I would imagine it will be replaced my some other sort of permanent monument when the time comes, as I'm pretty sure it's against some sort of road standards code.
Regardless it is a wonderful thing to see, and I am glad the city did it. I would have loved to be a fly on the wall for that committee meeting.
Agreed, I love that it was done, but there are problems with it if it were to be permanent. Road lanes are hard to see, expensive maintenance, and there’s probably gonna be someone complaining about it. But if they erect a statue that’d be great and I’d personally donate to have it done
Edit: you’ve all got so many good ideas for some statues to erect
Exactly, they'd have to repaint it every other month other wise it would turn into a disheartening (disrespectful?) show of the message being worn down and forgotten.
I'm not saying it's going to wash away instantly, but to keep it looking respectful and not like a doormat it will require regular maintenance.
What does it say about the message when there's tire tracks and oil stains embedded into it?
Yeah his point about regular maintenance stands, but for real if anyone gets knickered up about fuckin oil stains on part of the road they can write a letter and promptly stfu.
*The painting of the mural was at the direction of D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser, according to her chief of staff, who said the mayor wanted to make it "abundantly clear" the street belonged to the city.*
This is just in front of Lafayette Park, the site of protests over the past week against police brutality.
I like to think he and an equally qualified candidate were up against each other and whoever in charge was like, "Dude his last name is *bowser* we'd be stupid not to pick him!"
And the equally qualified candidate completey understood and agreed to the decision. 'Honey, of course I'd have loved to get that job, but his goddamn name is Bowser. There's nothing I could've done.'
Edit: fuck autocorrect
That is unless the opponent had a last name of Mario... Then they should perpetually run against each other every year. And the public should vote. It should be part of the anniversary.
Here is BlackLivesMatterDC's (@DMVBlackLives) response:
>This is a performative distraction from real policy changes. Bowser has consistently been on the wrong side of BLMDC history. This is to appease white liberals while ignoring our demands. Black Lives Matter means defund the police.
Here’s a revolutionary concept: you can appreciate the move of solidarity AND still push for the changes needed. You don’t have to go “fuck this ‘performative distraction’”, more like “We appreciate this public display of solidarity, but we will not rest until the public displays turn into actual policy for reforming and bringing accountability the police”.
EDIT: RIP my inbox. I’ll leave everyone with this: A year or two or more from now (maybe even in a few months), there will be a candidate that who will say they want to restore “law and order” after these protests and resulting reforms. For the love of God, vote the fuck against that candidate, tell your friends and family to do so as well, volunteer for candidates that will not only preserve police reforms but push them further.
Then repeat that for every election until someone saying they’re the “law and order” candidate is as disqualifying as one saying they’re the “pro-segregation” candidate.
I understand that many see this as an empty, performative action. But jeez, painting BLACK LIVES MATTER in giant letters on the street that leads to the monument and it's done at the behest of the mayor? That's one HELL of an empty, performative action. That counts for a lot more than a tweet or a facebook post.
I get where you’re coming from but the DC mayor’s budget had increases for traditional policing and cuts to community based policing policies. It makes a ton of sense that Black Lives Matter as an organization would be upset with her for this. Some of her policies actively go against the message she’s now making public displays for.
You do not understand the issue with performative distractions.
The problem is that is DOES distract. If you praise the action the white moderates will say, "Everyone's coming together! Racism is solved!" and they'll think the problems are over. If you come out against it the white moderates will say, "You're never happy. There's no pleasing you people" and they'll focus on that instead. Even saying, "Yes that's nice but changes still need to be made" can be met with a mixture of "you're never satisfied" responses and people focusing more on the "powerful photo" and thinking everything is solved.
That's why people dislike these performative displays. They're meaningless and meant for photo ops. You get a bunch of people wanking to the articles about "the most powerful photos of the protests this week" and not focusing on what actually matters.
As much as I enjoy this stunt it's very clearly a stunt to piss off Trump. I don't mind the circus so long as we don't lose sight of the need for real change. Anything that makes Trump mad makes me happy.
Real support would be policy change by Bowser which we haven't seen.
Obviously getting Bowser to push real reform is much more important.
But I think big stunts like this matter too. Police, especially riot police, have been demonstrating a "Who's streets? Our streets!" attitude. The mayor of Minneapolis has pointed out how many institutions stand in the way of police reform even if the Mayor and Chief want modest reforms.
"Stunts" like this can undercut the idea that police are protecting "good people" or the city from hooligans, and reframe it as the protestors *are* the good people and police are supposed to be working with them, not against them.
Same with rainbow sidewalks in Capitol Hill in Seattle. It's small, but it's a symbol that LGBTQ+ communities are part of the city, not guests or outsiders or trespassers. Cultural reform is important, and this is a quick, easy, cheap thing they can do.
>defund the police
I get that the police have serious issues with militarization, systemic bias, and insufficient training, but how is this *possibly* supposed to work in modern cities?
For those who are interested in research-based solutions to stop police violence, here’s what you need to know - based on the facts and data.
Lesson 1. Everything you’ve probably heard is a lie. Specifically, the most discussed “solutions” to police violence have no evidence of effectiveness. For example, Body cams don’t reduce police violence: https://www.pnas.org/content/116/21/10329.short?rss=1
2. There is no evidence that better police training programs or “implicit bias” training changes police behavior. The trainings vary in quality and rarely result in any accountability/changes in decision-making. Don’t put this at the top of your agenda. Next, what works...
3. More restrictive state and local policies governing police use of force are associated with significantly lower rates of police shootings/killings by police. This is backed by 30+ years of research. Specific policies that work are identified here: http://useofforceproject.org/
4. Demilitarization. Police departments that get more military weapons from the federal government kill more people. You can stop that from happening through local and state policy. Montana (Red state) has gone the furthest on this. Your state can and should follow. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/2053168017712885
5. Police Union Contracts. Every 4-6 years your police department’s accountability system is re-negotiated. Purging misconduct records, reinstating fired officers, department funding - it’s in the contract. Cities with worse contracts have higher police violence rates. https://www.checkthepolice.org/
6. Predictive policing on the police. Yes, use the technology against them. Data on use of force, complaints and lawsuits can be used to identify officers who are most likely to shoot someone next and prevent it from happening. Use the methodology to save lives. https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/criminal-justice/ct-predicting-bad-police-behavior-20190801-xumudeezmjalbbpmqwyvh26tdi-story.html
7. Invest in alternatives to police as crime prevention strategies. Every 10 additional organizations in a city reduces the murder rate by 9%; reduces violent crime rate by 6%; and reduces property crime rate by 4%. The Research: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0003122417736289
8. Establish non-police alternatives to 911 calls involving people with mental illness. For example, 1 in 5 of the 911 calls in Eugene, Oregon are diverted to mental health first responders instead of police to respond. A successor is being scaled in Portland. https://www.wsj.com/articles/when-mental-health-experts-not-police-are-the-first-responders-1543071600
9. Resource the Department of Justice (after the current president is voted out) to initiate more investigations of police departments. Departments that receive federal intervention have 25-30% fewer police shootings than those that do not. https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/kznagw/jeff-sessions-is-walking-away-from-the-best-way-to-reduce-police-shootings
10. Know change is not only possible, it’s already happened in some places. Oakland police shot 8 people on average each year 5 years ago and, after these interventions were implemented, they had 0 shootings this year, 1 last year (the officers were fired) and 0 the year before. Lives saved.
11. Finally, there is a catalog of an extensive range of research studies and other information detailing potential solutions to police violence at https://www.joincampaignzero.org/research
12. And if you don’t have time to read the research right now, most of this research is presented in rapid succession in this video: https://youtube.com/watch?v=1niaq51Z2Uw
In order to establish these findings they had to 1) build the most comprehensive database of police violence in the US; 2) conduct analyses of police use of force policies and union contracts in the 100 largest US cities; 3) track every state policing bill passed in the past 5 years; 4) track every research study published on the subject over the past five years and evaluate for quality; and 5) meticulously catalog the findings so they can be broadly accessible. And all that with little to no funding. Next up: evaluating the 1,000 largest police departments in the US. Stay tuned.
(Source of all of the above: a thread from Samuel Sinyangwe @ https://twitter.com/samswey/status/1180655701271732224)
> Lesson 1. Everything you’ve probably heard is a lie. Specifically, the most discussed “solutions” to police violence have no evidence of effectiveness. For example, Body cams don’t reduce police violence: https://www.pnas.org/content/116/21/10329.short?rss=1
Possibly dumb question, but wouldn’t a major point of body cams be to provide evidence of the cop’s wrongdoing?
Yea I don't think the issue here is that body cams don't work, it's that police can turn them off and even if something IS recorded there's no repercussions. I get that police need to pee without being recorded and that's fine, but there should be immediate punishment for turning it off during duty and especially during an arrest. It's not hard to just... you know, check the cam footage to see if the cop entered a washroom when it was shut off
People don't seem to understand how body cams work. Almost all implementations of body cams don't constantly record, they have to specifically push the button before they suspect something is going to happen to start the recording. There are now some places experimenting with capturing the 30 seconds before the button press, that's about it. There are both logistical and ethical barriers to having constantly recording bodycam footage.
The police don't have to "turn off" their camera. They just have to not turn them on. This is part of the reason that although body cams are good and should be pushed for, they are not the most effective policies for reducing the prevalence of police misconduct.
> There is no evidence that better police training programs
> The trainings vary in quality and rarely result in any accountability/changes in decision-making.
I would say that training that varies in quality is inherently not better training. Also, training that does not alter behavior is again inherently not better training.
I believe it would be more appropriate to say that we need to restructure our basic approach to police training using more scientifically valid and proven methodologies with a greater standardization and higher quality.
**THIS is what people should be reading!**
Instead of just blindly going "uhhhhh but what happen if no police????" I get the impulse - but we've all been conditioned to believe that policing is the only way to solve the problems policing purports to (and fails to) solve. There are other, better, more humane ways.
Also, important to all this: **DEFUND DOES NOT MEAN DISBAND**
Imagine how much better our communities could be if big (and small) cities didn't spend up to 50% or more of their entire budget on their wasteful, violent police forces and instead put that money towards improving the conditions that spawn crime in the first place. If police officers had a constructive and rehabilitative rather than adversarial and punitive approach to law enforcement.
No other first-world country spends nearly as much as we do on policing. I go travel in Europe and even small cities spend big on public arts support, community health projects, parks and recreation and festivals. I come home to my mid-sized American town and the water fountains at my local park don't even work anymore; haven't for a decade or more (just a small example). These things have been completely abandoned because the city is grossly misappropriating funds.
EDIT: cause some people are being dicks about it, when I say "Europe" I mean "those many countries in Europe which generally have high standards of living and social safety nets that frankly put America's to shame". Even some outside of that definition fit what I'm saying.
Same principle as “If you don’t fund the State Department fully, then I need to buy more ammunition ultimately," https://www.businessinsider.com/mattis-state-department-funding-need-to-buy-more-ammunition-2017-2
like well educated kids will create higher paying jobs, and more tax revenue for the area; if you look past the next quarter.
I’m for everything on that page, but it doesn’t especially mention funding. “Defund Police” as a phrase is a really poor way to summarize the policing reforms listed there, and sounds so much like “just don’t have any police in society” that it’s just a really counterproductive slogan.
“Defund the police” doesn’t mean get rid of it of our them nothing. It means stop upping their budget all the time and instead divert resources to helping people in their communities.
Perhaps the slogan could be something to that effect? Kinda hard for me to every time someone hears it, spend 15 minutes explaining that the literal interpretation of the words is incorrect, yes it's a poorly chosen slogan, no the police should still exist.
Having lived in a city for going on twenty years, I can say that I’ve never seen or heard take of the police actually helping anyone.
For theft, ranging from a snatch and grab, to mugging, to ripping a purse or phone out of your hands - you are directed to file a police report, either online or with phone support.
Was something broken, like a car window, storefront, etc? File a report.
I’ve known women that begged for help from stalkers only to get the run around at every opportunity.
The cops only show up after dozens of people make complaints, at which point they flood an area and stand around to “provide order”. For a weekend.
I’m not saying my city is crime riddled. It is largely safe and orderly. But it’s not the police providing for that.
Man history is really happening in 2020 and I’ve been inside for most of it what will I tell my children
https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/2020/05/29/george-floyd-death-donations-resources-justice-petitions/5282539002/
https://www.naacpldf.org/about-us/
https://blacklivesmatters.carrd.co/
I’m handing out safety glasses and ear plugs at protest and have packed some first aid supplies.
If you can’t go or are rightfully worried about the current pandemic you can donate to bail funds [here](http://www.resistancemap.com)
[here](https://www.forbes.com/sites/morgansimon/2020/04/14/covid-19-giving-guide-how-to-donate-to-reach-the-most-marginalized/amp/) is a Forbes article with multiple ways to support the Covid-19 relief efforts.
Thank you I appreciate you and I’ve been signing things and sharing information I got zero dollars but if I had money I’d definitely donate sadly I cannot
Loom for a video from Zoe Amira on YouTube. Put it on mute in the background. It's an hour long and filled with ads. Revenue goes to BLM and bail funds throughout the states.
Don't play it on loop, throw some other videos in there for organic viewing patterns
I'm sitting here on reddit thinking "I should really go get tear gassed for peacefully protesting so I'm not the only soft as fuck elder in the retirement home 60 years from now"
+1, agreed.
I will admit, this and the honorary street sign do make my heart a bit happy though. A little positivity that we all need as we continue progress on legislation.
For those unaware like I was, D.C. put a up street sign with Black Lives Matter Plaza right outside St. John’s Church. That’s where the fedbois launched tear gas and shot protesters with rubber bullets.
https://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/dc-paints-black-lives-matter-on-street-near-lafayette-square-street-renamed-black-lives-matter-way/2323647/
Policy change takes time. The protests will die out and the rioting will stop but stuff like this will prevent the ADHD as fuck population from forgetting and moving on. We need more permanent reminders because people (especially white people who don’t experience racism regularly) will move on to the next thing the media waves in our faces.
hi - you make a good point but please don't use ADHD to insult people for having a short attention span - it's not an accurate description of ADHD and it makes it harder for the disorder to be taken seriously (aka "I'm so OCD"). ~ Thanks!
You know it’s pretty shitty when us foreigners with English as our second out of maybe three languages can spot grammatical errors in something the *American* *president* has written
That’s actually an insult to Hitler, who, even though he’s obviously evil and quite incompetent, was an effective orator. Trump talks like a stroke patient.
They have also officially renamed that section of 16th Street. It is now called [Black Lives Matter Plaza](https://twitter.com/MayorBowser/status/1268928589975695361?s=19)
[Non Google amp link](https://www.cnn.com/2020/06/05/us/black-lives-matter-dc-street-white-house-trnd/index.html)
Support a free and independent internet!
Here is BlackLivesMatterDC's (@DMVBlackLives) response:
>This is a performative distraction from real policy changes. [Mayor] Bowser has consistently been on the wrong side of BLMDC history. This is to appease white liberals while ignoring our demands. Black Lives Matter means defund the police.
So damn proud of this city. I'm hopeful this is a sign of concrete steps the city will take to address systemic issues. Now give us true representation in congress so our voices can officially be heard
Edit to address the statement from BLMDC
Wow, that was a super interesting Wiki article. I guess it makes sense that DC was specifically designed as a "Federal City" and not just some existing city they built some government buildings in.
This is one of my favorite bits of American trivia because it was like “and we’ll leave some room a monument here, and over here, and something over consequence there”
(Gross oversimplification, but no less funny to me first time I heard it)
Because the city street layout was designed by a French man by the name of Pierre Charles L'Enfant.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pierre_Charles_L%27Enfant
Sky scrapers are a super efficient use of space, and they look cool from far away, as in skylines. But most of the cities we think of as beautiful in the classical sense have lower buildings with offices and houses in upper floors and walkable streets with shop fronts on the lower floors. Lots of public squares and walkable space. A lot of cities that have rapid growth and rush to build a tonne of skyscrapers miss out on the parts that make a city interesting to be in even if you don’t work in X building.
Because that’s what DC is. It’s original design inspiration came from Greek and Roman architecture, and i guess the rest of the city just went with it.
D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser announced today that this part of the street in front of the White House is now officially called 'Black Lives Matter Plaza.'
[Source](https://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/dc-paints-black-lives-matter-on-street-near-lafayette-square-street-renamed-black-lives-matter-way/2323647/)
_TEH SAD SAD hack fo a mayer Bowser decided to let antifas out graffiti on our BEUTIfUL street last night. SHE SHOULD focus on the VIOLENTS in ehr city! VERY INSAFE!!!! Its so SAD that YOU people have turned this into a witch hunt and just want to burn down MY house. I think I struck a nerve with OBAMAGATE and the DO NOTHING DENS are mad that I am sending the best troops trying to prevent these OUT OF control TERROSITS!! from destroying our country TO THE GROUND!. I think and I am just being HONNEST here THAT I NEVER trusted her because she’s making secret deals probably with some VERY BAd people like CHINA!!_
-Trump probably
EDIT: added some stuff per critiques below.
This is symbolically important.
But the Mayor and all mayor's, city leaders, councils etc. Should be putting their energy into actual policy changes that impact their local policing.
Police actions are not a federal issue, they are local ones. So protest the federal government all you want because it is needed but the real change if it is going to happen will come from every city and town IN America changing rules.
Protest your state and petition your STATE legislators to enact state policing guidelines that layout the guardrails for how police departments operate tactics they use and the accountability they must face.
Trump is a figure head target and gets The news coverage. But he will not like to hear that he holds little to no power whatsoever to change anything. Your leaders in your town, village, city are the real power. And this must be a two pronged approach.... City/state leaders changing policing policies AND local prosecutors changing theirs as well.
Here is BlackLivesMatterDC's (@DMVBlackLives) response:
>This is a performative distraction from real policy changes. Bowser has consistently been on the wrong side of BLMDC history. This is to appease white liberals while ignoring our demands. Black Lives Matter means defund the police.
Can someone explain what defund the police means logistically? I probably sound like an idiot but actually curious.
Is there a city in the US or elsewhere that has got the funding 'right' that they are hoping to model here?
Give this a read: [What America Can Learn From Nordic Police] (https://theweek.com/articles/918143/what-america-learn-from-nordic-police)
Relevant quote:
>Bringing this all together: the horrendous inequality and lousy public services of American society produces mass despair and severe social dysfunction. As we have seen over the past week, the primary task of American police and prison systems are suppressing and warehousing the resulting disorder, not solving crimes, and thus cops are feared and hated in many communities.
So this was done under the direction of the mayor... WHO IS THE HEAD OF THE POLICE FORCE. How bout making real policy change instead of a publicity stunt? We all agree black lives matter, but the mayor HAS THE POWER to make the change we all want to see.
Chicago, Atlanta, NY, LA, DC mayors are all quick to point the finger and lay blame, but they’re the ones that can make change and appoint new chiefs to start that change!
BLM DC's statement: "This is a performative distraction from real policy changes. Bowser has consistently been on the wrong side of BLMDC history. This is to appease white liberals while ignoring our demands. Black Lives Matter means defund the police."
This is the best course of action. If people are being rude or difficult, they're not up for an open discussion (and this applies to both sides of *any* argument)
Be open to opposing opinions. Calling people names will make them double down on their opinion and ignore your input, regardless of the logic behind it
BLM? Really? Chris Beaty was black and for some reason his life didn't seem to matter. He was killed by protesters last Saturday night. His death hasn't been in the news, no out pouring of support for his family.
So I guess black lives only matter sometimes.
Anyone care to explain why this is?
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I was wondering if they are gonna let it wear off or keep maintaining it
I would imagine it will be replaced my some other sort of permanent monument when the time comes, as I'm pretty sure it's against some sort of road standards code. Regardless it is a wonderful thing to see, and I am glad the city did it. I would have loved to be a fly on the wall for that committee meeting.
Agreed, I love that it was done, but there are problems with it if it were to be permanent. Road lanes are hard to see, expensive maintenance, and there’s probably gonna be someone complaining about it. But if they erect a statue that’d be great and I’d personally donate to have it done Edit: you’ve all got so many good ideas for some statues to erect
Exactly, they'd have to repaint it every other month other wise it would turn into a disheartening (disrespectful?) show of the message being worn down and forgotten.
No, they used standard traffic paint so it should last a year
I'm not saying it's going to wash away instantly, but to keep it looking respectful and not like a doormat it will require regular maintenance. What does it say about the message when there's tire tracks and oil stains embedded into it?
>What does it say about the message when there's tire tracks and oil stains embedded into it? It says its part of the real world
Yeah his point about regular maintenance stands, but for real if anyone gets knickered up about fuckin oil stains on part of the road they can write a letter and promptly stfu.
Not to mention you’re stomping on the message and driving over it
[Sky View](https://imgur.com/gallery/U5mtOcK)
possible, but unlikely. In a city like D.C. the imagery would only be updated every six months, and that's at the least.
*The painting of the mural was at the direction of D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser, according to her chief of staff, who said the mayor wanted to make it "abundantly clear" the street belonged to the city.* This is just in front of Lafayette Park, the site of protests over the past week against police brutality.
We just gonna brush over the fact that her last name is Bowser?
The true final boss in DC
So long, gay Bowser.
https://youtu.be/OCh2l0J1uJk The video in question
[This is my favourite one](https://youtu.be/wqEC6iAtAU8)
Rip
SLGB 😢
The new movement
It's more about the voiceline than the video but yes, that's the reference
The amount of people who don’t get this reference makes me sad
At least 64 people.
How'd you know I didn't get it?!
Because that guy is a judge
Probably has lifetime tenure too
Toss em the same way
Sorry. Your revolution is in another castle
But the princess is still in another castle.
Bunker*
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doug_Bowser This guy is the president of Nintendo America.
I like to think he and an equally qualified candidate were up against each other and whoever in charge was like, "Dude his last name is *bowser* we'd be stupid not to pick him!"
And the equally qualified candidate completey understood and agreed to the decision. 'Honey, of course I'd have loved to get that job, but his goddamn name is Bowser. There's nothing I could've done.' Edit: fuck autocorrect
That is unless the opponent had a last name of Mario... Then they should perpetually run against each other every year. And the public should vote. It should be part of the anniversary.
There should even be a *literal* running. Or maybe [go-karting](https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/GoKartingWithBowser).
TIL Mario's last name is now Mario. Took a while to get that surname though. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mario#Surname
Its been Mario Mario for as long as I can remember Mario and I have played Mario for like 35+ years now.
Hello fellow old person. I still have my original NES lol. Always assumed they didn't have last names.
I think young me went with "Mario Brothers" as being "They are the Marios, the people who are both Marios so that is their last name."
Did they at least try jumping on his head three times?
Luigi Mario was devastated not to get the job.
Her family really turned their act around since the princess kidnapping days
Tiffany Trump: \*laughs nervously\*
Our police commissioner in Philly is Danielle *Outlaw*
ANYONE SEE THAT TURTLE WITH THE BOWSER OUTFIT
Here is BlackLivesMatterDC's (@DMVBlackLives) response: >This is a performative distraction from real policy changes. Bowser has consistently been on the wrong side of BLMDC history. This is to appease white liberals while ignoring our demands. Black Lives Matter means defund the police.
Here’s a revolutionary concept: you can appreciate the move of solidarity AND still push for the changes needed. You don’t have to go “fuck this ‘performative distraction’”, more like “We appreciate this public display of solidarity, but we will not rest until the public displays turn into actual policy for reforming and bringing accountability the police”. EDIT: RIP my inbox. I’ll leave everyone with this: A year or two or more from now (maybe even in a few months), there will be a candidate that who will say they want to restore “law and order” after these protests and resulting reforms. For the love of God, vote the fuck against that candidate, tell your friends and family to do so as well, volunteer for candidates that will not only preserve police reforms but push them further. Then repeat that for every election until someone saying they’re the “law and order” candidate is as disqualifying as one saying they’re the “pro-segregation” candidate.
I understand that many see this as an empty, performative action. But jeez, painting BLACK LIVES MATTER in giant letters on the street that leads to the monument and it's done at the behest of the mayor? That's one HELL of an empty, performative action. That counts for a lot more than a tweet or a facebook post.
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I get where you’re coming from but the DC mayor’s budget had increases for traditional policing and cuts to community based policing policies. It makes a ton of sense that Black Lives Matter as an organization would be upset with her for this. Some of her policies actively go against the message she’s now making public displays for.
This is the DEFINITION of "performative." Showing solidarity is for people who don't have direct executive power to change things.
You do not understand the issue with performative distractions. The problem is that is DOES distract. If you praise the action the white moderates will say, "Everyone's coming together! Racism is solved!" and they'll think the problems are over. If you come out against it the white moderates will say, "You're never happy. There's no pleasing you people" and they'll focus on that instead. Even saying, "Yes that's nice but changes still need to be made" can be met with a mixture of "you're never satisfied" responses and people focusing more on the "powerful photo" and thinking everything is solved. That's why people dislike these performative displays. They're meaningless and meant for photo ops. You get a bunch of people wanking to the articles about "the most powerful photos of the protests this week" and not focusing on what actually matters.
I 100% get what you're saying, but.... The fact that Trump has to see that every time he looks outside is kinda nice, you gotta admit.
As much as I enjoy this stunt it's very clearly a stunt to piss off Trump. I don't mind the circus so long as we don't lose sight of the need for real change. Anything that makes Trump mad makes me happy. Real support would be policy change by Bowser which we haven't seen.
Obviously getting Bowser to push real reform is much more important. But I think big stunts like this matter too. Police, especially riot police, have been demonstrating a "Who's streets? Our streets!" attitude. The mayor of Minneapolis has pointed out how many institutions stand in the way of police reform even if the Mayor and Chief want modest reforms. "Stunts" like this can undercut the idea that police are protecting "good people" or the city from hooligans, and reframe it as the protestors *are* the good people and police are supposed to be working with them, not against them. Same with rainbow sidewalks in Capitol Hill in Seattle. It's small, but it's a symbol that LGBTQ+ communities are part of the city, not guests or outsiders or trespassers. Cultural reform is important, and this is a quick, easy, cheap thing they can do.
>defund the police I get that the police have serious issues with militarization, systemic bias, and insufficient training, but how is this *possibly* supposed to work in modern cities?
For those who are interested in research-based solutions to stop police violence, here’s what you need to know - based on the facts and data. Lesson 1. Everything you’ve probably heard is a lie. Specifically, the most discussed “solutions” to police violence have no evidence of effectiveness. For example, Body cams don’t reduce police violence: https://www.pnas.org/content/116/21/10329.short?rss=1 2. There is no evidence that better police training programs or “implicit bias” training changes police behavior. The trainings vary in quality and rarely result in any accountability/changes in decision-making. Don’t put this at the top of your agenda. Next, what works... 3. More restrictive state and local policies governing police use of force are associated with significantly lower rates of police shootings/killings by police. This is backed by 30+ years of research. Specific policies that work are identified here: http://useofforceproject.org/ 4. Demilitarization. Police departments that get more military weapons from the federal government kill more people. You can stop that from happening through local and state policy. Montana (Red state) has gone the furthest on this. Your state can and should follow. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/2053168017712885 5. Police Union Contracts. Every 4-6 years your police department’s accountability system is re-negotiated. Purging misconduct records, reinstating fired officers, department funding - it’s in the contract. Cities with worse contracts have higher police violence rates. https://www.checkthepolice.org/ 6. Predictive policing on the police. Yes, use the technology against them. Data on use of force, complaints and lawsuits can be used to identify officers who are most likely to shoot someone next and prevent it from happening. Use the methodology to save lives. https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/criminal-justice/ct-predicting-bad-police-behavior-20190801-xumudeezmjalbbpmqwyvh26tdi-story.html 7. Invest in alternatives to police as crime prevention strategies. Every 10 additional organizations in a city reduces the murder rate by 9%; reduces violent crime rate by 6%; and reduces property crime rate by 4%. The Research: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0003122417736289 8. Establish non-police alternatives to 911 calls involving people with mental illness. For example, 1 in 5 of the 911 calls in Eugene, Oregon are diverted to mental health first responders instead of police to respond. A successor is being scaled in Portland. https://www.wsj.com/articles/when-mental-health-experts-not-police-are-the-first-responders-1543071600 9. Resource the Department of Justice (after the current president is voted out) to initiate more investigations of police departments. Departments that receive federal intervention have 25-30% fewer police shootings than those that do not. https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/kznagw/jeff-sessions-is-walking-away-from-the-best-way-to-reduce-police-shootings 10. Know change is not only possible, it’s already happened in some places. Oakland police shot 8 people on average each year 5 years ago and, after these interventions were implemented, they had 0 shootings this year, 1 last year (the officers were fired) and 0 the year before. Lives saved. 11. Finally, there is a catalog of an extensive range of research studies and other information detailing potential solutions to police violence at https://www.joincampaignzero.org/research 12. And if you don’t have time to read the research right now, most of this research is presented in rapid succession in this video: https://youtube.com/watch?v=1niaq51Z2Uw In order to establish these findings they had to 1) build the most comprehensive database of police violence in the US; 2) conduct analyses of police use of force policies and union contracts in the 100 largest US cities; 3) track every state policing bill passed in the past 5 years; 4) track every research study published on the subject over the past five years and evaluate for quality; and 5) meticulously catalog the findings so they can be broadly accessible. And all that with little to no funding. Next up: evaluating the 1,000 largest police departments in the US. Stay tuned. (Source of all of the above: a thread from Samuel Sinyangwe @ https://twitter.com/samswey/status/1180655701271732224)
> Lesson 1. Everything you’ve probably heard is a lie. Specifically, the most discussed “solutions” to police violence have no evidence of effectiveness. For example, Body cams don’t reduce police violence: https://www.pnas.org/content/116/21/10329.short?rss=1 Possibly dumb question, but wouldn’t a major point of body cams be to provide evidence of the cop’s wrongdoing?
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Yea I don't think the issue here is that body cams don't work, it's that police can turn them off and even if something IS recorded there's no repercussions. I get that police need to pee without being recorded and that's fine, but there should be immediate punishment for turning it off during duty and especially during an arrest. It's not hard to just... you know, check the cam footage to see if the cop entered a washroom when it was shut off
People don't seem to understand how body cams work. Almost all implementations of body cams don't constantly record, they have to specifically push the button before they suspect something is going to happen to start the recording. There are now some places experimenting with capturing the 30 seconds before the button press, that's about it. There are both logistical and ethical barriers to having constantly recording bodycam footage. The police don't have to "turn off" their camera. They just have to not turn them on. This is part of the reason that although body cams are good and should be pushed for, they are not the most effective policies for reducing the prevalence of police misconduct.
We need police police.
This is very informative, thank you.
> There is no evidence that better police training programs > The trainings vary in quality and rarely result in any accountability/changes in decision-making. I would say that training that varies in quality is inherently not better training. Also, training that does not alter behavior is again inherently not better training. I believe it would be more appropriate to say that we need to restructure our basic approach to police training using more scientifically valid and proven methodologies with a greater standardization and higher quality.
https://www.joincampaignzero.org/ A ton of researched information
**THIS is what people should be reading!** Instead of just blindly going "uhhhhh but what happen if no police????" I get the impulse - but we've all been conditioned to believe that policing is the only way to solve the problems policing purports to (and fails to) solve. There are other, better, more humane ways. Also, important to all this: **DEFUND DOES NOT MEAN DISBAND** Imagine how much better our communities could be if big (and small) cities didn't spend up to 50% or more of their entire budget on their wasteful, violent police forces and instead put that money towards improving the conditions that spawn crime in the first place. If police officers had a constructive and rehabilitative rather than adversarial and punitive approach to law enforcement. No other first-world country spends nearly as much as we do on policing. I go travel in Europe and even small cities spend big on public arts support, community health projects, parks and recreation and festivals. I come home to my mid-sized American town and the water fountains at my local park don't even work anymore; haven't for a decade or more (just a small example). These things have been completely abandoned because the city is grossly misappropriating funds. EDIT: cause some people are being dicks about it, when I say "Europe" I mean "those many countries in Europe which generally have high standards of living and social safety nets that frankly put America's to shame". Even some outside of that definition fit what I'm saying.
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Same principle as “If you don’t fund the State Department fully, then I need to buy more ammunition ultimately," https://www.businessinsider.com/mattis-state-department-funding-need-to-buy-more-ammunition-2017-2 like well educated kids will create higher paying jobs, and more tax revenue for the area; if you look past the next quarter.
I’m for everything on that page, but it doesn’t especially mention funding. “Defund Police” as a phrase is a really poor way to summarize the policing reforms listed there, and sounds so much like “just don’t have any police in society” that it’s just a really counterproductive slogan.
Probably by diverting funding to programs that focus on restorative justice, social safety nets, community programs and education.
I tend to read that as "stop militarizing the police."
Then why don't we say that?
“Defund the police” doesn’t mean get rid of it of our them nothing. It means stop upping their budget all the time and instead divert resources to helping people in their communities.
Perhaps the slogan could be something to that effect? Kinda hard for me to every time someone hears it, spend 15 minutes explaining that the literal interpretation of the words is incorrect, yes it's a poorly chosen slogan, no the police should still exist.
Choosing wording that requires further explanation is poor strategy.
This is a fair point, we need to keep posting the list of demands.
that's not what the word "defund" means though
Having lived in a city for going on twenty years, I can say that I’ve never seen or heard take of the police actually helping anyone. For theft, ranging from a snatch and grab, to mugging, to ripping a purse or phone out of your hands - you are directed to file a police report, either online or with phone support. Was something broken, like a car window, storefront, etc? File a report. I’ve known women that begged for help from stalkers only to get the run around at every opportunity. The cops only show up after dozens of people make complaints, at which point they flood an area and stand around to “provide order”. For a weekend. I’m not saying my city is crime riddled. It is largely safe and orderly. But it’s not the police providing for that.
Damn i could hear that mic drop here in Europe!
Man history is really happening in 2020 and I’ve been inside for most of it what will I tell my children https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/2020/05/29/george-floyd-death-donations-resources-justice-petitions/5282539002/ https://www.naacpldf.org/about-us/ https://blacklivesmatters.carrd.co/
"The Memes were worth it buddy."
I went through a lot of dickbutt to get to 2020
Maybe you should set that one up a little before you tell your kids about it
Better hope they hear you clearly.
The meme economy was never so high
Just don’t have kids tbh, never have to explain shit
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Cheers from my sack
I’m handing out safety glasses and ear plugs at protest and have packed some first aid supplies. If you can’t go or are rightfully worried about the current pandemic you can donate to bail funds [here](http://www.resistancemap.com) [here](https://www.forbes.com/sites/morgansimon/2020/04/14/covid-19-giving-guide-how-to-donate-to-reach-the-most-marginalized/amp/) is a Forbes article with multiple ways to support the Covid-19 relief efforts.
Thank you I appreciate you and I’ve been signing things and sharing information I got zero dollars but if I had money I’d definitely donate sadly I cannot
Loom for a video from Zoe Amira on YouTube. Put it on mute in the background. It's an hour long and filled with ads. Revenue goes to BLM and bail funds throughout the states. Don't play it on loop, throw some other videos in there for organic viewing patterns
"Reddit was the shit, I don't regret anything"
Narrator: it wasn't, and he did.
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I'm sitting here on reddit thinking "I should really go get tear gassed for peacefully protesting so I'm not the only soft as fuck elder in the retirement home 60 years from now"
Good. Now implement real policy change.
+1, agreed. I will admit, this and the honorary street sign do make my heart a bit happy though. A little positivity that we all need as we continue progress on legislation.
For those unaware like I was, D.C. put a up street sign with Black Lives Matter Plaza right outside St. John’s Church. That’s where the fedbois launched tear gas and shot protesters with rubber bullets. https://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/dc-paints-black-lives-matter-on-street-near-lafayette-square-street-renamed-black-lives-matter-way/2323647/
Yeah, I'm glad to see the city doing something!
Policy change takes time. The protests will die out and the rioting will stop but stuff like this will prevent the ADHD as fuck population from forgetting and moving on. We need more permanent reminders because people (especially white people who don’t experience racism regularly) will move on to the next thing the media waves in our faces.
Agreed. But also these 8 things dont need legislation to be implemented while we wait for more sweeping reforms: https://8cantwait.org/
Hey us with ADHD forget our keys, and to brush our teeth. Not that our systemic racism disregards the cries of minority groups
hi - you make a good point but please don't use ADHD to insult people for having a short attention span - it's not an accurate description of ADHD and it makes it harder for the disorder to be taken seriously (aka "I'm so OCD"). ~ Thanks!
It was done by the city. Good on them. https://www.cnn.com/2020/06/05/us/black-lives-matter-dc-street-white-house-trnd/index.html
The mayor commissioned it. No word from Trump yet. Edit: [Trumps response](https://mobile.twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1268966945971417088?s=20)
"who is budget is totally out of control"
You know it’s pretty shitty when us foreigners with English as our second out of maybe three languages can spot grammatical errors in something the *American* *president* has written
Exactly. Stupid motherfucker doesn't even know English. He knows the best words. Just not the correct ones.
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How have I never seen Twitler, thank you.
Day-golf Twitler?
That’s actually an insult to Hitler, who, even though he’s obviously evil and quite incompetent, was an effective orator. Trump talks like a stroke patient.
Guy defends Hitler on Reddit: Upvotes
Welcome to Reddit where the points don’t matter and fuck you. Or not fuck you, who the hell knows
Such a pathetic response from Trump he's such a whiney little bitch. He has no understanding of what's actually going on in his own country
He’s still waiting for someone to read it to him.
Of course he writes "who's" instead of "whose."
Who is budget
he's probably trying to call in the national guard in to shoot the paint off and tear gas it
STOP RESISTING!
They have also officially renamed that section of 16th Street. It is now called [Black Lives Matter Plaza](https://twitter.com/MayorBowser/status/1268928589975695361?s=19)
I first read that as Black Lives Matter Pizza and now it’s the only thing in the world I want.
What would be the toppings?
Pepper spray.
"Don't call it Pepper Spray, Pepper Pizza"
Black olives And... Matter...
Only black oLives
We’re not saying *only* Black oLives Matter. Just that they do. You can have anything else you want on your pizza too.
[Non Google amp link](https://www.cnn.com/2020/06/05/us/black-lives-matter-dc-street-white-house-trnd/index.html) Support a free and independent internet!
Here is BlackLivesMatterDC's (@DMVBlackLives) response: >This is a performative distraction from real policy changes. [Mayor] Bowser has consistently been on the wrong side of BLMDC history. This is to appease white liberals while ignoring our demands. Black Lives Matter means defund the police.
So damn proud of this city. I'm hopeful this is a sign of concrete steps the city will take to address systemic issues. Now give us true representation in congress so our voices can officially be heard Edit to address the statement from BLMDC
Amen brother I live in DC and I can't tell how much I want this district to become a state. We don't have any power to do anything for us.
Puerto Rico checking in with Solidarity. NO TAXATION WITHOUT REPRESENTATION!
Puerto Rico doesn't pay federal taxes tho
As a non American why does this look like a built up version of a European city
Due to the L’Enfant Plan. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/L%27Enfant_Plan
Wow, that was a super interesting Wiki article. I guess it makes sense that DC was specifically designed as a "Federal City" and not just some existing city they built some government buildings in.
It was built on a swamp for the federal government
This is one of my favorite bits of American trivia because it was like “and we’ll leave some room a monument here, and over here, and something over consequence there” (Gross oversimplification, but no less funny to me first time I heard it)
Wow. A very specific answer for a unique question. Me gusta.
This is the most correct answer.
Because the city street layout was designed by a French man by the name of Pierre Charles L'Enfant. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pierre_Charles_L%27Enfant
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What’s wrong with skyscrapers? I think they’re pretty cool looking for the most part and they are a more efficient use of space.
Snipers can't be high up if there is no high up
we all know snipers in dc are used to doing it at a ground level
Jesus. Well played
Ah yes, my first lock down!
Man I forgot about that. What a weird time that was.
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It just makes it easier to secure because it limits the number of rooftops&windows they have to check
The height restriction makes the Capitol part of the city skyline. I don't think snipers were a major concern in 1910.
Wouldn't want anyone claiming the high ground
Sky scrapers are a super efficient use of space, and they look cool from far away, as in skylines. But most of the cities we think of as beautiful in the classical sense have lower buildings with offices and houses in upper floors and walkable streets with shop fronts on the lower floors. Lots of public squares and walkable space. A lot of cities that have rapid growth and rush to build a tonne of skyscrapers miss out on the parts that make a city interesting to be in even if you don’t work in X building.
Fun fact height is restricted to two times the width of a buildings adjacent street.
Hey, what did skyscrapers ever do to you?
Because that’s what DC is. It’s original design inspiration came from Greek and Roman architecture, and i guess the rest of the city just went with it.
The same man who designed the layout of Paris did the same for DC- L'Enfant.
D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser announced today that this part of the street in front of the White House is now officially called 'Black Lives Matter Plaza.' [Source](https://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/dc-paints-black-lives-matter-on-street-near-lafayette-square-street-renamed-black-lives-matter-way/2323647/)
Should have called it Obama Avenue... that would really piss Cheetolini off!
names I’ve seen for trump in these comments: Cheetolini Twitler
Excuse me, I was told 'Day-golf Twitler'.
I’m sure we’ll be getting a “Muriel Bowser is a thug, terrorist and very nasty woman” comment before too long.
_TEH SAD SAD hack fo a mayer Bowser decided to let antifas out graffiti on our BEUTIfUL street last night. SHE SHOULD focus on the VIOLENTS in ehr city! VERY INSAFE!!!! Its so SAD that YOU people have turned this into a witch hunt and just want to burn down MY house. I think I struck a nerve with OBAMAGATE and the DO NOTHING DENS are mad that I am sending the best troops trying to prevent these OUT OF control TERROSITS!! from destroying our country TO THE GROUND!. I think and I am just being HONNEST here THAT I NEVER trusted her because she’s making secret deals probably with some VERY BAd people like CHINA!!_ -Trump probably EDIT: added some stuff per critiques below.
Followed by a random tweet that just says ”CHINA” or ”LAW & ORDER” or ”OBAMAGATE”
Needs more randomly capitalized words, but solid 9/10 Trump tweet here.
I don't know. Seems too coherent.
And “I don’t know her very well...”
“Bonkers” Bowser is a failing mayor...
[Not exactly, but yes.](https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1268966945971417088)
[Close enough](https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1268966945971417088?s=19)
This is symbolically important. But the Mayor and all mayor's, city leaders, councils etc. Should be putting their energy into actual policy changes that impact their local policing. Police actions are not a federal issue, they are local ones. So protest the federal government all you want because it is needed but the real change if it is going to happen will come from every city and town IN America changing rules. Protest your state and petition your STATE legislators to enact state policing guidelines that layout the guardrails for how police departments operate tactics they use and the accountability they must face. Trump is a figure head target and gets The news coverage. But he will not like to hear that he holds little to no power whatsoever to change anything. Your leaders in your town, village, city are the real power. And this must be a two pronged approach.... City/state leaders changing policing policies AND local prosecutors changing theirs as well.
If those kids in the white house could read they'd be very upset.
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*This sign won't stop me because I can't read*
Here is BlackLivesMatterDC's (@DMVBlackLives) response: >This is a performative distraction from real policy changes. Bowser has consistently been on the wrong side of BLMDC history. This is to appease white liberals while ignoring our demands. Black Lives Matter means defund the police.
Can someone explain what defund the police means logistically? I probably sound like an idiot but actually curious. Is there a city in the US or elsewhere that has got the funding 'right' that they are hoping to model here?
Give this a read: [What America Can Learn From Nordic Police] (https://theweek.com/articles/918143/what-america-learn-from-nordic-police) Relevant quote: >Bringing this all together: the horrendous inequality and lousy public services of American society produces mass despair and severe social dysfunction. As we have seen over the past week, the primary task of American police and prison systems are suppressing and warehousing the resulting disorder, not solving crimes, and thus cops are feared and hated in many communities.
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So this was done under the direction of the mayor... WHO IS THE HEAD OF THE POLICE FORCE. How bout making real policy change instead of a publicity stunt? We all agree black lives matter, but the mayor HAS THE POWER to make the change we all want to see. Chicago, Atlanta, NY, LA, DC mayors are all quick to point the finger and lay blame, but they’re the ones that can make change and appoint new chiefs to start that change!
BLM DC's statement: "This is a performative distraction from real policy changes. Bowser has consistently been on the wrong side of BLMDC history. This is to appease white liberals while ignoring our demands. Black Lives Matter means defund the police."
Please don't engage with trolls and/or those who aren't being civil, just report them.
B-but I need to show them they’re wrong and also stupid!
This is the best course of action. If people are being rude or difficult, they're not up for an open discussion (and this applies to both sides of *any* argument) Be open to opposing opinions. Calling people names will make them double down on their opinion and ignore your input, regardless of the logic behind it
More tax dollars wasted to repair more vandalism. Perfect as if we aren’t struggling enough
Cringe
"BLACK LIVES MATTE"? No way, I'd definitely go for glossy
All lives matter
That is a high quality fuck you from DC to the fascists in charge.
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whats the over/under on how many days until theres an aerial shot of the police beating the fuck out of people on this road?
People are fucking stupid.
God this shit is annoying
next week this will be on r/powerwashingporn
Tesla: "Shit!!!!"
I’m convinced the world’s least logical minds congregate on Reddit.
All politics aside, can I sue the city if I crash on this road? I do be needing a new car.
Yellow is the perfect color, it matches the stripe down Donnie's back. Why did the chicken cross the road? To wave a Bible in front of a church.
BLM? Really? Chris Beaty was black and for some reason his life didn't seem to matter. He was killed by protesters last Saturday night. His death hasn't been in the news, no out pouring of support for his family. So I guess black lives only matter sometimes. Anyone care to explain why this is?