President Obama is right. "Defund the police" is a terribly ineffective slogan. Most of the public thinks it means something entirely different than what the people using the slogan think it means. That's always a sign that you need to find a different slogan.
Liberal activists are on the correct side of the issues. They do great work. But I'll never understand why so many liberal activists insist on doubling down on failed buzz words like "defund the police" or "socialism" even after it becomes clear that the words aren't resonating.
Do you want to fight a winning battle for societal change, or do you want to fight a losing battle over your own misunderstood slogans? Are your slogans really more important to you than your mission? It's not about you. Ditch your failed slogans. Pick more effective words.
Even if you want police departments to lose huge chunks of their funding to other social programs, and even if you want most current police officers fired for unfitness, you STILL won't accomplish your mission by saying "defund the police." You just won't.
If you want to make a difference in politics and activism, you must first learn how politics and activism work. Your slogan isn't your mission. If it turns out your slogan is getting in the way of your mission, you need a different slogan. Don't be an egotist about your slogan.
Some people are pushing back against Obama because he used a catchy slogan like "Yes we can." But that's the entire point. His slogan WORKED. If he'd gotten a few months into his campaign and his slogan was ineffective or misinterpreted, he'd have come up with a different slogan.
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