" never once heard a friend (of any race) say they want more police at all, ever."
I have never in my life heard anyone talk about having 'more or less police' - so why is it surprising that you haven't heard about it.
The polls is not about 'what someone was saying unsolicited' - it was about 'what they actually think'.
There's nothing surprising or funny about it.
"Because, some rural areas in America have a "posse" system where volunteers get to ride around armed, sometimes outfitted (by taxpayer money) with bulletproof vests and big stickers for their cars showing their semi-official affiliation with the police"
This has nothing to do with anything.
People want more or less police for the obvious reasons - also - despite the rhetoric, most Black communities are actually under policed, not over policed.
>I have never in my life heard anyone talk about having 'more or less police'
I've personally known quite a few homeless people (and been one!) that had been repeatedly displaced by police that spoke at length about how they'd prefer fewer police, since the demolition of homeless camps are often perceived as being for show or just something that happened because officers were bored and simply had nothing to do that day.
They perceived it as being for show since they'd often be able to reconstruct the camp the very next day and largely be left alone for weeks or even months afterward.
I also know a woman that had a seriously dangerous stalker that had friends in the local police that somehow had the clout to send officers to her home on a whim. She's been arrested multiple times without ever being convicted of anything, usually not even charged at all. One time, she was 5150'd (mandatory 72 hour psychiatric evaluation) while in the middle of serving cake at her son's birthday because the stalker (who was about 300 miles away on that day) called his buddies and said she'd threatened suicide. She was able to produce proof on the scene that she hadn't contacted him at all, but was taken in anyway.
She has personally expressed on many occasions that she wished the police stuck to a more strictly defined set of duties so that there would be less opportunity for an abuser to use his connections to use them as his own personal harassment squad, which includes a reduction in total numbers of police presence.
I suppose we just know different people!
Re: My thought about posses.
>This has nothing to do with anything.
I felt as though I explained the connection in the next paragraph, but I'm more than happy to explain in more detail how a person could in some situation prefer the presence of trained police than state-funded posses that have considerably less oversight and accountability. If you could clarify why you think this is incorrect, I am more than happy to discuss this further.
> most Black communities are actually under policed, not over policed.
Can you expand on this? I'd love more data on this point. If you're referencing the poll itself, you'll see that I already am skeptical about how it should be interpreted.
" since the demolition of homeless camps are often perceived as being for show or just something that happened because officers were bored and simply had nothing to do that day."
???
Someone doing something illegal, facing the 'force' of the police (who are acting in the interests of the rest of the community) is obviously going to want 'less police'.
So yes, 'Bank Robbers' also probably want 'less police'.
Ad-Hoc homeless camps are not removed because 'cops are bored' - they are illegal for good reason, they spread and metastasise.
There is a medical clinic across the street from where I live - and on a monthly basis, when the 'welfare check' day is, in the evening, they convene, smoke crack and 'camp out'. They generally linger in a small, makeshift 'camp' until eventually - and thankfully - the police come to break it up. It's a monthly cycle.
Whatever the 'underlying causes' - the solution is not 'makeshift camps'. FYI - these guys are eligible for welfare, which is about $1K in Quebec, there are tons of rentals around here for $400, meaning, there is no reason for most of them to be 'homeless' (though obviously there are serious mental issues with some of them). Free healthcare and a ton of other free services. I'm not saying living on welfare is easy, rather, there are 'just enough' services there to enable someone who is 'socially coherent' to be able to not be homeless.
As for 'more police' here is far-left Vox on the issue, specifically Matthew Iglesias. [1]
I have never in my life heard anyone talk about having 'more or less police' - so why is it surprising that you haven't heard about it.
The polls is not about 'what someone was saying unsolicited' - it was about 'what they actually think'.
There's nothing surprising or funny about it.
"Because, some rural areas in America have a "posse" system where volunteers get to ride around armed, sometimes outfitted (by taxpayer money) with bulletproof vests and big stickers for their cars showing their semi-official affiliation with the police"
This has nothing to do with anything.
People want more or less police for the obvious reasons - also - despite the rhetoric, most Black communities are actually under policed, not over policed.