Defund

The tens of thousands of Americans who are protesting across the country to "defund the police" are handing a gift to president Trump and his allies.

They are wrong to use the word "defund," a loaded term lacking all nuance, at the core of their message. Defund is a word that can be easily used against the demonstrators.

Dictionary.com defines defund as "withdrawing financial support from or depleting financial resources of."

Though some of the more radical protesters support abolishing police departments, most Americans view that as a frightening proposition.

Patrisse Cullous, co-founder of Black Lives Matter, told WBUR that defunding law enforcement is more that just taking money from the police. It's about reinvesting those dollars into Black communities.

She said:

"We’re asking for a reinvestment in how we understand what’s needed in our communities. Why is law enforcement the first responders for a mental health crisis? Why are they the first responders for domestic violence issues? Why are they the first responders for homelessness? And so those are the first places we can look into. Let alone, let’s talk about law enforcement’s ability to surveil the community and how much money they’re given in surveillance dollars every single year. We have allowed, the public has allowed, for us to have militarized police forces in our communities and we have to stop it.”

Let's get rid of defund. America isn't going to get rid of police departments any time soon.

Protesters should use recreate, right-size, reorganize, re-imagine, re-invent, rebalance, restructure, re-purpose, re-engineer or redesign the police.

These terms stimulate further discussion. They lead to the obvious question: What is the plan?

As the economy reopens, Corporate America should use the time to decide how it plans to "reset" business to meet the demands of workers and stakeholders in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic.

More then four in five Americans say the pandemic has exposed structural problems in US society and believe the nation stands at a critical crossroad, according to a survey by a Just Capital and Harris Poll Report.

The poll found dramatic shifts in the beliefs of Americans, especially in the areas of inequality and racial injustice.

For instance, three out of four respondents support a minimum wage that covers basic needs, with 31 percent supporting it more now then before the crisis.

Ninety percent of respondents expect companies in the post-pandemic era to focus on doing right by workers, customers, communities and the environment.

Just Capital believes the pandemic triggered a more evolved capitalism, a realization that the economy has not been working for the majority of Americans.

That puts pressure on businesses to take the lead in fixing what's broken in America and finding a better way of living for us all.