Under the the New Socialist Republic in North America brought into being through an actual revolution, “The role of government institutions established with the new socialist Constitution, including the police and military, will no longer be to contain, control, repress, brutalize, murder and slaughter people, here and all over the world. Instead, these radically new institutions will safeguard the rights of the people and give backing to the masses of people in moving to abolish all forms of discrimination and inequality, all relations of oppression and exploitation.” (from We Need and We Demand: A Whole New Way to Live, A Fundamentally Different System)
But under this system, the police murder over and over again and get away with it.
And they just did it again! In San Bernardino, CA the sheriffs have shot and killed another teenager having a mental breakdown. On April 2, just weeks after shooting down 15-year-old Ryan Gainer in his front yard, San Bernardino sheriffs killed 17-year-old Aaron James in the foster home where his sisters live.
According to the sheriffs, Aaron, a white youth in foster care, was hospitalized after cutting himself, then ran away before he could be taken to a mental health facility. The foster mother of his younger sisters said he showed up at their house seeming fine, but then locked himself in the bathroom and she called 911 for help.
Aaron James being shot by San Bernadino deputies on April 3
The sheriffs arrived, knowing who Aaron was and knowing he was in crisis. They made the family leave the house, leaving Aaron alone surrounded by pigs. The sheriffs said they tried for 30 minutes to convince him to come out of the bathroom, but then, according to them, he threatened to cut himself. So, in the name of “helping” him, they kicked in the door, sprayed him with pepper spray, tackled him, and then shot and killed him. They said they “had” to use deadly force against Aaron because when they tried to grab him, he had a knife in his hand and cut the hand of one of the sheriffs.
One more life cut short! One more life needlessly stolen.
Bob Avakian on the People's Security After the Revolution
“Money for Mental Health Care” Is Not Going to Stop the Murdering Police
People who rose up after the murder of George Floyd in 2020 thought you could defund the police and have the funds used for more rational purposes like mental health care and other social services. The idea was that this would address “the root causes” of so many of the mental health crises, or other crises, that lead to these situations. But the actual root cause is the whole system, and the purpose of the police is to protect and serve that system and not the people who need help.
The ruthless, no-shame approach of the San Bernardino sheriffs is revealing something people need to look squarely at, and ask the right question: WHY do they keep doing this over, and over, and over? And what is really at the root of this problem? The problem is this system that the police enforce. This system of capitalism-imperialism which runs by exploiting and oppressing people, treating whole swaths of people as things to be used or thrown away. It is creating record levels of impoverishment and trauma. It is driving people mad and then shooting them down for it.
This can be ended, but not by dead-end attempts to reform this system. It can be ended through a real revolution to overthrow this system and replace it with a radically different and liberating system.
If the ceaseless murder by the police of youth were the only reason to overthrow this rotten system, it would be reason enough to make revolution... and reason enough to come out for Revolutionary Internationalist May Day with the revcoms, to show up against all this madness and to learn about the way out, the leadership for that way out, and why this could happen much much sooner than anyone thinks—if WE get ourselves organized now, beginning May 1.
