergencies. Coordinate with your local communities about how to best do this and always work with multiple people to ensure security.
- Food and Water Distribution - People out there are going to get hungry and thirsty. Basic distribution effort helps a ton!
- Bathroom Access - If you own property on or near a protest route and are comfortable security-wise, you can offer your home or business as a welcome place for people to use the bathroom. Coordinate to get supplies ahead of time.
- Food Preparation - Are you a cook? There's plenty of snack food people can buy ready to eat and distribute, but with the right coordination people can get better meals for themselves during protests. Burgers, salads, sandwiches, whatever you can supply. Providing food for this effort also helps.
- Police Watch - Cops deploy onto the streets before launching attacks. If you're on surrounding streets or near police departments, coordinate with protest leadership on giving them information when cops seem to be mobilizing for violent action. It might save lives.
- Neighborhood Watch - There are awful people who will take advantage of neighborhood streets being empty. Coordinate with your local communities to setup neighborhood watches; no single one or two people on a street, in case there are infiltrators trying to use this as a means to make things worse.
- Cheerleader / Antifa-Mom - Sometimes people just need moral support, which is why people are gathering in the first place. With consent, sometimes a hug can go a long way.
- Pandemic Protection - If you have access to medical equipment pertaining to stopping the spread of COVID-19 please share it with protestors who might not have it.
- Organization - Do you have a knack for organization work? Spreadsheets, phone research and information gathering, etc? You're a valuable asset to protest leadership, if not prepared to start protests in your local area. The needs depend on each locality, so there's plenty of variation here. Never collect private identifying info on people; it might get obtained by the police (especially through confiscated phones).
Remote Support
- Counter-Propaganda - Just as the state and other power interests propagandize, you too can create counter propaganda. Do not make things up. Spread information, discredit efforts by fascists. If you see "antifa" accounts talking about "leadership" call it into question and let people know that such a thing does not exist.
- Identity Protection - This is the big one. Do not share photos and videos of peoples' faces on social media. If you can, provide edited forms of photos and videos that will protect peoples' identities and get those distributed. It will keep the public informed, while at the same time protecting people from getting later targeted by the police or government.
- Stop Internet Sleuthing - People are not as good at internet detective work as they think, and sometimes outside agitators are trying to get innocent people (if not political rivals) targeted wrongly. Discourage internet sleuthing as much as possible. The bottom line is that the people who need to be held accountable proudly show their names and faces on TV and social media. This isn't worth the risk.
- Bail Funds - If you have the money to spare, people can use help getting out of jail. The unfortunate side-effect of this is that the state is getting money as a result, but that's a long-term goal to solve. For now people deserve to be out of jail, especially with the pandemic going on.
- Voter Registration - This is an ideal goal and the window is closing depending on states, but people need help registering to vote or related documentation (for example, people in Nevada who want to vote by mail have to send a copy of their ID in). If you have office equipment access that can help, provide it.
- Form Letters to Elected Officials - Are you a skilled writer who can resist the urge to cuss out authority? If so, congrats, you have more restraint than I do. More to the point, write a letter that people can copy and send in to local offices, including your congressional representatives and senators. Also keep the pressure on. Civility helps, even though it's not deserved.
- Education - There's a lot people need to know that they might not. You can help protestors understand things they are fighting for, and probably more helpful you can help arm them with the information and arguments they need to fight against centrists or liberals who maybe might not get it yet. In addition, there are groups looking to seize this moment for their own gain or to possibly disrupt things, such as the "New Black Panthers." This group is not endorsed by original Black Panther members, and worse is divisive with anti-semitism and anti-LGBTQUIA goals. However, there are other groups like the New Afrikan Black Panther Party who are explicitly inclusive in their goals. More people should know about groups like that. Or maybe start them!
- One on One Engagement - Do you know people who are insensitive or maybe on the cusp / at risk of joining supremacists and fascists? You can intervene in this. Not by calling them out - call them in. Have a one on one discussion with them, let them know their shitty joke wasn't funny. That sometimes a laugh is nervous in nature and not actually approval.
- Lawyers - Are you a lawyer or do you know one? Is working pro bono an option? You could be a lot of help. Even working for cheaper than usual can go a long way. I get that's a lot to ask, but people are putting a lot more on the line on top of their financial security as well.
- Inclusivity & Intersectionality - This is big. This isn't just about one group, it isn't a contest about who has it worse. It is about unity. We are all in this together. Do not let people convince you to put up walls between other marginalized groups or social movements. Don't let them convince you that it's "group A's turn not group B's." Outside agitators and the government have a vested interest in the divide & conquer strategy. They will do it on the ground, they will do it on the internet.
If anyone has anything to suggest I add to this please @ me with it (do not @ me for other acknowledgments, it'll make this easier, especially because I'm working on other things on the net at the moment).
The road to fascism is paved with dumbass leftists and center-leftists infighting. Don't infight until the fascists are defeated.
When one side is saying "fascists bad, we must take direct action against this" and the other side says "but is it really fascism? I guess we'll write a strongly worded letter" and then decides to condemn the leftists in the same letter, only one side is actually being dumbasses.
I'm not sure what this scenario has to do with real life though. Either now or in the endless nazi germany analogue people want to bring up.
Like, if you'll note just in this thread the current line of discussion began with "The problem is that liberals ...". Which is, you know, infighting blaming "liberals" for the problem.
I feel really lost with these posts. Are we talking with each other, or obliquely referencing other people and having half conversations in here?
I really try to make sure I don't reference anything not in the past handful of posts without quoting it directly.
But a good chunk of us have been arguing the same topics with each other for 5, 10, or more years and there is a lot of shorthand or assumed things that are easily lost if you aren't in the know.
Everyone would benefit by being as transparent as possible, but also some people use that meta knowledge to say things they might not be able to say outright.
I'd say trying to be clear and including relevant context if it's not overwhelmingly obvious is worthwhile.
Academically speaking liberals / centrists have paved the way for fascism to take control of countries because they tend to believe The Rules Will Save Us.
I really hate lumping liberals and centrists together.
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EncA Fool with CompassionPronouns: He, Him, HisRegistered Userregular
Also, who here is talking about sending a strongly worded letter. Fuck off with that shit.
Are you saying we should do more than just vote? Cause that is not the vibe I get from this forum in the slightest unless the other thing you should do is to tell other people to vote.
Are you saying we should do more than just vote? Cause that is not the vibe I get from this forum in the slightest unless the other thing you should do is to tell other people to vote.
Ideally do more than vote imo. Protest, donate, call others ,tell your friends to vote, etc
Are you saying we should do more than just vote? Cause that is not the vibe I get from this forum in the slightest unless the other thing you should do is to tell other people to vote.
We all need to do a lot more than vote. Voting is not nothing, but, as has been said again and again, much of this police brutality is happening under Democratic mayors and governors. Voting Blue is not a magic cure to the problem.
Are you saying we should do more than just vote? Cause that is not the vibe I get from this forum in the slightest unless the other thing you should do is to tell other people to vote.
We all need to do a lot more than vote. Voting is not nothing, but, as has been said again and again, much of this police brutality is happening under Democratic mayors and governors. Voting Blue is not a magic cure to the problem.
Yeah the fight against police killings and brutality doesn't end if Biden gets elected
Also, who here is talking about sending a strongly worded letter. Fuck off with that shit.
I offer commentary on punditry and social media crap I see. There are mindsets that exist out there and commenting on how ineffective or stupid they are doesn't mean I'm commenting on people here. I can and will do that directly. If you share those mindsets, well, I'm not going to suddenly say "oh I'll go easier on them" because... I don't like them? We're not talking about hypothetical dangers imposed by the police or federal agents. Things have happened, are happening, and are planned to happen. People can offer suggestions on how to stop it or organize for defense / aid, or they can have weird meta discussions about definitions of words as the people around them get literally clubbed in the head and knees and arrested under dubious circumstances.
When someone posts about liberals they're not necessarily referring to you specifically, you don't need to take it personally. Posts yell at people who don't actually post here all the time. I can't count how many 5 paragraph essays yelling at Republicans I've scrolled past. The expression of frustration is for beltway Democrats telling us that actually defunding the police and opposing the Patriot act and so on is just not feasible, and the best we can do is make the bad thing that's going to happen slightly less bad.
Coinage on
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HenroidMexican kicked from Immigration ThreadCentrism is Racism :3Registered Userregular
When someone posts about liberals they're not necessarily referring to you specifically. Posts yell at people who don't actually post here all the time. The expression of frustration is for beltway Democrats telling us that actually defunding the police and opposing the Patriot act and so on is just not feasible.
Seriously. A lot of people talk about Republicans in the abstract and are okay with it.
As soon as any other alignment gets mentioned in the abstract, suddenly it's not an okay thing to do.
Are you saying we should do more than just vote? Cause that is not the vibe I get from this forum in the slightest unless the other thing you should do is to tell other people to vote.
We all need to do a lot more than vote. Voting is not nothing, but, as has been said again and again, much of this police brutality is happening under Democratic mayors and governors. Voting Blue is not a magic cure to the problem.
Voting is more then just "vote for democrats". It's also "vote for candidates pushing police reform platforms in primaries" and things like that.
When someone posts about liberals they're not necessarily referring to you specifically. Posts yell at people who don't actually post here all the time. The expression of frustration is for beltway Democrats telling us that actually defunding the police and opposing the Patriot act and so on is just not feasible.
Seriously. A lot of people talk about Republicans in the abstract and are okay with it.
As soon as any other alignment gets mentioned in the abstract, suddenly it's not an okay thing to do.
If you're (general "you") commenting on something someone said elsewhere, I feel like it would help the thread mood a lot to say so explicitly.
When someone posts about liberals they're not necessarily referring to you specifically. Posts yell at people who don't actually post here all the time. The expression of frustration is for beltway Democrats telling us that actually defunding the police and opposing the Patriot act and so on is just not feasible.
Seriously. A lot of people talk about Republicans in the abstract and are okay with it.
As soon as any other alignment gets mentioned in the abstract, suddenly it's not an okay thing to do.
There was that time less then a year ago when during the holiday merge people were yelled at directly and had that label applied to them pejoratively and some folks have been noticably cagey since.
Like it's a thing we see reminders of here from time to time
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Munkus BeaverYou don't have to attend every argument you are invited to.Philosophy: Stoicism. Politics: Democratic SocialistRegistered User, ClubPAregular
When someone posts about liberals they're not necessarily referring to you specifically. Posts yell at people who don't actually post here all the time. The expression of frustration is for beltway Democrats telling us that actually defunding the police and opposing the Patriot act and so on is just not feasible.
Seriously. A lot of people talk about Republicans in the abstract and are okay with it.
As soon as any other alignment gets mentioned in the abstract, suddenly it's not an okay thing to do.
There was that time less then a year ago when during the holiday merge people were yelled at directly and had that label applied to them pejoratively and some folks have been noticably cagey since.
Like it's a thing we see reminders of here from time to time
Also for a lot of folks "Liberal" has meant "opposes Republicans" for most of their life so they've taken the label with pride. The separation of "Leftist" and "Liberal" is a pretty new phenomena and still largely contained to the internet left.
You can't take it for granted that folks will innately know the gradiations between Liberal, Progressive, Leftist, Socialist &c. Particularly when US culture at large uses the terms pretty much interchangeably.
When someone posts about liberals they're not necessarily referring to you specifically. Posts yell at people who don't actually post here all the time. The expression of frustration is for beltway Democrats telling us that actually defunding the police and opposing the Patriot act and so on is just not feasible.
Seriously. A lot of people talk about Republicans in the abstract and are okay with it.
As soon as any other alignment gets mentioned in the abstract, suddenly it's not an okay thing to do.
There was that time less then a year ago when during the holiday merge people were yelled at directly and had that label applied to them pejoratively and some folks have been noticably cagey since.
Like it's a thing we see reminders of here from time to time
Yeah many people in D&D specifically have been labeled "liberals" by people who also enjoy complaining about liberals.
Also like.... we don't respond to things that random Republican people are saying, especially (and I quote) "social media crap"
This isn't a new thing and it's not being applied specifically to y'all
HenroidMexican kicked from Immigration ThreadCentrism is Racism :3Registered Userregular
If it helps, "liberal" tends to be used in my circles as "advocates for peoples' rights under the law regardless of what they are using those rights for." The ACLU is a good example; they have at times gone to bat for alt-right peoples' speech rights.
It's admittedly mostly derogatory because, frankly, hearing "well they didn't technically do anything wrong" or whatever doesn't really help nor is germane to the broad national topic at hand. Which is to say, yeah, "technically" cops "didn't do anything wrong" under law as it is but it LOOKS EXTREMELY FUCKED UP and maybe we should be changing things. The discussion is changing things and stopping things. Being told variations of "actually it's technically okay" not only pisses people off, but it's the first step in leaning in the direction of endorsement of those things.
If it helps, "liberal" tends to be used in my circles as "advocates for peoples' rights under the law regardless of what they are using those rights for." The ACLU is a good example; they have at times gone to bat for alt-right peoples' speech rights.
It's admittedly mostly derogatory because, frankly, hearing "well they didn't technically do anything wrong" or whatever doesn't really help nor is germane to the broad national topic at hand. Which is to say, yeah, "technically" cops "didn't do anything wrong" under law as it is but it LOOKS EXTREMELY FUCKED UP and maybe we should be changing things. The discussion is changing things and stopping things. Being told variations of "actually it's technically okay" not only pisses people off, but it's the first step in leaning in the direction of endorsement of those things.
This is literally the first time I've ever heard that definition. Huh
Yeah, this is the biggest frustration for me right now with some folks. Part of the solution to cops getting away with being shit, is a political. You can't get the political parts of the solution if not enough people back candidates, at all levels, that are willing to implement those political fixes. If the local democratic mayor and city council refuse to do anything about it. First, you help run a primary campaign against their asses and try getting them voted out. The kicker is, even if you don't get enough votes to oust them, if you get close enough, they'll start listening. If they survive the primary, but don't listen, then show up in the general election and make sure they at least don't get replaced with a republican because republicans have proven they will be worse. Then you try again in the next primary.
Idea being you demonstrate that your vote does matter because you show up to the primary and the general. At some point they either listen or they get ousted. I'll repeat that a ton of local leaders are garbage because so few bother with voting in local elections, since too many people write them off as unimportant and not sexy, but local offices have the most impact on people's lives. Police unions are powerful because they can organize their small group of members to be a significant voting block thanks to piss poor turn out at the local level. If people show up, then that does weaken the police unions if they can no longer be considered a significant voting block.
Also the political aspect isn't mutually exclusive from the action on the street either. Go with both, it gets maximum impact. Politicians that aren't idiots, won't make light of voters that make time to hit the streets because that shows the individual not only votes, but is willing to spend their time advocating for their beliefs. So making an attempt to meet some of that individuals expectations is a good shot at not only getting their vote, but also their endorsement, which could lead to getting other votes. Pissing them off, means not only not get their vote, but could result in anti-endorsement where they encourage people to not vote for the politician that slighted their cause. I mean, there is a reason why old people have outsized influence in politics, it's because they vote and also have time to cause problems for people in office, while most other demographic groups cede influence to them by not doing enough.
If it helps, "liberal" tends to be used in my circles as "advocates for peoples' rights under the law regardless of what they are using those rights for." The ACLU is a good example; they have at times gone to bat for alt-right peoples' speech rights.
It's admittedly mostly derogatory because, frankly, hearing "well they didn't technically do anything wrong" or whatever doesn't really help nor is germane to the broad national topic at hand. Which is to say, yeah, "technically" cops "didn't do anything wrong" under law as it is but it LOOKS EXTREMELY FUCKED UP and maybe we should be changing things. The discussion is changing things and stopping things. Being told variations of "actually it's technically okay" not only pisses people off, but it's the first step in leaning in the direction of endorsement of those things.
This is literally the first time I've ever heard that definition. Huh
Nobody has really put it into words before in my circles but that is pretty much its use. The right-wing uses the term very differently.
I don't wanna lean to hard on the definition thing, I tried swinging it back into how it pertains to this thread. Specifically that different groups in America obviously have different views on the police brutality issue. It's not just a matter of permissive and obstruction of that brutality, but it's other layers, like some weird observational-and-its-far-away-from-me thing some people tend to have. Which... it's not far away at all. It's happened down the block from where anyone in this thread lives (in America), guaranteed. Our first-hand, second, etc encounters with police brutality changes the framing of our posts. I have not been personally brutalized by the police. I've been racially profiled, that's the extent. But the second someone with first-hand experience comes in, be it a user here or someone on the internet / in the news, etc, I defer to them on what's happening and frankly what they say and want to talk about RE: police brutality is WAY more important than what any of us could even dare to say that isn't at the same level.
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Nah, the problem is people who think they can sit on the fence, while one side is setting the fence on flames, and the other is trying to stop them.
Sure, their part of the fence might not be in flames, yet. But it will be, and if they don't help those who are trying to douse the flames of fascism right now, everyone will burn in them.
The problem is that our needs have become so corporatized that only institutions on the side of the law have automatic staying power. Such a force would need a huge, sustained amount of money and the ability to spend it to afford and pension its soldiers.
Doc: That's right, twenty five years into the future. I've always dreamed on seeing the future, looking beyond my years, seeing the progress of mankind. I'll also be able to see who wins the next twenty-five world series.
yeah. Hitler and his people, for example, never had a real political majority. they just had enough to dismantle the state, and enough disdain for the rule of law, and "gentlemen's agreements" to do so.
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When one side is saying "fascists bad, we must take direct action against this" and the other side says "but is it really fascism? I guess we'll write a strongly worded letter" and then decides to condemn the leftists in the same letter, only one side is actually being dumbasses.
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Then why have this thread?
Because, well at least for me, it's literally the only place I can go to talk about these things and not be the only guy who cares.
But it's also so useful information can be conveyed. Like this that I wrote up a while ago in another thread:
Who thinks that posting on DnD will stop fascism?
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Sometimes horses are not quite dead enough.
I'm not sure what this scenario has to do with real life though. Either now or in the endless nazi germany analogue people want to bring up.
Like, if you'll note just in this thread the current line of discussion began with "The problem is that liberals ...". Which is, you know, infighting blaming "liberals" for the problem.
I really try to make sure I don't reference anything not in the past handful of posts without quoting it directly.
But a good chunk of us have been arguing the same topics with each other for 5, 10, or more years and there is a lot of shorthand or assumed things that are easily lost if you aren't in the know.
Everyone would benefit by being as transparent as possible, but also some people use that meta knowledge to say things they might not be able to say outright.
I'd say trying to be clear and including relevant context if it's not overwhelmingly obvious is worthwhile.
I really hate lumping liberals and centrists together.
Are you saying we should do more than just vote? Cause that is not the vibe I get from this forum in the slightest unless the other thing you should do is to tell other people to vote.
Ideally do more than vote imo. Protest, donate, call others ,tell your friends to vote, etc
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We all need to do a lot more than vote. Voting is not nothing, but, as has been said again and again, much of this police brutality is happening under Democratic mayors and governors. Voting Blue is not a magic cure to the problem.
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Yeah the fight against police killings and brutality doesn't end if Biden gets elected
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SO! All that said!
Any questions?
As soon as any other alignment gets mentioned in the abstract, suddenly it's not an okay thing to do.
Voting is more then just "vote for democrats". It's also "vote for candidates pushing police reform platforms in primaries" and things like that.
If you're (general "you") commenting on something someone said elsewhere, I feel like it would help the thread mood a lot to say so explicitly.
There was that time less then a year ago when during the holiday merge people were yelled at directly and had that label applied to them pejoratively and some folks have been noticably cagey since.
Like it's a thing we see reminders of here from time to time
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With six hundred thousand likes and six hundred thousand agrees.
Also for a lot of folks "Liberal" has meant "opposes Republicans" for most of their life so they've taken the label with pride. The separation of "Leftist" and "Liberal" is a pretty new phenomena and still largely contained to the internet left.
You can't take it for granted that folks will innately know the gradiations between Liberal, Progressive, Leftist, Socialist &c. Particularly when US culture at large uses the terms pretty much interchangeably.
Yeah many people in D&D specifically have been labeled "liberals" by people who also enjoy complaining about liberals.
Also like.... we don't respond to things that random Republican people are saying, especially (and I quote) "social media crap"
This isn't a new thing and it's not being applied specifically to y'all
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It's admittedly mostly derogatory because, frankly, hearing "well they didn't technically do anything wrong" or whatever doesn't really help nor is germane to the broad national topic at hand. Which is to say, yeah, "technically" cops "didn't do anything wrong" under law as it is but it LOOKS EXTREMELY FUCKED UP and maybe we should be changing things. The discussion is changing things and stopping things. Being told variations of "actually it's technically okay" not only pisses people off, but it's the first step in leaning in the direction of endorsement of those things.
This is literally the first time I've ever heard that definition. Huh
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Yeah, this is the biggest frustration for me right now with some folks. Part of the solution to cops getting away with being shit, is a political. You can't get the political parts of the solution if not enough people back candidates, at all levels, that are willing to implement those political fixes. If the local democratic mayor and city council refuse to do anything about it. First, you help run a primary campaign against their asses and try getting them voted out. The kicker is, even if you don't get enough votes to oust them, if you get close enough, they'll start listening. If they survive the primary, but don't listen, then show up in the general election and make sure they at least don't get replaced with a republican because republicans have proven they will be worse. Then you try again in the next primary.
Idea being you demonstrate that your vote does matter because you show up to the primary and the general. At some point they either listen or they get ousted. I'll repeat that a ton of local leaders are garbage because so few bother with voting in local elections, since too many people write them off as unimportant and not sexy, but local offices have the most impact on people's lives. Police unions are powerful because they can organize their small group of members to be a significant voting block thanks to piss poor turn out at the local level. If people show up, then that does weaken the police unions if they can no longer be considered a significant voting block.
Also the political aspect isn't mutually exclusive from the action on the street either. Go with both, it gets maximum impact. Politicians that aren't idiots, won't make light of voters that make time to hit the streets because that shows the individual not only votes, but is willing to spend their time advocating for their beliefs. So making an attempt to meet some of that individuals expectations is a good shot at not only getting their vote, but also their endorsement, which could lead to getting other votes. Pissing them off, means not only not get their vote, but could result in anti-endorsement where they encourage people to not vote for the politician that slighted their cause. I mean, there is a reason why old people have outsized influence in politics, it's because they vote and also have time to cause problems for people in office, while most other demographic groups cede influence to them by not doing enough.
battletag: Millin#1360
Nice chart to figure out how honest a news source is.
I don't wanna lean to hard on the definition thing, I tried swinging it back into how it pertains to this thread. Specifically that different groups in America obviously have different views on the police brutality issue. It's not just a matter of permissive and obstruction of that brutality, but it's other layers, like some weird observational-and-its-far-away-from-me thing some people tend to have. Which... it's not far away at all. It's happened down the block from where anyone in this thread lives (in America), guaranteed. Our first-hand, second, etc encounters with police brutality changes the framing of our posts. I have not been personally brutalized by the police. I've been racially profiled, that's the extent. But the second someone with first-hand experience comes in, be it a user here or someone on the internet / in the news, etc, I defer to them on what's happening and frankly what they say and want to talk about RE: police brutality is WAY more important than what any of us could even dare to say that isn't at the same level.
yyyyeeeep.