All signs indicate we are fast approaching fascism in the United States. Continuing huge transfers of wealth to the 1% from both Republican and Democratic administrations while they shove more money into the mouths of fossil fuel companies, war profiteers, military and militarized police departments has created massive economic and racial inequality.
Here in New York City the NYPD is an occupying militarized force engaged in systemic police brutality in Black low income-communities. New York City spends about $11 billion per year on direct NYPD expenses while the NYPD is expected to spend approximately $700 million for capital projects in FY22. The size of the NYPD’s annual expense budget has grown by $1.2 billion from 2013 to 2020. This figure far exceeds the amounts going toward health care, housing, parks, libraries, public education and senior services. Thus, all of these critical services have been defunded in Black and Brown neighborhoods at the expense of expanding the NYPD, who have shown us time and time again they don’t care about Black lives and have no business handling mental health crises or helping the homeless. The city’s budget reflects where the city council and mayor’s priorities lie and right now they clearly lie in the NYPD. There is no grey area here, the message is clear.
No wonder not one of our city council members are coming to the defense of Kristin Richardson Jordan, who is being attacked for simply believing that another world is possible. NOT ONE MORE BLOCK condemns all violence, including the violence inflicted on the officers that were tragically killed recently in Harlem, and fully supports Kristin and her vision of a city that does not rely on an ineffective carceral system that seems to always have money for militarized police and new jails but nothing for the things NYC communities need to live.
It is irresponsible and sick for the right wing news media (New York Post, Fox News) as well as elected officials to use these two NYPD officers death as a weapon for more violent policing. NOT ONE MORE BLOCK agrees with Kristin when she says: “I mourn the loss of literally all human life.”