Political Memes

I'll try to explain something that is fundamental to why right wingers are incapable of understanding what leftist are saying. Then, hopefully, you can reach the answer to this yourself. Leftist aren't saying that there is no need for some form of peace officers.

Right wingers (and really most apolitical people) see the world through the lense of "Ideas". They first define the "idea" of the Police. They look at slogans and ideas like "serve and protect". They see the Police as an institution based on how it is supposed to operate. This is likely what you do. It's how we are taught to think about the structures of society from a young age. It's not unexpected to have this perspective of the world. It's comforting in a lot of ways.

Leftist, on the other hand, do not simply accept the "ideas" alone. The ideas are important. They influence how systems operate and who is given power in society. But, what is most important to a leftist are the material outcomes. Do the material outcomes of the Police fulfill the ideas and purpose that they are supposed to. Who do the Police as an institution "serve" and who/what do they "protect"?

I'll leave that up to you to think about or answer. But, the fundamental problem with trying to convince a right winger is this disconnect. They think the "idea" of Police is being attacked because that's their only understanding of them. They are not subject to their violence, they are not discriminated against by them, and they don't have empathy for those that are. They are mostly entirely disconnected from them in any meaningful material way. Maybe a speeding ticket or an uncle that's a cop and "a nice guy".

When most leftist are talking about "abolish the police" we are not talking about the "idea" of a State operated enforcement agency meant to maintain peace. We are talking about abolishing an institution that does not do that at all. Because we are looking at the material outcomes of what their presence in society actually results in.

If you can understand that. Then that's a great starting point to actually have a conversation about "the Police".

But, right wingers, they can't get that far. They are incapable of thinking that "hmmm, maybe the Police don't actually serve the purpose I think they do". You don't even need to come to that as a conclusion. Maybe, you personally think they do a good job. But questioning the default ideas of a society, looking at the material outcomes of those ideas, and then pointing to their contradictions are fundamentally what leftist do. It's, in a way, a scientific form of thinking. It is taking the hypothesis of what "Police" are meant to do and then testing it on their actual outcomes.

It's often difficult for people to do this for the current structures of society. They are what we are used to and "how could anything be any different" is often the rebuttal to leftist ideas.

However, it's really obvious to apply this form of thinking to the past. Feudalism, Slavery, Woman's Suffrage, Apartheid, etc. Its easy to look back and say "well, clearly those things were bad". But, at the time, there was the same right wing though attempting to prevent progress by defending the "idea of the King" or "the idea of White/Male supremacy".

Sorry. This was longer than I meant it to be. But sometimes I gotta type out what I believe and why I believe it to solidify my own understanding of it. Hope the rant was worth a read.

But, if you can understand this, you'll see it a lot. You'll see a conservative defending the "ideas" of something and using everything they can to deny the criticisms of the outcomes. It's why they get stuck on "slogans". They live in a world of Ideas alone.

He's making shit up. The left was totally for less policing not to scare the minorities. There were very reasonable arguments for demilitarizing police and moving the resources to crime prevention and social services, there were batshit crazy arguments for completely abolishing the police and middle ground arguments for limiting the numbers of police officers. They are now pretending that everything other than the reasonable takes was invented by the right.