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THREAD ON NOT CALLING THE COPS from a white person who woke up today with smashed car windows
It’s one thing to say “don’t call the cops”, it’s another thing to not call the cops in situations where I, as a white person, am expected and encouraged to call the cops so I wanted to break it down as someone currently thinking about what that looks like in practice.
Today I woke up to this.
Absolutely fucking terrifying, yeah? Yeah. Did a quick walk around the truck to look for other damage and then got a broom and gardening gloves and started to move the glass away so I wouldn’t get hurt touching the car and no one would get hurt walking by.
Once the car was cleaned up, I did a quick look around. Did it look like anyone dropped anything that would indicate to me where to start looking for answers? Nope. Did any neighbors have security cameras? Yes!
Here’s the immediate moment where a cop becomes useless: there is nothing notable for him to write down on his notepad or whatever they do, and sure, my neighbor has a security camera but I live in North Philly where nobody is gonna give the cops security tapes. #acab
If you take nothing away from this thread take away this: strong communities make policing obsolete. I know my neighbors, and they know me, which mean I can go ask them for help and they want to help me. When we know each other, we don’t make each other suspects.
The cops would have harassed my neighbors, all of whom except for me and my roommate are black, who I know didn’t do this. Why? Because they know me and because I know them. I’m never going to put any black person in the path of a cop, which is what my calling cops does.
My calling the cops brings a gun into the situation. My calling the cops bring a suspicious, inherently violent, typically white person into a community that isn’t theirs to best case bully people into answers they don’t have and worst case murder someone.
At any point was my life in danger? Anyone else’s? Is there any harm or damage? Is property destruction harm or damage? To all of these: no. So why do I need to ask a stranger into my community, which only stands to be harmed by this stranger? The answer is: I don’t.
A cop isn’t going to help me clean up the glass, or be able to check in with my neighbors, or fix the car window, or help pay for the car window. Even if this is a “Good Cop” who magically sniffs out who did it, why does “justice” for me require a gun and cuffs?
Part of the necessary work we must do if we are serious about communities without cops, and on a bigger scale prison abolition, is look at what justice means. What action would help me in this situation? What would need to happen for me to feel like the person who did it (1/2)
(2/2) is being held accountable for costing me however much this will be to replace? When I have an answer to both of those questions, the immediate next one HAS to be: how do I do this without involving police?
And honestly, the answer is usually very simply. I talked to my neighbors as they woke up, and the people who walk their dogs in this area, and put notes in the mailboxes of the houses where the car was parked with my name and phone number if anyone has any who/what/when.
If you read this far, donate here. And next time you’re in a situation where you’re expected to call the police: don’t. My DMs are open for any other white people who want to talk about this further, or for further reading/resources. https://twitter.com/mnfreedomfund/status/1266053143512653826">https://twitter.com/mnfreedom...
while you’re all here, there’s other causes related to the incredible and necessary work happening in Minnesota right now (and keep your eyes posted for your local bail fund as they inevitably appear over the next couple days) https://twitter.com/keyrodi/status/1266442545250406401?s=21">https://twitter.com/keyrodi/s... https://twitter.com/keyrodi/status/1266442545250406401">https://twitter.com/keyrodi/s...
