Biden says that 'if Trump wasn’t running, I’m not sure I’d be running'

return2ozma@lemmy.world to politics @lemmy.world – 371 points –
Biden says that 'if Trump wasn’t running, I’m not sure I’d be running'
nbcnews.com
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So you think if we abolish the police, the white supremacists will suddenly stop being racist? What do we do if they violently protest, and there's no one to arrest them and no system to process them?

Like I get what you're trying to say, but at some point you're going to end up with no police and persisting white supremacists. What's the plan for that? White supremacy doesn't need police stations to survive.

the white supremacists will suddenly stop being racist?

No, if we abolish the police we remove white supremacism's most important institution. You don't understand why they invented police in the first place, do you? "Serve and protect" is a very misleading slogan - who it actually is that they "serve and protect" is not something they will be showing you on CSI any time soon and with damn good reason because it's not you.

and there’s no one to arrest them

There's no one to arrest them now. Right now, it's only extreme public pressure and the prospect of revolt that can force them to throw one of their own under the bus to protect the rest - if you have any hope that an inherently white supremacist institution will be doing anything to curb white supremacism you are indulging in liberal fantasy.

White supremacy doesn’t need police stations to survive.

Yes. It does. It needs enforcement from above. It needs funding from above. It needs next-to complete immunity from the society it represses from above.

We'll have to agree to disagree I suppose. I don't have any love for the police but there's still a role for civil law enforcement and protection. Police aren't great at that, but we still have a need for it in some shape or fashion.

I also don't believe removing establishments will solve institutional racism and white supremacy. The South is a great example of how it survives even if it is violently brought to heel.

I'm loathe to argue further because I do agree with a lot of what you say, and you're very clearly fighting for the same goals that I am. Where we disagree is the nature of racism and what is necessary to eliminate it. At the end of the day though, I'd much rather work with you than with the opposition.

Where we disagree is the nature of racism

I'd say so. I'd say you are unwilling to see just how fundamental white supremacism is to the society you exist within. You are unwilling to admit that it's a feature of said society and not a flaw. And that colors your perception of the institutions that protect and enable white supremacism - which completely includes (but aren't limited to) not just police but the very concept of policing.