In The Fight For Justice, The Police Can Only Be On One Side
“As the Chicago FOP most recently made clear, police are the only ‘public-sector workers’ that threaten to strike by promising blood in the streets. No other group of public-sector workers could do that. But also, no other group of public-sector workers would do that. Police are also the only government agency who lie so often and thoroughly that its mendacity has been upheld by the Supreme Court. They are the government employees routinely found to post racist and misogynist messages to private group chats or social media, or become members of [politialresearch.org] far-right groups. No other public worker is armed to the teeth, told that they are a god on earth, and insulated from legal sanction. Johnson says “police unions are wrong on the matter of police violence,” but can otherwise be won over to (unnamed) proper political positions (through unnamed means). But state violence is anathema to working-class power, and being “wrong on the matter of police violence” is a disqualifying disposition. This union is wrong on the issues, but at least they fight for their members’ pensions—it rings like a Borscht Belt joke.”
“While individual officers certainly vary in their politics, the police as an institution has always been the base for Trumpism; indeed, cops helped create it and are its truest exponents. So it is no surprise that the blue line who swarmed the Capitol continues to do the work of racial capital. Perhaps the police and sheriffs pushing rightwing causes (including attempts to limit voting rights) and upholding border vigilantism [politicalresearch.org], abortion restrictions, transit fare enforcement, evictions, teen curfews, and other forms of repression against the criminalized majority of society are waiting in the wings to pursue social democracy. Then again, perhaps not.”