In gesture of cops trying to appeal to the youth, one Michigan police department changed the “police” name on their patrol car to something they thought was more…youth-friendly.
https://www.facebook.com/BathTownshipPolice/photos/a.931764203574486.1073741827.187626457988268/1716506481766917/?type=3&theater
(Sigh)
If only they put as much energy into figuring out how to stop police violence.
Later, the department revealed the “Po Po” name was a joke done with MS Paint, but at this point, the damage was already done.
While a select few (e.g. a lot of wypipo) thought the joke was funny, many folks thought it was racially insensitive or just plain bad taste.
“The fact that it’s ‘just a joke’ doesn’t make it any less ignorant or the Bath Township Police Department any less dismissive of the racist and classist undertones of the ‘joke,’” one user wrote. “…maybe even try interacting with Black youth who literally fear for their lives around cops to demonstrate that not all officers are monsters to be feared, rather than mocking their legitimate fear with ‘Popo’ vehicle jokes?”
Another user added, “Maybe you could, I dunno – stop participating in the failed war on (some) drugs – or maybe start conducting yourselves in a way that is compatible with the Bill of Rights?”
How ’bout dat.
But they don’t hear us though.
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