Anews Podcast 174 – 7.31.20

Welcome to the anews podcast. This podcast is on anarchist activity, ideas, and conversations from the previous week on anarchistnews.org.

What’s New was written and read by Chisel and Greg

Thanks to Ariel and friend for talking about the ToTW: cops

Music:
1. The Chantays – Pipeline
2. John Maus – Copkiller

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There are 3 Comments

Great TOTW discussion, bold move to bring a cop in retirement to the conversation. Must have been slightly awkward and uncomfortable for her, which added interest to me. A very curious example, she studied to be a social worker, but that didn’t pay well, was a single mother and had kids to feed, so she became a cop in the 70’s. And she remarks that many of the things cops are required to do, but not trained to do, are in fact “social work”. This cements in our minds those who already thought of social workers as another in a long line of cops. But social workers don’t carry (service, at least) guns, and she sees as viable and sensible to hire less cops and more social workers to do that part of the job.

The other interesting fact that we’re reminded of is that cops follow orders and that there is a chain of command that goes all the way from the departments to the politicians and the people that vote for them, and that big reforms come by way of top down federal orders. This, along with her mentioning that riot gear is uncomfortable and that they don’t to be there, reminds us that they’re there because they’re sent there. Making it hard for them demoralizes, tires and breaks them as people but it doesn’t break the machinery, they can hire a new batch of eager social workers or school teachers or veterans turned cops. Teachers forced to return to school under covid restrictions might suddenly find police work more appealing.

Will people return to the the attentats against political figures? That didn’t impart “effective social change” then. Impersonate the higher ups to give orders to leave, for example?

Anyways, not that we needed anyone to confirm it, but burnt precincts, youth jails, equipment, are net gain. That’s costly for them and they have budgets. It’s defunding through direct action, though the funds are destroyed, not divested.

Helps create jobs, combats inflation, good for the economy. Which party politician will adopt literally burning money and costly things instead of printing money (which harms the economy according to some economists)? Kidding.

Let's simplify this whole debate and say that undertaking will always be a growing industry.

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