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If anyone is interested in actually reducing the tension between the police and the larger society, there are two things I can think of that I would put at the top of the list given the realities of modern life (in other words, I am not considering private and competing agencies for this exercise).
The first would be to demilitarize the police. Let’s consider some examples.
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What does all of this do to the relationship between police and the common man? I think to ask the question is to answer it.
Many people are demanding to de-fund the police. I am all for it if it means de-militarize the police. Dump all of the war-footing paraphernalia into the ocean. Fundamentally change the training in order to minimize assault.
Otherwise, de-funding the police does nothing for me. The same tactics and equipment will be deployed, and the same money will be spent elsewhere.
And it really won’t achieve much of anything without implementing my second recommendation: decriminalize non-violent acts. Non-violent drug offenses come to mind, but there are others. These laws do nothing other than put the police in a position to raise the tension between them and the rest of society. These are used as a pretext to confront and search.
The United States has the largest prison population – both in absolute as well as relative numbers – in the world. Currently, about half of these are in prison for non-violent offenses. What happens to the non-violent offenders in prison? They learn to absorb the culture of the violent offenders. Who does this serve? Not society at large. It only adds fuel to the fire of the tension between the police and society at large.
Conclusion
I give the protestors credit (not the mobs; the protestors). Beyond opening a discussion on the violent tactics of the police, they also got Amazon to nix (for a time) their facial recognition program (sadly, I think when it returns it will be stronger than ever – one more reason I advocate for the two items above).
Demilitarize the police and significantly reduce the laws on the books, focused on the non-violent offenses. I can think of no actions that would do more to change the dynamic between police and the larger society for the better.
Epilogue
Narrative drives action. All of our libertarian theory has not moved the needle one inch in a positive direction on these subjects. Whether you agree with or disagree with the narrative that is driving these actions, it is most certainly a narrative – not an intelligent theory – that is driving it.
Libertarians who think the great idea of property rights will drive the culture are sorely mistaken. It is the culture that will determine what, if any, property rights you have. The culture is driven – always – by narrative. We live in a story, not a theory.
Libertarianism in theory is decentralization in practice. The Wars on Drugs, Poverty, and Terror are all national and "funded" by the Federal Reserve. Getting locals to stop accepting the money/goods to fight those wars, or taking the money to do better things, like lower taxes, would be a good protest and story.
ReplyDeleteI heard someone use the term yesterday, "un-bundling." This was in the context of removing some actions from a police force into a non-lethal agency.
DeleteI think the word works well, both vertically and horizontally. It is, as you say, decentralization.
Community organizations like HOAs could also provide security for neighborhoods along with volunteer security.
ReplyDeleteI agree if defunding just means funneling the same money into other State functions, it won't do any good. If taxes are erased, it gives people more resources to buy guns, alarm systems, or security services. I would much rather see the men of each and every community taking up their historical role of protecting instead of shifting budgets to more social engineering and Cultural Marxist pushing by the State.
Good recommendations, good direction, and I agree wholeheartedly, but these are easy solutions to difficult problems. Allow me to play the Devil’s Advocate.
ReplyDeleteProblem #1: Left to itself, the system will not change. The police are no longer peace-keeping agents, they are law enforcers. They back up The Law, whether it is morally defensible or not. This will have to change and there will be extreme resistance on that score from the State, which prefers the status quo. Unfortunately, the widespread violence which started as a protest will probably only exacerbate the problem. The violence may effect a small, temporary appearance of positive change, but it won't last. What is necessary for long-term positive change is a fundamental shift in the way people think and live--a moral revival, in other words. More than likely, this will take decades to work out.
Problem #2: Prosecuting non-violent crime benefits the State as well. There will be resistance from every lobbyist, pork-barrel recipient, and politician trying to curry favor. There will also be resistance from every morally apologetic person who thinks that it is his God-given responsibility to punish his neighbor if he acts badly. Badly, that is, if it goes against the do-gooder's moral viewpoint. Witness the drug war. Unfortunately, many Christians have this mentality and that probably will not change any time soon, short of consistent, widespread, direct exhortations from pulpits all across the country. "Taking people as they are and not how we wish them to be" is an attitude which is in short supply within the Church.
In writing about why the black community is failing, Vasko Kohlmayer has this to say.
“What the black community needs at this time is not more protests, money or government programs. What it needs is a moral rebirth and a return to the values of personal responsibility, conscientiousness, studiousness, discipline and honest work. This is where the real problem lies and unless it is addressed and faced squarely, the black community will never escape the pathologies and difficulties it is presently struggling with.” (https://www.lewrockwell.com/2020/06/vasko-kohlmayer/truth-about-america-why-we-are-not-a-racist-nation/)
Tweaking around the edges of a problem may alleviate some of the consequences of the problem, but correcting the problem will require a moral transformation at its core. Transforming the moral rot at the heart of America is going to be a long, hard slog which might very well take us through the worst nightmare this world has ever thrown at anybody.
We have work to do.
Postscript: Bionic, I have noticed that the number of followers to your blog is steadily increasing. Congratulations on that score. The people who follow the blog are a vital part of the solutions we need to solve society’s troubles. Your work is producing results.
Thank you.
Roger, thank you on the PS.
DeleteOn your other comments, I agree that the problems run much deeper - as this is consistent with what I have been writing on for some time now. My point with this post: if anyone on either side of this polarized confrontation was serious about demonstrating political leadership, here are the two steps to take.
BTW, both steps - certainly the second one - would inherently remove an obstacle toward improving the moral condition of black families (as Vasko writes).
Pretty good.
ReplyDeleteI have just two points- #1- This all went horribly wrong when the local police became "law enforcers"- a statist totalitarian concept. "Law enforcement" is the job of the individual, and only a small part of what a local police officer does.
#2- don't drop valuable property into the ocean, and don't give it to favored government agencies. Sell it to private parties. I don't know what I'd do with an MRAP but the M4 that the taxpayer paid for should be sold at public auction to the public.
What if - both the militarization of police and mobs are directed and funded by the same gang of American/Globalist oligarchs? Who benefits?
ReplyDeletehttps://crushlimbraw.blogspot.com/2017/06/there-will-be-blood-alexandria-shooting.html?m=0 - just one article from DaLimbraw Library.
Furthermore, and as an example, the convenient scheduling of burning down cities - 3 months after shutting down the livelihoods of mostly small businesses and their employees - what's next?
Would you believe that is also pre-planned - a financial reset!
Call it conspiracy, if you will, but that is exactly what I've been reading.
In other words, we're watching a puppet show!
Yes, and it will continue until November. And then, depending on results (or, maybe, no matter the results), it will escalate thereafter.
DeleteSociety is purposely being imploded.