We have dismantled systems that were older and more ingrained in society that policing. If we can end things like monarchal rule and the slave trade, we can end policing.
When my cousin Jason Yang was chased off a bridge by Minneapolis police and fell to his death in 2010, he wasn’t laid to rest for a full year due to all the gaslighting and cover ups from MPD. They’ll continue to kill and lie, and the only way to stop the cycle is abolition.
20 years ago today, Cincinnati was in a “state of emergency” and put under curfew. A police officer killed a 19-year -old named Timothy Thomas. He was the 15th Black man killed by CPD in a 6 year period. People took to the streets and burned the city for 3 days demanding justice
The highly-coordinated effort to drown out calls for defunding and/or abolishing police is not motivated by research-based concerns over the (in)effectiveness of policing or the existing data about public health & safety (all of which favor abolition). It’s about profitability...
We already have many well-researched approaches to addressing public safety in the absence of police. Some are being tested via pilot programs & already seeing success, such as using a non-police response for mental health crises, which are among the majority of 911 calls
Please understand— The tremendous pushback against abolition, the enormous PR push using Black LEOs happening right now, is not about public safety. It’s purely about preserving an institution & industry that is highly profitable to many, many people.
Adam Toledo was loved. He was one of ours, and we are keeping his memory and his Gary ES family in our hearts, along with his mother, family and the people of Little Village. We wish them healing and comfort right now.
Love your children. Love your communities. Love yourselves.
Reminder: Cops lie. Cops lie reflexively. Cops lie even when they know they'll get found out.
@prisonculture and others have been saying this for YEARS.
The idea of “safety” has been sold to us and completely monopolized by police & prisons. They’ve been marketing fear & panic, not actual safety. They’ve convinced so many ppl that w/o police & prisons, safety is utterly impossible. And by doing so they’ve policed our imagination.