“Defund the police” freaks people out because it actually addresses structural racism in a concrete way. Anything that addresses systemic racism or economic inequality beyond shallow symbolism & gestures will be met with resistance. No different from the fight to end segregation.

The USA spends roughly $180B/yr on policing and prisons. Homelessness in America could be ended by spending 1/10th of that amount. This isn’t about public safety or smart economic spending. It’s about racism & violent state oppression.

The state engineers the conditions of poverty & crime by creating policies that deprive people of the means to survive—low wages, poor housing, healthcare & education—then invests the greatest amount of tax $$ in a system of militarized police & prisons to control the population.

Racism & the racist myths about Black people being inherently criminal are what’s relied upon to justify this system & people’s acceptance of it. It’s not possible to be offended by the idea of spending less on police & more on public services w/o adhering to anti-Black ideology.

Ppl accept this daily violence & injustice the same way ppl have accepted acts of genocide throughout history—when it’s carried out by people in uniforms & administered by officials in suits using official budgets, ppl are less likely to pause & examine what’s really happening.