Fix the Police

 Sometimes a protest is clearly worth having, although the way the protest played out might be problematic.  Last year, after some atrocious deaths of unarmed black men, we had the Back Lives matter protests demanding justice for out black citizens.

The protests were widespread but persisted in some areas longer than in others.  Some seemed t take advantage of the protests to cause property damage and loot.  

That is inexcusable but the great majority of protesters were peaceful looking for justice.  Whatever you think about racism in America there is enough of it to make those protests right wing attack points.  Some of the organizers came up with a slogan about defunding the police.  

It's a terrible slogan since we absolutely need police.  A better one would have been Fix The Police, which is clearly what is needed.  Not all police are bad and not all victims are innocent. What seems to have gone wrong is that the police in many areas adopted self preservation as a goal when the only goal they should have is protect the populace.

If you know police you are likely to have heard stories about the danger they face. These are real but the answer isn't to make it just as dangerous, or more so, for innocent unarmed black men.  

Yes they account for a lot of crime as a group but each one needs the protection of the law, which is represented by the police.  What reforms are need to recue those risks is a matter of debate.

Protecting the populace isn't.