zlacker

>>srames+(OP)
It has been terrifying and astounding to see the police response to protests against brutality with... more brutality.

>>jumell+J5
Versus what though? Outnumbered 25:1, rampant looting and mayhem all around, and seeing your mates hit with bottles of water filled with quikcrete, it doesn’t seem unreasonable to me.

Just because something makes you feel bad for society doesn’t mean the actions at an individual basis are purely malicious or unreasonable.

>>koolba+e6
There have been numerous videos recorded of police brutally assaulting peaceful protestors without any kind of provocation. Just look at Buffalo PD shoving an elderly man to the ground and creating a distraction as the cameras start turning on, or the bystander in Austin who was watching away from any crowds and was sniped with a bean bag round that fractured his skull.

There’s been an unbelievable amount of violence perpetrated by police these last few weeks. You cannot stand by this argument if you’ve been watching the footage.

>>save_f+O6
> There’s been an unbelievable amount of violence perpetrated by police these last few weeks. You cannot stand by this argument if you’ve been watching the footage.

There’s no way you can say with a straight face that the police have committed more acts of violence and destruction than the rioters.

>>koolba+j8
So police violence is OK as long as it’s less than what the protestors do? That’s an absurd argument.

Our taxes pay their salaries, and our taxes also pay their legal settlements and fees when they get caught up killing unarmed black men and women. They live in a system fundamentally devoid of accountability. They deploy tools like tears gas and poorly tested “less lethal” ammunition that still has the ability to permanently and critically injure targets. No amount of violence against peaceful protestors should be tolerated. The police exist to protect the public, not treat them like enemy combatants.

>>save_f+F9
Anyone that showed up to an 11pm “protest” the day after looters and rioters commandeered the previous night’s gathering knows exactly what they’re enabling and and the risks involved. At that point you’re aiding and abetting the actions of the small minority that are directly causing the damage and in doing so you can’t complain to be caught in the literal crossfire.

If a crowd of 1000 people has one person throw a brick at the police. I think it’s well within their rights to tear gas the entire group to disperse them.

>>koolba+kb
My turn: if one cop in a crowd of 1000 commits an act of brutality, then it's well within our rights to defund them all.

>>august+Vb
If by 'our' you mean the Public at Large, it is within your rights to defund them all.

The main counterargument is how would that help? The violent cop would still be violent. If the police were abolished they'd sign up as a violent gang member, and if a new not-police body is created they'd sign up to that instead.

There is always a most-violent gang on the streets; we just call them the police if they are state-sponsored and ask them to follow the law rather than their own opinions. Defunding the police won't help that dynamic.