ACAB

 If you know a cop, are married to a cop, are related to a cop, or are otherwise generally cop-friendly:

This will likely be lost on you.  The sharp nature of the acronym leaves little room for your imagination to understand the violent background BIPOC have experienced at the hands of law enforcement, much less the few bad apples who have been out in full force over the last...well, it's seems we're averaging a considerable number of police-related violent civilian deaths of Black People being caught on camera so if you're starting to take notice, it's not because people like myself in my very mild social media advocacy position bring it to your attention every day.

My wife and I had an argument about this recently.  She staunchly sits on the side of understanding that defunding the police is important, that a restructuring of law enforcement is necessary, and that Black Lives Matter.  The issue is:  When you know a cop or are cop-adjacent, and spend time with them, or are friends with them or they're your best friend's spouse:  The idea is likely similar to how people struggle to recognize systemic racism.  A lot of people.  Lots.

To help distill the issue- first up, they might very well be a bastard.  Signing up for law enforcement might give you a feeling of well-being that you are planning on a career of public service and assistance- however your presence, as you are reminded from the first day, is not always met with cheers and adoration.  White people can attest to the feeling when they're pulled over and a cop needs to face the gamut of responses- none of them "THANK GOD YOU NOTICED MY ROSARY WAS OBSTRUCTING MY VISION WHERE IT HANGS FROM MY REARVIEW MIRROR, OFFICER BABY JESUS IN A MANGER I LOVE YOU!"

Good people, good intentioned people, make up all sorts of facets of life and we see them at church, or volunteering for active duty, or erasing graffiti, or doing stand-up comedy, being parents and spouses and relatives.  

We also know being in the military means you have to kill people from time to time, and there can be considerable collateral damage.  Just ask drone operators.  We also know, from church going friends, that not all church-going people are charitable and open-minded.  Even though some of the people that have attended the same church- are.  Seeing where I'm heading yet?

Say you go to church and you marry into your spouses family and start to go to the church your spouse's family has gone (whatever...WELS?  Episcopalian?  Missouri Synod?)  and while you did all your church duties and whatever, the families at this new church- while very nice and pleasant- all sort of adhere to a fairly strict "One Boy, One Girl" view of marriage.  Now, you do musical theater and think that same sex marriage is just fucking marriage and you roll your eyes at the lawn signs the church sells the members and you periodically hear people (in hushed tones) make some comments about the same sex couple with the adopted Korean daughter who used to attend the church.  

But look, your new family LOVES this church and they've ALL got married there and really, it's not like they're sending them literature or anything, but (occasionally) they get a *little* heavy on God's unborn babies in heaven.

Anyway, some- like you, maybe?  Some congregants ain't like that.   They are *good* people.  And you love and support them and roll your eyes when you hear that bullshit in the "CAN YOU BELIEVE THIS SHIT?" kind of way...but y'all still go to church there and it's not like it's closing down.  

Anyway, there are people involved in law enforcement, retired from law enforcement, actively in law enforcement who are "good" people, aka "not bastard people".  Who probably condemn racism, condemn those actions, work for internal affairs and can recognize when poor policing and racist policing takes places.   Except, and here's the things:

1) They can quit.  If you say "well do you want them to just quit?!?!?", that's not the issue at hand here.  And yes, they can quit if they want to.  Because:

2) The foundations of the profession they have chosen have a woven, glued, stamped, tattooed, engrained base that has been formed from racism.  

Go back to number two.  Every time.  Don't put out Venn diagrams, it's not the people you're defending it's the work they are involved in that is *deeply* flawed.  *dangerously* flawed.  They are trained, take classes from, ride with, put on body armor for:  Racism.  

We're all home now, so we have time to examine a lot of this so unpack it now if you have time.  Those tanks, that kevlar, the anti-riot gear...have you ever stopped to wonder what kind of riots exactly our civilized society has been striving for that the police need to keep building up military grade protections year after year?   Look at Kenosha and Ferguson.  Two smallish Midwest cities that have some decently dangerous hardware for "control" purposes.  They gonna bring out the mace and rubber bullets when softball season rolls around and the VFW versus the Knight's of Columbus gets to extra innings and the liquor stores are closed?

Cops are trained to watch out for Black people.  Even in fucking no where smalltown where you live, if a car full of non-whites drives through?  That gets a cops attention, even if they *aren't doing anything wrong*.  Being black is enough for them to be suspects.  Every. Town. In. America.

It's not an either/or.  It's not a "I worry every day" because yes you do.  You worry for your partner/spouse/son/daughter to put on that badge and ...not really enforce the law, when you break it down- you're responding to situations or keeping your eyes out for (BIPOC people) who look suspicious. "THAT'S NOT TRUE!"

Really?

Really really?

 

In short:  Defunding the police means taking away the means that have been put in place and unquestioned for years- tanks, Hummers, full tactical Batman suits, and any new and improved intimidation technology does zero for deescalating and preventing crime.  Creating a force that can address the issues within a community to stem violence, treat mental illness, create outreach and education programs for youth and families-  and yes, family, still have people in squad cars and guns when needed.  The time to acknowledge the violent cornerstones of modern policework is right now, and understanding the sophistication and subtlety with which they've been accepted as mainstream and normalized.