Imagine no police force The complete removal of a police force is exactly the kind of thing John Lennon (who was tragically shot dead in 1980) would have been behind Godfrey Elfwick
https://spectator.us/imagine-police-force-godfrey-elfwick/
The one resounding call from Black Lives Matter protesters in the wake of George Floyd’s death has been ‘defund the police’. This is a rallying cry I am 100 percent on board with. In an unprecedented move, Minneapolis City Council has chosen to see sense and formally announced plans to dismantle the Minneapolis Police Department and committed to establishing a new community-led system. This is exciting news, and sets a precedent for this model to be repeated around the world. However, many people (racists) are criticizing this bold strategy of tearing down the fascist state, because they simply cannot imagine their lives without the comforting restrictions living under an oppressive authoritarian regime brings them.
I’m hearing inane questions such as ‘But what if my house is being broken into by an armed attacker?!’ Well that’s simple. In a community-led system of law-keeping, you would call the number of your allocated Peace Officer and explain clearly, and without prejudice towards the defendant, what the current situation is. Be sure to alert them to any possible reasons the robber (or ‘wealth distributor’) may possess to have been forced into a life of crime. Perhaps they come from a broken home? Maybe their minority status has caused them to feel disillusioned and understandably upset by the systemic disparity of wealth brought on by white patriarchy? Is it possible that their lived experience has led to a life of substance abuse which has spiraled out of control? Remember to not make racially-stereotypical assumptions about this person, and instead see if you can open a dialogue in order for them to be able to state their case without fear of being judged. Once you have passed on this information to the Peace Officer, they will immediately put out an alert on social media for other citizens in your area to send their thoughts and prayers to you at this difficult time, while also taking care to offer support to the wealth distributor who has been conditioned into breaking into your property by the multi-layered inequalities inherent within Western society.
This can only lead to a gradual shift in attitudes, as people become more inclined to accept that being robbed, or physically attacked, or raped, is simply a consequence of years of colonization and white privilege. Dismantling the police force will likely uncover many deeply ingrained issues lurking beneath the surface that decades of prejudiced cops were keeping stifled, and allow society to see them more clearly. A police force is like a tightly-wound bandage covering a wound that can only be healed by allowing it access to the fresh air.
I feel that the complete removal of a police force is exactly the kind of thing John Lennon (who was tragically shot dead in 1980) would have been behind. This has prompted me to rewrite the lyrics of one of his most famous songs, as I believe he would have done himself if he were still alive today. Very much like Elton John rewrote ‘Candle in the Wind’ in order to make more money pay tribute to Princess Diana:
‘Imagine’ (with lyrics by Godfrey Elfwick)
Imagine no police force / It isn’t hard to do
No need to loot a Kmart / No burning cop cars, too
Imagine all white people / Dropping to their knees
MLK was a dreamer / But he wasn’t all that woke
He failed to unpack the myriad of complex issues when multi-layered privilege overlaps with gender-critical cisnorms associated with the underlying ethnic bias embedded subconsciously within all neofascistic societies that we need to acknowledge in order to effectively challenge racial inequality /
So the world will be as one
Imagine there’s no prisons / Let everyone be free
No criminals in lockdown / We’ll live in harmony
Imagine all white people / Begging for clemency
You, you may say I’m a ‘libtard’ / Yes, I hear that all the time
So be warned, let me inform you / Using ableist slurs is a hate crime
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