which abolitionist should we appoint to run the RCMP?

"As one of the journalists Mesley intended to interview, I would like to know which of us she was quoting, and from what source."

"BUT WHAT HAPPENS IF WE DEFUND THE POLICE?" "Hi, Mr. Brooks. I'm w/ The Dept. of You OK? So, you OK? Looks like you fell asleep in your car. Lemme get you a ride home. I'll be by your home tomorrow to check on you. Here's my number. Looks like your ride's here. Good night, sir."

Demands laid out by Black Lives Matter Vancouver after days-long action: a thread

This need for change is URGENT. It is our job to force the people in power to admit that there is something profoundly WRONG with how things are, and get them to CHANGE IT. 11/ #BlackLivesMatter #AbolishThePolice

Instead, please go use your fine rhetorical skills and desire to subtly shift the system to bother the people who don't want to change a damned thing. 10/

Arguing now about the degree to which we should reform/abolish police pits in opposition people who share the fundamental position that WE MUST DO SOMETHING. We enable people who want to do nothing to watch contentedly as the momentum for change dies in spats of infighting. 9/

The planet is dying, Black people are dying, Indigenous people are dying, educational programs and community services are being gutted, and income inequality is growing. All at an accelerating pace, and all because of an interrelated system of exploitation. 8/

This means that in order to achieve even MODERATE REFORM, the best way to proceed is to advocate on a mass scale for revolutionary change. Asking politely does not work at the pace we all agree it needs to to address the systemic inequities of our modern state. 7/

People in power are notoriously not interested in changing the systems that exist. There are many reasons for this, but fear and self-interest are the main two. They are supremely unlikely, to make significant change, or notable minor reform, to the way things are. 6/

We need numbers to force change of any kind. The only way change actually happens in broader society is in moments of substantial sustained mass protest that force politicians to change their behaviour (inaction) to quell unrest and create meaningful policy and legislation. 5/

As that window shifts (maybe broadens is a better word), the ability to apply significant pressure to the people in power develops because large numbers of people recognize new potentialities. 4/

The way change happens in society is that people on the “radical” front line push the Overton window of the things that can be thought of and talked about among the general population. 3/

If we imagine that public discourse is like a pair of scales, this argument actually lands clearly on the side of “do nothing.” Every time you say “but what about…” what the people in power see is another person they can count on to support them in doing nothing. 2/

Here’s something I don’t understand: why is it that white people (and it’s always white people) who identify as “on the left” and “not pro-police” and “we definitely need to change something” insist on arguing against people who want to abolish police? 1/

Folks declared an autonomous zone in Seattle to begin building a society not founded on white supremacy; we can make new systems that model the way we want to live and invite people to join. #FieldNotesTC

Short term-ism is not a species based problem. It’s a system based problem. #FieldNotesTC

My latest for Black Light: Black people who speak out on issues of anti-Black racism have historically been silenced, suppressed and disappeared by Canadian institutions. Let’s learn from history and protect today’s whistleblowers. https://t.co/7oEVW4NejZ

Loved this show when I saw it last fall. It's two clicks #torontotheatre

Can we also do this to the #TorontoPolice please.