Hi busymomof5. I'm sorry you've experienced such uncomfortable conflicts because of politics. And there is nothing wrong with you being highly appreciative of the police. I believe most police are brave, caring, giving people. Like with most things, there are bad eggs and good eggs. Unfortunately, there is more racism in society than many of us even realized. The fact there is in 2020 says how little society has progressed over the decades. You admiring the police, in general, and the ones that helped you is NOT a racist thing. Those who'd say so, are ignorant. I've had good experiences with police, and have also clearly seen that others have not. The whole "defunding the police" is controversial partly because it is not always fully understood, and partly because some want it to go perhaps too far and/or too fast. I do believe that people with mental illness would be best served by someone highly trained to intervene in mental health crises. Unfortunately, many police aren't. That wasn't really what most signed up for. Often they are simply the wrong people for that job.


I am a democratic socialist and voted for Bernie in the primaries, too. I don't see Bernie as an extremist at all, even though some paint him as so. But there are indeed extremists. On both sides of the political spectrum. I would not vote for Trump because a) I disagree with enough Republican policies that I wouldn't, and b) I knew who Trump was well before most in the US did, and unfortunately, many still don't know him because of false propaganda and his skill as a liar. I'm from the NYC/NJ/PA area. The man has always been bad news. Truly, it's mind-blowing that he was even allowed to be the Republican candidate back in 2016. Mind-blowing! Anyway, that will be over. I hope the vast majority of Americans will put that mistake behind them and move forward in a positive way. A lesson must be learned though. I do hope that that party goes back to the Mitt Romney/George W Bush type Republicanism. Not my party, but at least generally good noble people.