THE 21ST CENTURY SHAMAN

           ELECT YOUR PEOPLE'S POLICE

                           by Norman Spinrad

If something isn't done, and done fast, a civil war in the United States is just a shot or a Molotov Cocktail away. But how and by who? 

 If there is one American who could stand up before the protesters and be listened to it is surely the one and only former President of the United States, Barack Obama. Live before the largest crowd possible and of course well televised.  What should he say?

He should speak the hard truth to the leaderless protesters that what they are doing is counterproductive to their own confusion of diverse and general causes which if even possible would take decades of legislation to accomplish. What is needed  immediately is a strong significant and reachable demand.

Demand that the head of all police departments in the United States--cities, towns, states everywhere--be elected by the  people their police are mandated to protect and serve. Open elections with terms of no more than 4 years. Don't call them bureaucratic "commissioners" call them the Sheriffs.  

The Sheriffs voted for the people, of the people, for the people, chosen to be the commanders in chief of the People's Police. Thus creating true People's Polices.

This is a just and democratic demand that is simple, concrete, localized and would bring the protesters solidarity and even the support of traditionalist Americans almost all of whom have seem films and televisions of the good old small time Wildwest sheriffs. 

How to cause towns, cities, and states to pass the necessary legislations with the needed warp speed? 

Think Ghandi. Think general strikes. Think not as amorphous national protesters but as citizens of the cities, towns, and states of which you are citizens.  Think sitdown strikes.  Think nonviolent warfare. Shut them down locally one by one. Block the roads. Block the streets. Close the police stations. Close mail delivery. Close everything you can. But only do it once a week until this concrete demand is legally met.

ELECT YOUR OWN PEOPLE'S POLICE.  AND THEY WILL SUPPORT YOU.

And if they don't, don't vote for the  incumbent Sheriff  in the next election.

(Disclosures: I and Gene Roddenbery, who had once been a cop, tried to create a tv show along such lines, but never got anywhere with it.  I more recently wrote a novel called THE PEOPLE'S POLICE in much the same spirit and then some. Published but shitcanned by Tor, but still available in my own self-published versions on Amazon.)

A long article  by Mary Mary Reinholz

FROM THE VILLAGE SUN