If you’re protesting and organizing against police violence, then your target is going to be the police. And, obviously, law enforcement and those who support them won’t like it.

This debate around defund the police is really not about the demand, it’s about police power and whether or not we should have the ability to imagine and build different practices of justice in this country

And the “defund the police slogan pushes people away argument” also belies two other points that liberals seem to miss: 1.) support for the demand must be organized (because movements aren’t focus-grouped)

And 2.) opposition to the demand is also organized. Is it true that opponents will rely on the old Cold War era notion of the “thin blue line”? Sure. But police and politicians are using influence and utilizing institutional resources to defeat the movement.

They use their power to define the terms of debate and struggle in their bid to defend and grow their power. We have to understand power—theirs and ours—how it’s used