Protestors flock to the streets, desperate to make a change. Whether they hold signs or shout slogans, they are making a point all the same. Defund the police. But what does this mean?
The notion of defunding the police sounds a bit like a punishment for the crimes they have committed. But that is not the purpose. The idea behind “Defunding the police” isn’t to close departments and make cheaper uniforms. It’s to take a portion of the money from the heavily funded police and give it to the aspects of the community who really need it. This can be through schools, housing, or healthcare.
Sen. Corey Brook agreed that American citizens are overpoliced. Police have become the cleanup crew of the streets, being sent to solve problems of every level. In 2015, The Washington Post found that somehow the heavily funded police force lacked the training to deal with situations where an individual has a mental health issue. In fact, for the first six months of 2015, the police shot and killed a person in a mental crisis every 36 hours.
However, I think it’s important to remember that the police themselves are not the enemy. The police force provides many jobs to middle-class citizens and makes it possible for people to escape poverty. They are also the protectors of the community, whether they are good at it or not, they are the one we call in an emergency. Do not provoke the police to hurt a higher power, because chances are, that higher power does not care what happens as long as it’s out of eyesight. It’s important to remember that the true enemy is systemic racism, something we all have to make an effort to stop.