Why how we word things matters so much..it just does

[Peacetrain]

"Defund the police" has everyone's hair on fire.. but "Police accountability" has a totally different reaction..



Black lives matter set the right on fire with blue lives matter, all lives matter etc etc.. but use the same wording but add the word also
"Black lives matter also" has a non stop amen in the evangelical community. Its like they took the cotton out of their ears and hear what people are saying

I don't know why people are so willfully stupid.. but there you have it, sometimes you just have to go the extra mile to make people understand. We have to talk to each other in a way that they don't push each others buttons so hard they cannot listen to one another..

[ananda]

1. I was going to recommend Police Reform..

but I think Police Accountability sounds better.

Thanks.

[TwilightZone]

2. Or "Law Enforcement Reform"

I understand that reform is already a thing, but it's a much better slogan than Defund the Police, which is in itself a misnomer from the perspective of most people who support it. Most don't want to get rid of the police altogether - they want to allocate some of the funds to other areas and morph law enforcement into something significantly less militaristic and reactionary.

Defund the police is the worst slogan in memory. Many are pretending that no one ever said it and that it's a right-wing fabrication, but that's simply not true. They blew it completely out of proportion as they do everything, but we gave them the tool to do so. We need to acknowledge the error, reframe the argument, and try to change the narrative.

[TigressDem]

3. Hind sight is 20-20

You do see 20-20 in retrospect AND IT IS A GREAT addition.

Just try not to be so hard at people who came up with an incomplete version that others misinterpreted. NO ONE ever meant that ONLY Black Lives Matter.

In the heat of the moment people were thinking about police killing black people in the street without any consequences OVER AND OVER AND OVER again.... shooting them IN THEIR HOMES OVER and OVER and OVER again.... shooting them in the BACK over and over and over again....

I guess no one thought at the time that it was NECESSARY to add ALSO, but if it helps get the right kind of attention, YES, AMEN.

[dixiechiken1]

4. I don't necessarily disagree with what you're saying about BLM...

But goddamn it, I really am sick and tired of capitulating to these assholes.

During the height of the BLM protests, I was in the car with my 85 yr old mom, who is a fierce Democrat and fairly progressive, given her age. We passed a "mini-protest" on a street corner and I honked in support. My mom - who had clearly been infected by my stupid-as-dirt, wingnut brother - spewed the "all lives matter" bullshit.

I turned to her, mouth agape, and explained to her that they were saying exactly what you said, that BLM ALSO.

Her response was, " Well, they should say that then."

My response back: "Does it matter? They didn't say ONLY BLM, but that's what what you heard anyway."

She got it.

So, yeah, I guess you're right. And if we need to re-calibrate to make more people understand, fine. But there needs to come a point where we stop thinking we can reach everyone. Some are too entrenched in their bigotry. And they always will be.

BTW, I have never liked "defund the police."
"Police accountability" is soooooo much better. 😊

[Dem2]

5. Stubbornness and purity tests

Have cost Democrats millions and millions of votes.

Learning to say the correct things to win elections could have saved this country so much heartache.

Surely this will piss people off, but nobody doesn't agree in their hearts, they just don't want to hear it.