I don't really understand why the protests are focusing only on the budget. Not that moving budget to social services isn't a great thing to do. But with a new incoming police chief and the police contract under negotiation, I can't imagine a better time to push for really big budget-independent changes such as fundamentally changing our policing to a de-escalation model similar to Camden, NJ, making it easier to fire cops and hold them responsible, etc. Alex Vitale's The End of Policing calls for two major changes: diverting many police roles to social services, and dimilitarizing/changing the culture of the remaining police forces. Have we totally given up on the latter?

"Performative allyship" sounds about right. 🔥