The NC Congress, which took place September 9th, 2017 featured over 40 workshops on leadership skills and local issues, as well as exhibits and officials from every City government department. Headline speakers included Mayor Eric Garcetti. Congress of Neighborhoods / NCCongressLA.com / @nccongressla (Twitter/Facebook/Instagram). All photos by Dusti Cunningham
At The Federalist, John Daniel Davidson explains the push by the radical left to “abolish” or “defund the police.” Davidson notes that this movement isn’t populated solely by loft-dwelling pseudo-intellectual Antifa wokesters or militant BLM members, but includes politicians like Eric Garcetti, previously considered sane. Davidson writes (abridged):
If you thought “abolish the police”—or it’s more moderate iteration, “defund the police”—was just some asinine slogan blue-check journalists, woke academics, and pandering public officials post on Twitter to show they support the Black Lives Matter movement, then you’re not keeping up with the revolution.
This week Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, announced the city would be slashing the police department’s budget by $100 to $150 million and instead “reinvesting in black communities and communities of color.”
In Minneapolis, where George Floyd died in police custody on May 25, kicking off nationwide protests and riots, the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board terminated its contract with the city’s police department on Thursday following a similar move by the city’s school district.
That means the parks will no longer use the city’s police to staff park events, and park police will no longer respond to requests for assistance from city police. It means no more school resource officers in public schools.
Some in Minneapolis want to go even further. This week Rep. Ilhan Omar endorsed the idea of disbanding the Minneapolis Police Department, an idea put forward by a Minneapolis City Council member who wants to “reimagine what public safety means,” and “reinvest in cultural competency and mental health training, de-escalation and conflict resolution.”
Calls to abolish the police are not about police reform. They are not about fighting for dignity and equal treatment for black Americans. They are not about ending the violence and disorder now gripping our cities. They are not about preserving or restoring an open and liberal society.
They are about power. And once the police are out of the way, those who called for abolishing them intend to wield it.
John is the Political Editor at The Federalist.
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