«I suggest that what Friedersdorf sees as failure, is instead his own inability to recognize the power and resilience of white supremacy, and its hold on the institution of American law enforcement.»

https://sherrilyn.substack.com/p/a-response-to-conor-friedersdorf

I would broaden that statement beyond law enforcement.

«I believe Friedersdorf is sincere when he says “I wish I knew the best way forward.” We all do. But there is one thing about which I’m sure: the way forward to ending the white supremacy that fuels systemic police violence at this moment, begins with white people.»

I agree with the second part of that, but I’m not as charitable towards Friedersdorf. He’s always been kind of libertarian and willfully blind. I’ve long been disappointed with The Atlantic for giving him voice.

Readers, because of the way Mastodon works (currently), scroll UP to the root post and then back down to read just this one thread. There’s probably an entire tree of “other replies”, which may or may not be useful, but are not what I’m posting here.

https://ubiqueros.com/notes/9amhn9du2u

(At the time of me posting, this was the last reply in the thread. Thanks to the two main participants for having this conversation in “public”.)

Seems like a pretty good write-up, actually.

https://news.yahoo.com/attorney-firebomb-nypd-car-george-floyd-protests-blm-sentenced-prison-142139479.html

Well… not me. That’s the headline on the story.

«The federally mandated PIT count (point in time) happens every year at the end of January.

“Typically those are the coldest days of the year,” Shanta Addison said during my training session. “If you’re out there, you’ve likely exhausted all your resources.”»

https://www.newsobserver.com/news/local/counties/durham-county/article271681397.html#storylink=cpy

«The SCORPION unit, short for the Street Crimes Operation to Restore Peace in our Neighborhoods, was formed in October 2021 to concentrate on crime hot spots. Critics say such specialized teams can be prone to abusive tactics.»

https://www.reuters.com/world/us/memphis-disbands-police-unit-fatal-beating-more-protests-expected-2023-01-28/

«In 2021, a Times investigation found that over the previous five years, police officers had killed more than 400 motorists who were not wielding a gun or knife, or being pursued for a violent crime. That’s a rate of more than one a week.

….

The videos shared some elements with many recordings of the killings examined by The Times. Police officers used aggressive language — angrily cursing and threatening Mr. Nichols as they pulled him from the driver’s seat.

….

Policing experts have told The Times that officers often react more aggressively to drivers who don’t obey commands — punishing anyone who exhibits what’s called “contempt of cop.” Mr. Nichols was polite when he was initially being yelled at by the officers, before he ran.

….

Some police-reform advocates also told The Times that if someone who is pulled over for a minor reason tries to run or drive away, the best police response is let them go, and then track them down later. While some jurisdictions have tried to ban police chases, they still happen often. In this case, the police had Mr. Nichols’s car, and most likely could have used that to find him.

https://www.nytimes.com/live/2023/01/27/us/tyre-nichols-memphis/fatal-beating-in-memphis-echoes-other-deadly-traffic-stops-analyzed-by-the-times?smid=url-share

Ukrainians stepping up:

«Over the past year, 22.3 billion hryvnia, or about $500 million, was donated directly to the army by businesses and individuals, according to Ukraine’s central bank. That far outpaced charitable contributions inside Ukraine for humanitarian assistance, which totaled 920 million hryvnia, or $20 million.»

https://www.nytimes.com/live/2023/01/24/world/russia-ukraine-news#ukrainians-have-donated-nearly-500-million-to-the-countrys-military

https://www.theatlantic.com/newsletters/archive/2023/01/ukraine-russia-weapons-nato-germany/672817/

So… I 100% agree with this, but I’m sort of wondering: where are the mea culpa articles where we’re sorry we didn’t care enough about Syria, Yemen, Rwanda, the Rohingya, Xinjiang, etc.?

Not the the-US-is-terrible-we-should-completely-withdraw-from-everything stuff, but, seriously, I would like to see an admission that we were slack previously along with repudiating with military force the Russian invasion of a recognized sovereign nation.

The New World Order should apply to the entire world, shouldn’t it?

«Escalating military assistance from small anti-tank devices to artillery, Patriot missile defence systems to tanks, is a signalling strategy akin to that of incrementally raising the bet to convey a strong hand in poker. As they cross Russia’s “red lines” one after another, the US and its allies are sending a message about their resolve to provide Ukraine with the support it needs to repel Russia’s invasion.

….

While western leaders congratulate one another on excelling at this game of poker, Putin and his elites are not even playing at the same table. From Russia’s perspective, its current adversaries in the west are but momentary blips on its way to achieving its military goals. In two years’ time, the US president, Joe Biden, may no longer be there to ensure western unity in its support for Ukraine. And even a small crack may be sufficient to turn the tide for Russia.

….

Putin’s second advantage comes in the form of policy latitude. With no requirement to answer to the public, who bear the brunt of the war’s financial costs, Putin’s policy range is determined by competing interests in his small inner circle. And those mainly military and intelligence elites are fully on board with the war: to them, the benefit of reuniting Soviet territories far outweighs what they perceive as temporary costs.

….

What does this mean for Ukraine? It means that Russia will not relent. There’s a Russian folk saying that the first crepe in a batch usually does not pan out – in other words, succeeding at something usually takes some trial and error. The same seems to apply to its military campaigns. From the Soviet-Finnish wars to Chechnya, Russia has a history of initially failed military campaigns that succeeded on the second go.

….

Even if Ukraine chases every last Russian soldier from its land, Russia’s aggression will not end. Russia will continue to make claims to Ukraine’s territory, and will back them up with threats, intermittent missile launches and border skirmishes. There is no such thing as a decisive victory for the defender. 

….

The only way Ukraine can achieve lasting peace is by stockpiling the biggest guns it can find.

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/jan/22/vladimir-putin-ukraine-west-russia-president

…and also chasing every last Russian soldier from it’s territory. Including Crimea. Maybe they can enter into a long-term lease agreement with Russia for Sevastopol. 🙂