The “cops are workers” one was horrendously bad

I listened to episode 435 after people here were denouncing Amber and Matt Taibbi for it, expecting the worst, but I found the attacks on them horribly misguided. Like, trigger-happy witch hunt misguided. They were discussing difficult issues, bringing up valid points, but their critics ascribed the worst motives to them for no reason.

Unless I missed some line, Amber actually said there're "non-White cops" and Taibbi said that working-class people become cops. (Not that "cops are workers"!) They were saying that condemning all cops as White supremacist thugs is a bad argument, one that resonates badly with racial minorities and the poor. Because the experience of those groups with police is contradictory, not black-and-white, no pun intended. While many experiences with police are extremely negative, those groups are also disproportionately affected by violent crime and want police attention on violent crime - not simply no police. And they're also the demographics from which cops are hired - becoming a cop is a way to earn a living for many poor families. You won't win hearts by shitting on people's relatives.

Taibbi, Will, and Amber repeatedly acknowledge that the police is an anti-proletarian institution at its roots, and American police is corrupt and bloody etc. in the episode. Their argument is that the movement for racial equality and against police brutality will not attract mainstream support (and thus political success) if it leads with "All Cops Are the KKK"-type rhetoric. (This rhetoric is good for mobilizing radicals, but not for mobilizing regular people.)

I kinda think i get where she was coming from on that, maybe?

Specifically, I was listening to a recent episode of trillbillies, and there was a segment where they were reading some police union guy's letter to other cops in the union or some shit (I'm hazy on the context). Anyway, the hosts noted that throughout the letter, in the way they talked about themselves and to each other, there was a clear sort of quasi-working class solidarity and recognition of themselves as workers (at least relative to the administrative figures they shit-talk throughout the letter).

Now, the trillbillies made a more more plainly useful point with that observation, specifically that their solidarity helps makes their police union strong, and god fucking damn look at the shit they can get away with because of that power. Amber seemingly wanted to... ... ... suggest that they have some inner hint of genuine working class sentiment? or some shit? I dunno, that same letter they read on trillbillies had tons of talk re-affirming the occupier perspective cops have towards other people they're supposed to serve. So, yeah... I forget if I had some fucking point here, done typing this bitch, post

:amber:

Virgil has the best voice