Written by Miguel Palacios
There is no doubt that California is, by and large, a blue state. Nevertheless, state Democrats are finding themselves in opposition with each other over the state’s push for police reform laws and a police decertification bill. The battle is between far-left socialist Democrats and Moderate Democrats.
Obviously, it hurts to lose a loved one, especially when we feel that their lives were cut short and they were taken too soon. Nevertheless, we must also learn to acknowledge our own faults as humans. Calling for police reform is much like putting a bandaid over a gaping wound that is profusely bleeding. In order to fully address the problem, we must get to the root of it. The truth of the matter is that if we want to dismantle and defund the police, then we have to stop committing crimes, we have to stop using firearms, we need to be more cognizant of our actions. The problem with society is not over-policing or corrupt police officials. Many of these unfortunate deaths could have been prevented altogether if the individual did not commit a crime that warranted the response of the police. Corrupt police are few and far between and are only a symptom of the social problem we have in America. Policing in general is a response to the problems that we create. A problem that is much deeper and intense than police brutality and corruption go.
This problem is a double-edged sword, which appears to be understood by the moderate-leaning Democrats. There are serious problems on both sides of the issue. Reform-minded Democrats call for serious changes, such as the decertification of police officers who use excessive force, and for police officers to restrain their colleagues who are using excessive force. If a cop fails to restrain their partner or colleague who is being excessive, then the reform-minded Democrats want them to be prosecuted as well. With the intervention of some moderate Democrats, some stipulations have been removed from the bill.
A compromise may be due here, and bill author CA Senator Steven Bradford says he is willing to continue negotiations, though he feels the bill is already fair. Even so, negotiations and compromise will not fix the problem at large, which is not a problem with our police, but a problem within us.
Photo via Kent Nishimura
