Re: the DC street painting & BLM street sign. Please don't confuse symbolism with effective action.

[scarletwoman]

I've seen more than one thread today about the Black Lives Matter street painting in Washington D.C., each full of celebration and expressions of glee. And I agree it's a cool thing, and it's lots of fun to tweak the trumpmonster's nose.

I just want to point out that there's a bigger picture to consider here:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/dc-politics/bowser-black-lives-matter-street/2020/06/05/eb44ff4a-a733-11ea-bb20-ebf0921f3bbd_story.html

The group Black Lives Matter DC reacted to the street painting with criticism of the mayor, saying she should decrease the budget for the D.C. police and “invest in the community.”

Bowser’s proposed budget increases funding for traditional policing while cutting spending on programs to reduce violence through community-based intervention initiatives.

“This is a performative distraction from real policy changes,” the group said on Twitter, adding “Black Lives Matter means defund the police.”

Jaffe, one of the local artists who was painting Friday morning, said she, too, would like Bowser to cut funding for the police department. She said she also would like to see officers express more support for protests, which began a week ago in the District.

“I’m conflicted about doing it. It’s about wanting to reclaim the streets, but I also know that it is a little bit of a photo op,” said Jaffe, a D.C. native. “Where is the action behind this?”

(my bold throughout excerpt)

Celebrating a cheeky "F U" to trump needs to be balanced with an acknowledgement of the reality that this gesture does nothing for black lives if there are no concrete actions for reform behind it.

[bigtree]

1. not only do they misrepresent the budget, they omit other initiatives launched by this mayor

...pushing her to do more is a fine and a necessary part of advocacy. But representing a 3% increase as a step backward, or characterizing this gesture as some significant measure of her efforts is hyperbole.

The mayor wants to increase enrollment in the police department’s cadet program from 100 to 150. Bowser had originally proposed to increase the cadet program to 200 members. This adds $1.7 million to the Metropolitan Police Department budget. Money was also budgeted to purchase new emergency response vehicles and cardiac equipment used by first responders, and to add correctional officers and upgrade critical building systems at DC Jail.

...other priorities in this unremarkable budget here: https://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/news/city-desk/article/21133750/a-rundown-of-mayor-muriel-bowsers-fiscal-year-2021-budget

Mayor today:

"On the bad side, the D.C. Mayor, @MurielBowser, who is always looking for money & help, wouldn’t let the D.C. Police get involved," Trump tweeted. "'Not their job.' Nice!"

Bowser responded to the president's tweets emphasizing that D.C. police "will always protect D.C. and all who are in it."

"My police department will always protect DC and all who are in it whether I agree with them (such as those exercising their First Amendment Right) or those I don’t (namely, @realdonaldtrump)," the mayor tweeted. "While he hides behind his fence afraid/alone, I stand w/ people peacefully exercising their First Amendment Right after the murder of #GeorgeFloyd & hundreds of years of institutional racism There are no vicious dogs & ominous weapons. There is just a scared man."

[scarletwoman]

3. Thank you for the additional information! Much appreciated!

And I truly do get this:

The budget, subject to D.C. Council approval, still manages to invest in education and housing, increasing per-student funding by 3 percent for a total of $1.92 billion and committing $100 million to the Housing Production Trust Fund. But financial losses related to the pandemic meant that the executive declined to make significant investments in these sectors, as well as others, that officials were hoping to do before the pandemic hit and advocates were demanding. (my bold)

“This budget really reflects our community's priorities” Bowser said during a Monday press conference. "This is not the budget that I expected to send to the Council early this year. It is a budget that I am proud of and that the city should be proud of."

The budget is based on a grim financial outlook Chief Financial Officer Jeffrey DeWitt offered in late April that suggested it would take two years for D.C. to recover from the pandemic. DeWitt said the projected revenue loss for the current fiscal year, which ends on September 30, is $722 million; the projected revenue loss for fiscal year 2021, which begins October 1, is $774 million.

"The impact on our revenues has been significant," said Bowser. "Just as this pandemic has forced our residents and businesses to make difficult spending decisions, the D.C. government has been forced to do the same thing."

I can see that it's frustrating for both the activists and the Mayor.

[bigtree]

5. to be fair to BLM

...many, if not most, programs that activists support and hail will see cuts in this budget.

What they want most is an expansion of a community policing program which, as one might expect, hasn't actually lived up to expectations. Now it's facing cuts, while activists are looking at a Metro police budget which is static, really, with this meager increase to recruit cops and obtain equip, and the rest.

Some critics want the force abolished, arguing that DC has a profusion of cops from other branches. I think there's value, though in a force the Mayor and council are responsible for. It's hard enough to ride herd on your own forces, nearly impossible to manage forces outside of your jurisdiction, as we see with her appeal to the feds. That's a difficult thing when your town is the center of the nation's political activity, as well as a large urban center with no home rule.

Also, she's mandated by Congress to submit a 'balanced budget.' That means budget items must have an offset for their cost. As you point out, that's a hard slog in this economic catastrophe.

[stillcool]

4. thank you, again.

Out of all the mayors across this country, why the eff are they going after her? I guess it's coming from different places, and everyone is joining in. How fun.

[uppityperson]

2. It's nice, but without policy changes it means little

[crickets]

6. Kicking for the post and the discussion.

[scarletwoman]

7. Thanks, crickets!