Objectively intelligent.

[Replaced_Texan]

Originally Posted by sebastian_dangerfield

I think #metoo succeeded because it had a laser-like focus: Exposing bad actors. That was easy in the age of social media.

BLM can do the same thing re: police. It could start singling out the bad depts and bad cops. That's probably good idea, actually.

But right now the message seems incoherent. "Defund the police" is also counterproductive. Too extreme.

The movement you see is real and at some point will put forth concise goals that go to the root of the problem: Laws designed to control the poor rather than protect them.

But from what I see at the moment, the immediate future looks a lot like Occupy. Everyone's recognizing a problem and agreeing we need to do something, but there's no consensus about what. And that opportunistic effort by Pelosi and Schumer to capitalize on the moment with legislation that bars chokeholds is just embarrassing. (Wearing that African garb also looked like pretty awful pandering, and to whom? These people being killed aren't African. They are Americans. They dress just like you and me. They are not an "other" except to racists.)

A much better legislative effort would have been to: (1) ban the sale of defense department military hardware to police; (2) repeal the laws on civil and criminal forfeiture which are used by police to steal from innocent minorities (and non-minorities) who can't afford to fight the forfeiture; and, (3) refuse federal funding to states deemed to be applying usurious and predatory fines and fees to criminals.

On #3, recall that Ferguson was using minorities, often forced to plead guilty to petty crimes as they couldn't afford cost of defense, as ATMs - charging them rates of interest and penalties for non-payment of nominal amounts that payday lenders wouldn't attempt. That's still going on all over the place, including very large cities in very blue states. The court system and police are effectively turning hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of people into debt serfs for minor crimes, often long after they've served their sentences. It's nuts. Once you've done your time, you should be done. Period.

It's not just #metoo. It was #metoo and the Women's March, which was focused on a myriad issues, including and especially getting more women in office, but also as a general cathartic well deserved fuck you to Donald Trump. #metoo started about 8 months later, to a population that was already radicalized. Same with what's going on right now.

Rage is useful. Rage is motivating. Rage leads to organization and the laser focus. Give it time. It's been two and a half weeks.