democracy interrupted (okay, almost)
2021-Sep-17, Friday 12:54 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
mellowtiggerToday marks the 10th anniversary of Occupy Wall Street. The work continues.
Even if you live in the surrounding Twin Cities metro area, you may not know the whole story of what's been happening here regarding the effort to reimagine policing in our city. There's a lot to process for those of us living in Minneapolis proper. Minnesota Public Radio has an excellent explainer. It does a good job by mentioning Mayor Frey's veto (twice) and the city council finding the votes to override the veto... but even this story misses a few sordid details.
The good news is that the Minnesota state Supreme Court intervened in the late hours yesterday to allow this measure to go forward. Early voting begins today, so their intervention was necessary. Proposition 2 is on the ballot, and the votes will be counted. That democratic guarantee was NOT certain until last night. You can follow the rules and still get sidelined and gaslighted. Yeah, I know. Is anyone surprised?
What we're asking for is not unreasonable, is not fringe, is not untested, and is clearly needed to maintain accountability to the community.
I went to the same plaza this afternoon where I joined the Occupy camp a decade ago. There were over 100 people there today, but it was less than I hoped for. I suspect a lot of people decided it wasn't an "urgent" matter today, since the court stepped in yesterday to allow the ballot measure.
I listened to a speaker from the Minneapolis teachers union who voiced support for this measure. You can find many more minority, religious, and trauma groups involved, just by reading the #Yes4Minneapolis hashtag on Twitter. There are a lot of people thinking on this issue in terms of systems instead of superiority.
If they, those people most harmed by the current system, want to give this new idea a try, then please give them the chance. Vote #YesOn2.
Even if you live in the surrounding Twin Cities metro area, you may not know the whole story of what's been happening here regarding the effort to reimagine policing in our city. There's a lot to process for those of us living in Minneapolis proper. Minnesota Public Radio has an excellent explainer. It does a good job by mentioning Mayor Frey's veto (twice) and the city council finding the votes to override the veto... but even this story misses a few sordid details.
The good news is that the Minnesota state Supreme Court intervened in the late hours yesterday to allow this measure to go forward. Early voting begins today, so their intervention was necessary. Proposition 2 is on the ballot, and the votes will be counted. That democratic guarantee was NOT certain until last night. You can follow the rules and still get sidelined and gaslighted. Yeah, I know. Is anyone surprised?
What we're asking for is not unreasonable, is not fringe, is not untested, and is clearly needed to maintain accountability to the community.
- https://theappeal.org/policing-studies/
- https://www.gq.com/story/ithaca-mayor-svante-myrick-police-reform
- https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/06/unbundle-police/612913/
- https://www.vox.com/2020/7/31/21334190/what-police-do-defund-abolish-police-reform-training
- https://minnesotareformer.com/2020/12/15/the-bad-cops-how-minneapolis-protects-its-worst-police-officers-until-its-too-late/
"May your choices reflect your hopes, not your fears." – Nelson Mandela
I went to the same plaza this afternoon where I joined the Occupy camp a decade ago. There were over 100 people there today, but it was less than I hoped for. I suspect a lot of people decided it wasn't an "urgent" matter today, since the court stepped in yesterday to allow the ballot measure.I listened to a speaker from the Minneapolis teachers union who voiced support for this measure. You can find many more minority, religious, and trauma groups involved, just by reading the #Yes4Minneapolis hashtag on Twitter. There are a lot of people thinking on this issue in terms of systems instead of superiority.
If they, those people most harmed by the current system, want to give this new idea a try, then please give them the chance. Vote #YesOn2.