Hales has a good point. Every one of us has to decide whether to work in the system or work outside of it.
The folks who decide that outside is the answer should understand what the implications of that decision are, and I'm not always sure they do. One of them is that there's a pretty good chance you'll spend some time in jail. Another is that whatever specific reform efforts you'd like to see will probably not happen --because your teammates will trash-talk any concession that doesn't go far enough, and nothing will ever go far enough.
Those who decide to try to work in the system will be called "sellouts" --like the Albina Ministries folks, who were working on police reform even when it wasn't on the front page, and now are being treated like garbage. They'll have to put in a ton of time and effort, and may not get everything they want. They'll need to come to terms with incremental change, and the idea that everyone won't always agree, but even the people you disagree with should count too.
It's a much harder road to choose, but it has a far better potential to move the needle in a better direction.
Hales is wishy-washy on police accountability and reform because he has to maintain political relationships with a police force that is against both. This is the case with DeBlasio in NYC, and every other city.
I personally invited him to sit in on an IPR mediation I agreed to with an officer following an unwarranted stop and frisk; his staffer replied two weeks after the mediation noting IPR mediations are confidential.... Even for the Mayor? Please.
Please note the response of Hales's office to one guy [me] wordlessly sitting in the waiting room -- three successive arrests for trespassing. But appearance before a group willing to listen to his worthless promises? He's down with that!
The folks who decide that outside is the answer should understand what the implications of that decision are, and I'm not always sure they do. One of them is that there's a pretty good chance you'll spend some time in jail. Another is that whatever specific reform efforts you'd like to see will probably not happen --because your teammates will trash-talk any concession that doesn't go far enough, and nothing will ever go far enough.
Those who decide to try to work in the system will be called "sellouts" --like the Albina Ministries folks, who were working on police reform even when it wasn't on the front page, and now are being treated like garbage. They'll have to put in a ton of time and effort, and may not get everything they want. They'll need to come to terms with incremental change, and the idea that everyone won't always agree, but even the people you disagree with should count too.
It's a much harder road to choose, but it has a far better potential to move the needle in a better direction.