US Politics

[Mal]

Yeah, I think at this point there needs to be a leader to all this so that the movement can consolidate around firm ideals. What is obvious is what we have now cannot stay else it'll fester like it did since the original BLM movement in 2016, Rodney King in 1991/1992, the Civil Rights Movement in the 60's and beyond to Jim Crow and slavery. Give black people equality, lest they seek vengeance. 

[deanb]

I'm not sure they're a particular leader that'd want to stick their neck out against the police. Pretty sure I heard of some guy who did that for civil rights n he got shot.

 

From seeing folks post city budgets with police getting exorbitant amount of money it seems clear to me the "defund police" is to massively reduce the spending. Especially to focus it on other places of society. US cops have access to military grade equipment; that shouldn't really be in the budget. In fact the budgeting should be under heavy scrutiny too. Not really super sure on the US situation (apart from having regular police and sheriffs) but a community panel would imo make sense. With strict diversity* guidelines too (though no doubt that'd be buggered with gerrymandering).
 

America is the country that tore off the shackles of being a colony to an empire to come up with the government system it has now, I'm sure "changing the police force for the better" is quite a bit smaller scale goal. A police constitution maybe. It's clear police are a thing to have, but it's also clear the current system is rotten and designed to work against the majority of people. Also not every crime requires people to go in guns blazing. And not every time someone wants police it's for a crime but they're just needing some help. 

 

*I did do a search for "NYPD Equality Report" and just got a page that was making statements like "The NYPD is the most diverse police department in the country" but no actual equality and diversity reporting:

NYPD (multi-billion budget, covers millions of people) - https://www1.nyc.gov/site/nypd/bureaus/administrative/equity-inclusion.page

Durham Constabulary (not a bloody clue on budget but not billions, covers half a million) - https://www.durham.police.uk/About-Us/Pages/Equality, Diversity and Inclusion.aspx
Which reading the report shows there's a less representation in the local police of ethnic minorities than in the community. For NYPD I wouldn't have a clue, which considering they're a public agency should be disconcerting. Though given other day there was a reddit thread that led to people explaining equality forms to Americans is hardly surprising.

[CorgiShinobi]

So that whole "Abolish Police" thing that's completely nuts? It's happening in Seattle.

 

The Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone, or "CHAZ" for short. They want to abolish the Seattle PD, abolish imprisonment, and create "localized anti-crime systems." While representatives of the zone have said they're seeking an unarmed solution, individuals with firearms have been spotted. The goal of this is suppose to be showing a potential peaceful future without police, but I suspect it will do the opposite.

 

Given that this zone is six city blocks of Seattle, Washington, it's not really feasible that this is somehow even remotely a permanent commune. Still, I suspect protesters are aware of that and are seeking to last as long as possible as proof their system will work on a small scale. But all it takes is for shit to hit the fan and mob justice to rear its ugly head. Domestic disputes can't always be talked down nor do I believe most anyone can handle those situations without training.

 

I'll never forget my upstairs neighbor screaming for 911 because of her abusive boyfriend. The cops were over a number of times before, but it went down that Wednesday morning. So yeah, free food and medic stations are all well and good, until it begins running out. How long do you really want to stay to prove your point when others are starting to lose it? How safe are you going to feel when the handful of firearms present represent an absolute power over you? Maybe everyone will get lucky and negotiations can be held, but Trump is apparently anxious to send forces and all that will do is stoke the fire even further.

[TheMightyEthan]

The reporting I saw said that cops aren't patrolling inside the CHAZ, but they are still responding to 911 calls and other emergencies. Which my reaction to that is "shouldn't that be how it is everywhere?"

 

I honestly think the biggest part of the problem is patrol cops. They over-patrol poor/POC areas, and arrest them for petty ass shit that nobody would even notice in other areas, and just generally oppress them.

 

Obviously that's not the whole problem by a long shot, but I think getting rid of patrol would go a long way toward easing tensions between the cops and the community.

[TheMightyEthan]

SCOTUS just ruled 6-3 that federal sex discrimination laws protect LGBTQ employees. Gorsuch of all people wrote the opinion.

 

"An employer who fires an individual for being homosexual or transgender fires that person for traits or actions it would not have questioned in members of a different sex"

 

Finally a ray of light in our dystopian system.

[Mal]

So we're teargassing and rubber bulleting mothers and all that now with unidentified federal agencies? People aren't lying when they say it happens fast. 

[TheMightyEthan]

It's really not fast though, it's in line with what they've been doing for a long long time.

[Mal]

Now that you mentioned it, yeah, a lot of the groundwork was done after 9/11. At least that's the period that stands out in my mind. The Patriot Act, Iraq War, DHS formation and whole lot of other things. You think the water is boiling or at least close?

 

Ugh, what horseshit. 

[Mal]

https://www.npr.org/sections/coronavirus-live-updates/2020/07/30/896714437/3-months-of-hell-u-s-economys-worst-quarter-ever

 

Kind of to be expected but I think it'll get deeper. Our aid was spotty and with much of it aimed to the wrong places. Our responses to the pandemic as a whole is legendarily bad considering the resources and expertise we have. We're in for a long one, one that I wouldn't be surprised that is mostly focused on the US.

[TheMightyEthan]

5% of the population, 25% of the cases

 

What do you mean we're doing bad?

[Mal]

https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2020/09/coronavirus-american-failure/614191/

 

The article to describe and explain the American experience during this pandemic. At least for this moment but this article will be the base which future articles will grow from. This is the sort that you give to people years after this is over and they want to know what's on most of our minds (barring personal experience) when things went to hell. 

 

Well, back to hoofing this moment. 

[TheMightyEthan]

I heard on the radio today that 60% of Americans say we're doing worse than the rest of the world at controlling coronavirus, and my reaction was "only 60%?"

[Mister Jack]

Well Trump's approval rating is around 45% sooo...

[Mal]

This is going to be fun. We have a summer surge and will have a school surge and winter surge. Simply put, it's hard to not be really disillusioned (more than I had) with this fucking country. 

 

And yeah, that 40-45% is his base. Most of them can be on their death bed, lying prone with a tube stuck down their mouths and they won't reconsider their choices.

[TheMightyEthan]

4 hours ago, Mal said:

Most of them can be on their death bed, lying prone with a tube stuck down their mouths

 

One can dream.

[Mal]

Still blows my mind that they (Trump's base and the Republican Party) chose him of all people to die for.

 

Like put aside the following from the article I posted:

Quote

No one should be shocked that a liar who has made almost 20,000 false or misleading claims during his presidency would lie about whether the U.S. had the pandemic under control; that a racist who gave birth to birtherism would do little to stop a virus that was disproportionately killing Black people; that a xenophobe who presided over the creation of new immigrant-detention centers would order meatpacking plants with a substantial immigrant workforce to remain open; that a cruel man devoid of empathy would fail to calm fearful citizens; that a narcissist who cannot stand to be upstaged would refuse to tap the deep well of experts at his disposal; that a scion of nepotism would hand control of a shadow coronavirus task force to his unqualified son-in-law; that an armchair polymath would claim to have a “natural ability” at medicine and display it by wondering out loud about the curative potential of injecting disinfectant; that an egotist incapable of admitting failure would try to distract from his greatest one by blaming China, defunding the WHO, and promoting miracle drugs; or that a president who has been shielded by his party from any shred of accountability would say, when asked about the lack of testing, “I don’t take any responsibility at all.”

You can have multiple other similarly sized allegations (I'm tossing him a bone here), with quotes and record of actions, of how poorly he runs his businesses, how un-Christian he is and MANY other things. He's far from a good and able person by any means.

 

The next six months is going to a show.

[Mister Jack]

I'm not really much of a Biden Stan but I sure hope he beats Trump in an absolute landslide in November. Not just so he'll be indisputably labeled as a loser for the rest of time but also so the GOP might finally be forced to do some god damn introspection for once and ask themselves how they need to change if they want to win next time.

[Mal]

Of course it's a Biden/Harris ticket. Not sure how that will play out but if Biden doesn't come back for 2024 (it's very likely Biden's a one term) it'll be Kamala who don't have the views and stances that I am looking for in a president moving forward. Though, everything is subject to change. Also I guess this hedges DNC's bet. If Harris fizzle out, there can always be a challenger. 

 

Edit: One thing that's probably not going to be talked about on the national stage is how picking Kamala is going to affect California politics. California's governor Gavin Newsom is probably going to gun for Kamala's seat which would give him a foot in the national stage. Guy want's to climb. He's kind of a floppy noodle though. Not sure if being in Washington is going to change him any. If anything he'd turn into the establishment... but he would be overall alright (his overall performance on COVID is alright. Again, flip floppy though). Nothing exciting though. 

 

IDK who would take Gavin's governor position. 

Edited August 12, 2020 by Mal

[TheMightyEthan]

This pretty well sums up how I feel right now...

 

[Mal]

Like sure, I probably won't sleep under the shade of Progress but it been 50-60 years since the Civil Rights Movement. I should live into the 2060's. At that point if we're still in whatever we are in, you got to stop and go:

Then egg your grandchildren to start shit.

[Mal]

I had to look up who Hillary's running mate was. The more I look at the choice (Tim Kaine) the more unbelievable bad it was. 

 

Also I got to say, even though it's still fresh, all this talk about Kamala Harris makes you think she's the presidental nominee. I didn't expect this sort of intensity. Maybe it's because I'm from the Bay Area? How's the discussion about Harris in other parts of the country? 

[Mister Jack]

I have my reservations about Harris as a person but purely from a campaigning standpoint I have to admit she was a pretty shrewd pick. Trump, being Trump, is not going to be able to hit back on her without looking like a huge racist or sexist because he has never heard of subtlety. Which, I mean, he is, but apparently there are still people in this country who haven't made up their minds on that yet for some reason.

[Mal]

Realization: Kamala Harris would probably be better than Joe Biden. 

 

I wouldn't say that for any past president in my lifetime. 

Edited August 13, 2020 by Mal

[Mister Jack]

 

Can people stop doing this shit. It's not like human eyes are equipped with a Watch Dogsesque criminal history scanner. It shouldn't even be part of the conversation.

[Thursday Next]

Stop which bit? Cops killing black people? Or white-washing murderous cops by using their victims' criminal history as justification?