addctd2badideas

t1_j9u4lu4 wrote

>There are so many things wrapped up in this. It's hard to unwrap.

That's an understatement. It's made more challenging by the fact that the upper command is full of people who are either flat-out lying about their purview and abilities or are just dumb.

I had an exchange with a former district commander that's now a major at headquarters and when she explained how her officers operate according to the consent decree, it was like she had read an entirely different document.

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t1_j9tzdm2 wrote

I'm not interested in defunding the police, but rather reforming them to where they're virtually unrecognizable from who they are now. Even if you're ideologically lazy with all the "ACAB" nonsense, we still need the police. Even if you have fully funded social programs to address generational poverty and violence, you still need to stabilize public safety so folks have a chance to heal and improve their community. Not to mention the right of citizens to be able to walk out of their houses without encountering open-air opioid markets and dodging crossfire.

Now, the optimal thing would be that we have enough police to actually do the job. It'd also be nice if the current ones would do their job at all (and do so while not violating the most basic of civil rights). I lost the point where this all had to be ideological. The police, particularly the union, are such a bunch of snowflakes, making out their job to be part of their political identity.

If Wes Moore can somehow thread the needle that reassures the police, giving them a proverbial pat on the head with a "good job" while addressing inequality, civil rights and public safety at the same time, I would be ecstatic.

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t1_j80hsm4 wrote

While it's not debatable that poor bus service will affect Black folk more than White, the Banner's readership is predominantly White so if they're trying to make an argument and all previous arguments that have focused on the plight of Black folk don't get traction, then you sometimes have to meet your audience where they are instead of the other way around. Given our tribal instincts as humans and the way our social structures have been so segregated, it does stand to reason that a piece would focus on someone that can explain why an issue is important in a way readers will relate.

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t1_j7pxp0c wrote

60 million people have been killed by communist regimes by execution, starvation and a variety of other means. And it's not just that the regimes have killed that many people, it's that the whole idea of communism was that it was supposed to be a system that leaves no one behind.

What unfettered socialism and communism proved is that even without a capitalist system, you will still have fat cats and starving dogs. At least within a highly regulated capitalist system, you theoretically have more opportunity for the poverty class to become upwardly mobile.

Naked socialism has been proven to be an egregious system that just because it's designed to be equitable, doesn't mean it actually is. Capitalism remains the least worst economic model.

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t1_j7picff wrote

He doesn't do so directly because it would have cost him votes but his supporters, at least the ones that are vocal on social media, are very much in favor of dismantling capitalism as an economic model. Bernie leaves in little dog whistles in his speeches though to encourage them.

I'm not a fan of unfettered and under-regulated capitalism but what I hear from the left sometimes truly scares me. As if they haven't ever learned about the millions dead in the Soviet Union or Communist China in school. I'm fine with "Democratic Socialism" if you can make it work alongside regulated capitalist markets, but some folks don't seem to care that much about the "democratic" aspect of it.

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t1_j7n61ne wrote

I just wouldn't go so far as to call myself "anti-progressive." I'm not their enemy even if they don't realize it. Most of us are on the same side, even if they are more concerned with what conservatives call "virtue signaling" than working on the problem. At least their hearts are in the right place.

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t1_j7mxaw8 wrote

Just to chime in, I wouldn't define myself as such but I find the progressive wing of the Democrats to be absolutely impractical and absurdly ideological. As a supporter of universal healthcare, police reform and taxing the wealthy to fund social programs, I always thought I was progressive but apparently not enough for the "real" progressives.

I guess to be a real progressive in this era, you have to shout "ACAB" all the time and constantly call for the abolition of capitalism.

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t1_j7hmt9m wrote

Reply to comment by in Best crabcakes? by

I only go for their crabcakes and when my folks are in town. Boomers are easily impressed by the joint for some reason.

But the crabcakes are good. I haven't had Olive Grove but I'll have to give it a try. My neighborhood is getting a new Faidley's soon so I'll probably swear by that soon enough.

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