AOC and Mamdani wanted to defund the police. Their backtracking puts organizers at risk

Key Points:

• On the 12th anniversary of Michael Brown Jr.'s police killing, US Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and other progressive politicians acknowledged moving away from their pandemic-era rhetoric on police and prison abolition, describing early "woke" statements as overly radical and less applicable today.
• New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani and City Councilman Chi Ossé echoed this shift, distancing themselves from calls to defund the police while emphasizing collaboration with law enforcement and political pragmatism amid changing public sentiments.
• The article critiques this retreat, arguing that abolition is a longstanding, action-oriented movement aimed at dismantling systemic violence and inequality, not just a fleeting political stance or rhetorical phase during the pandemic.
• It highlights the historical role of policing in protecting property and perpetuating inequality, questioning continued heavy funding of police departments despite democratic socialism’s goals to reduce crime through social equity.
• The piece warns that dismissing abolitionist ideas risks undermining grassroots organizers and movements that continue to push for transformative justice, urging politicians to respect the radical demands that helped bring them to office rather than labeling them as outdated or "crazy."