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Comment by rwcarlsen | Hacker News Reader

I don't understand how the same people who said we should defund the police are forcefully suggesting that we need a strong police response here? I'm not going to take any sides. All sides are so rife with hypocrisy that I just don't know what to say.

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This is one of the few things it's critical to have a defense force for, but it's not what police are primarily used for.

I would love less counter-protest action in general, but it feels pretty reasonable to demand equal counter-protest action in comparison to other protests historically. What we see today is not the former.

We don't need a strong police presence. There are armed people storming the Capitol building, this is absolutely the time for a military response.

You have almost 80 million people thinking those people are correct. This is not a coup, this is a brink of civil war.

And that's healthy, I believe opposing sides should have a go at it.

> But all sides are so rife with hypocrisy that I just don't know what to say.

You apparently know how to both-sides insurgents invading the capitol so you’ve got that going for you.

But here’s a hint: “defund” and “abolish” are different words with different meanings, and using one rather than the other is purposeful.

No they aren't. According to the Oxford English Dictionary:

de·fund

prevent from continuing to receive funds. "the California Legislature has defunded the Industrial Welfare Commission"

There's a longstanding prison abolition movement that insists that that's what it means, and from what I've read, this whole line of thinking originated with that movement, so the distinction you're drawing is not so clear cut.

How would the police continue to operate without funds?

Also the Mayor of the city who refused to allow Nat Guard to stay in DC hotels, is the person who requested the Nat Guard come to "protect" DC. A big part of the discussion here shows how few people look beyond their own opinion for facts. I'm fortunate enough to have access to most news networks thru-out the day. I watch Fox; I watch CNN, MSN, etc. All are lying to some extent. All are shaping the "news" they feed you. CNN... is the least honest and objective. IMHO.

If the fire department came to my house right this moment, broke down the front door, and started spraying water everywhere I would be pretty upset! If they did it when my house was on fire and I called them, I would be pretty grateful! That's not hypocrisy, it is understanding there is a time and a place for things.

That was out of DC guard not the DC units

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