#281
Post rating: +
community control of police at this point in US history is never going to happen unless defunding happens first. unless you think a full blown revolution is just around the corner in which case,

#282
lies half the time
Post rating: +
if you divide my city's 2021 cop budget by the number of cops we got, you find we're planning to spend nearly half a million dollars per porcita
#283
[account deactivated]
#284
[account deactivated]
#285
Post rating: +
it's going to be very instructive to see what shape the pushback opposition to that will take. interesting times ahead
#286
Post rating: +++++
Yesterday protesters in my current very bougie and stratified city of bristol toppled a statue of slaver edward colston and threw him into the harbour close to where his slaves ships docked. people are still whinging about how this should have been done democratically, when there's been pressure on the council for years to put his statue in a museum and rename colston hall, colston street, colston tower, multiple colston schools and abolish colston day, where people celebrate by eating a colston bun, and fuck all has come of it, which is unsurprising when people refer to him as a "divisive figure" and "philanthropist." I shouldn't be surprised at the number of people who flock to defend a 400 year old rich dead guy who murdered and sold humans for a living, but here we are.
#287
lies half the time
Post rating: +++++
all this talk of outside agitators and

“It’s pretty clear the political will is here, and they can’t stop it,” said Williams, noting that even if police officers opposed the move, a vast majority of them live outside of Minneapolis and can’t vote on their elected leaders.

#288
Post rating: +
#289
Post rating: +
.

Edited by solidar ()

#290
[account deactivated]
#291
Post rating: ~
left and right unite and fi--oooh, ewww, hmm. well. just this once
#292
Post rating: +++++
im sure there will be hellworld implications in the future and something possibly worse will fill the vacuum left by the dissolution of city PDs but i gotta tell you that for the moment at least i am riding very, very high thinking about how mad the cops are about this
#293
Post rating: +
.

Edited by solidar ()

#294
Post rating: +++++
This is really showing the difference between liberal and radical groups on the ground, the radicals are calling for abolishment of police, community control, or defunding the police while liberals are treating this as a victory. In a sense, this can be understood as a victory because the liberals are scrambling to negotiate to sap power from the movement. I’m relatively optimistic on how things are trending so far
#295
Post rating: +




#296
Post rating: +
Black people kneel like this


White people kneel like this
#297
Post rating: ~


looks like the cops have turned to the FBI for help after the city PD false flag attack fell apart yesterday.
#298
[account deactivated]
#299
Post rating: +
Going by the state of her face I'd say she'd be very pleased to know she reminds anyone of a teenager
#300
[account deactivated]
#301
Post rating: +
thats a very ambiguous message.
#302
Post rating: +
Here's where the different leftist parties stand on the defunding the police, abolishing the police, and community control.

psl:
Initial statement: https://www.liberationnews.org/psl-statement-justice-for-george-floyd/

We cannot depend on the Federal Bureau of Investigations, which has begun to look into the killing, for justice. The FBI is a violent state institution that has been wielded as a weapon against the liberation movement of Black people in the United States. The FBI has never been fair and partial to the Black community. Real justice will be brought about when the people organize and fight for their own demands in the face of racist oppression by the U.S. capitalist state. The police will always fulfill their role of being shock troops for white supremacy and capitalism as long as it exists in this racist state.



A lot of their twitter accounts have been calling for defunding the police in various localities, but I haven't seen an organizational statement on where they land.

cpusa:
https://cpusa.org/party_voices/end-the-repression-in-dc/

We call on Mayor Bowser to heed the demands of Black Lives Matter DC as well as BYP100 DC to defund the DC police force, and to back up her dissenting rhetoric with truly dissenting actions. It is not too late for Mayor Bowser to get on the right side of this struggle and meet the demands of protesters in active opposition to a fascistic leader. We implore her to act swiftly in a real showing of solidarity with working class people of color by immediately committing to defund the police and re-route those funds to meaningful public services.



frso:
https://www.fightbacknews.org/2020/6/8/minneapolis-disband-defund-or-community-control-police

“These politicians know that nobody out in the streets for justice likes the police,” says VanPelt. “It’s easy to promise us abolition if you know it’s not in your power to deliver. But in the real world, you can’t just dismantle the police. This whole system of exploitation and white supremacy needs to be dismantled!”

Twin Cities Coalition for Justice 4 Jamar is fighting for community control of police and will formally re-present their proposal to the city council this week.



wwp:
articles going back to 2016 calling for defunding/abolishing the police, replacing with community services
https://www.workers.org/2016/07/26327/amp/

“The ongoing Movement for Black Lives is intensifying the challenge to the structural role of police in maintaining an oppressive system. As the movement against racist state police terror expands, that challenge is growing. In our campaign we say: Defund and disempower the police! On to disarming and abolishing the police!”



swp:
lots of whining about people breaking windows and making fun of them at protests, some choice quotes. they don't have any actual position on next steps but i never pass up an opportunity to make fun of trots
https://themilitant.com/2020/06/06/worldwide-protests-hit-cop-killing-of-george-floyd/

The destructive assaults “are a deadly obstacle to building the fight to end police violence and the struggle to defend working people,” Rosenfeld noted. He pointed out they unnecessarily “give the government a handle to blame protesters, not the cops and their ruthless brutality.” President Donald Trump seized on the looting to threaten to send the military to occupy cities across the country.
...
Hundreds of businesses and other buildings in the Twin Cities have been burned, looted or damaged. The government shut down all public transport. Many gas stations, grocery stores, banks and pharmacies are closed, imposing serious hardships on working people needing medicines, food and public transportation for work.
...
After four days of sizable protests and nights of looting and destruction organized by groups of anarchists, provocateurs and opportunists, Gov. Tim Walz imposed a curfew on both cities and organized the largest mobilization of the state’s National Guard since the second imperialist World War, along with State Police and other area cops.
...
“The killing of George Floyd was horrific,” Rottach told the Militant. “But to have people stripped of the service the post office provides, that hurts the community.”
...
Three young people from Martinsburg carried a sign at the May 29 protest here that read, “Let me kneel on your neck for seven minutes and see if you can breathe.” A few at the action taunted these youth, saying because they are Caucasian they didn’t have a place at the march. Undeterred, they replied that police brutality is their fight as well, winning support from many others who had joined the protest. They stayed.



DSA:
The DSA branches here have been posting lots of defund the police stuff, but the DSA as an organization doesn't believe in anything or stand for anything so whatever

IMT:
Basically their view is that violence is bad and you should join their party to create a real revolution, they claim that the current movement is leaderless and completely spontaneous.
https://socialistrevolution.org/uprising-shakes-the-us-reaping-the-whirlwind/

I'm sure I'm forgetting a bunch of groups, but as usual, the trots somehow have the worst take on this entire thing

Edited by pogfan1996 ()

#303
Post rating: ~
caps has been cancelled. also, cops have been cancelled
#304
Post rating: ~

pogfan1996 posted:

“The killing of George Floyd was horrific,” Rottach told the Militant. “But to have people stripped of the service the post office provides, that hurts the community.”


setting up a mailbox over trotsky's grave so that they'll get over the whole icepick thing

#305
Post rating: +

pogfan1996 posted:

swp:


not sure what's funnier, "the militant dot com", or "The killing of George Floyd was horrific. But"

#306
Post rating: +
“The deaths from the virus are horrific,” Rottach told the Militant. “But to have people stripped of their right to have a hair cut, that hurts the community."
#307
Post rating: ~
the military is currently deployed to the twin cities, guarding a statue of colombus that was taken down by native american activists. thank g*d the military is here to protect the precious symbols of amerika
#308
Post rating: +
Taking down statues is the first step in denazification. Second step? distributing Euro-Amerikans throughout the the third world.
#309
Post rating: +
Also any future communist revolution in North America is lucky that their Kronstadt, the inevitable ultra leftist revolt against proletariat power, will be looking to CHAZ as their guide.
#310
Post rating: ~

Flying_horse_in_saudi_arabia posted:

not sure what's funnier, "the militant dot com", or "The killing of George Floyd was horrific. But"


Pathfinder Press has some interesting books about Cuba I want to read sometime. One is the translated memoirs of a Cuban military officer who commanded troops in Angola. Not sure about that other stuff though.

#311
Post rating: ~
i feel like i am missing something here. like my take is the cops retreated partly to let the protesters get it out of their system and partly to wait on the new shipment of tear gas and rubber bullets, as i read reports they were running low and the mayor was embarrassed they ignored her 30 day prohibition. so they leave the PD unlocked just in case the protesters wanna commit some telegenic arson and regroup in the meantime. apparently the people in the free zone are talking about this lasting into next year tho? but what is "this"?

i can't help but feel pretty skeptical of where this is all going. feel like we've been here plenty of times before.
#312
Post rating: +
ok someone sent me this

https://medium.com/@seattleblmanon3/the-demands-of-the-collective-black-voices-at-free-capitol-hill-to-the-government-of-seattle-ddaee51d3e47
#313
Post rating: +
It's day 2 and people are getting roughed up by an Airbnb landlord turned judge dredd so I think skepticism is sensible
#314
Post rating: +

overfire posted:

It's day 2 and people are getting roughed up by an Airbnb landlord turned judge dredd so I think skepticism is sensible



aha. felt like i was going a tad insane reading all the uncritical praise. and apparently they can't get rid of this instagram landlord because his faction has the most guns lol. anarchists never disappoint.

#315
Post rating: +
Isn't this just Occupy 2?
#316
Post rating: +

colddays posted:

Isn't this just Occupy 2?


yeah but some of them have guns now

#317
[account deactivated]
#318
Online
Post rating: +

ghostpinballer posted:

i feel like i am missing something here. like my take is the cops retreated partly to let the protesters get it out of their system and partly to wait on the new shipment of tear gas and rubber bullets, as i read reports they were running low and the mayor was embarrassed they ignored her 30 day prohibition. so they leave the PD unlocked just in case the protesters wanna commit some telegenic arson and regroup in the meantime. apparently the people in the free zone are talking about this lasting into next year tho? but what is "this"?

i can't help but feel pretty skeptical of where this is all going. feel like we've been here plenty of times before.


yeah afaik the cops backed off so people just kind of christened this area with the name, and some volunteers are distributing food or picking up trash... besides the fact that it continues to exist in the absence of police, the most impactful thing seems to be the "Autonomous Zone" branding setting off massive takes from people on all sides



combining it with the set of demands posted previously maybe it's like a bigger more coherent occupy?

Edited by ilmdge ()

#319
Post rating: +
Have we not seen the spontaneous, leaderless thing happen many times within our lifetimes now and become pretty well-versed with the playbook and conclusion? I am a random Brit so I can't go and visit and my opinion really doesn't matter, but this looks like it has 2 weeks tops to me.
#320
UNUSUALY COOL
Post rating: +
I’m the biggest anarcho basher on the forum but if you’re going to parrot cop Nazi shit about Seattle for pseudo-Red cred then imo just log out instead. You’re welcome