Andy mentioned some of my other comments on the posts here so I want to respond.
I have very strong feelings about any idea to disband the police. The rhetoric coming from our city council is dangerous and irresponsible. I’m not a fan of our mayor but at least he’s standing up to this. The council continues to tout the idea of not having a police force but they haven’t said how they would do that. The city council and mayors office play a role in everything that has happened relating to George Floyd’s murder. They continue to blame a toxic police force. Well, guess what? You run the city so ultimately you are culpable for this.
Defunding the police is really code for just taking funds away during budget cycles. This happens all the time as budgets shift. The police and fire depts in MPLS have seen periods where they have lost funding as money is allocated to other areas. I would support reallocating money to jobs programs, mental health, etc. If that is what de-funding entails I would likely support some of that.
My biggest concern about everything that has happened is it feels like the chasm is getting wider between not only different races but also other socio-economic factors. Folks seem to be digging in even deeper on their beliefs and opinions and seem even less open to hear a dissenting viewpoint. I see it here in my city and I read it on this forum and it makes me sad.