Firearms Owners Against Crime
Institute for Legal, Legislative and Educational Action
Institute for Legal, Legislative and Educational Action
For some insane reason, there are people actually squalling on about defunding the police. While some try to argue that the term “defund the police” is really about reprioritizing where the money goes and stuff like that.
Sure. And I’m Betsy Ross.
Oh, don’t get me wrong, I’m quite sure that a number of people saying “defund the police” actually mean just that. The problem is, that handful is speaking up and saying that’s what the term means when we know for a fact that many actually want the police to be abolished. For the rest, that argument is nothing but a motte and bailey, an effort to say something radical, then retreat to a more acceptable position to avoid criticism.
What’s worse is that some city officials are seriously considering this nonsense.
However, they may want to think long and hard on this one. After all, not everyone thinks this is a great idea.
As cities across the country are discussing defunding or disbanding their police departments, truck drivers are voicing concerns of safety. Seventy-seven percent of truck drivers say they will refuse to deliver freight to cities with defunded police departments.
Truck driving is historically ranked as one of the most dangerous jobs in the country. In 2018, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistic reported truck driving as the most deadly job in the country.
Truck drivers have spent the last year on the front line of a global pandemic and protests. Now many are fearful of what might happen if police departments disband or are defunded.
Truck drivers have been voicing their concerns on the CDLLife App. After reading about their concerns, CDLLife posted a poll on the app.
We asked drivers on the app, “Would you pick up/deliver to cities with defunded or disbanded police departments? Why or why not?”
There are some quotes from respondents that make it clear they understand the threats quite well and won’t be interested in putting themselves in this kind of position.
I happen to have several friends who work at over-the-road drivers and I would hate for any of them to find themselves in such a tough position. After all, driving is inherently dangerous as it is. That’s without the criminal threat that looms over anyone potentially carrying millions of dollars worth of merchandise.
So why would they risk their lives further by going into cities talking about defunding their police? Even if something is built up in the place of a traditional police force but isn’t a traditional police force, anyone with any sense would be hesitant to risk their lives.
Yet the big problem here is that cities–and this is all happening in major cities–are dependent upon the rural parts of the country for the luxuries in life. You know, things like food, wood for building shelter, fuel for power plants. You know, the little things.
That means they need trucks to bring all those little luxuries in. If drivers won’t bring those loads in, then there’s a big problem for those cities.
Sure, a little more than 20 percent said they’d accept the loads, but will they be offered them? How many of those 21 percent are in a position to accept such loads in the first place? Further, if there’s only a handful that will take the loads, don’t be surprised if they start commanding higher pay for those loads. That will drive up prices for everything across the board.
So, while the “defund the police” crowd think this is all about making life better, they really need to start thinking about the second- and third-order effects of such a move. I don’t think they’ll like it nearly as much as they seem to believe they will.
Tom Knighton is a Navy veteran, a former newspaperman, a novelist, and a blogger and lifetime shooter. He lives with his family in Southwest Georgia. He's also the host of Unloaded TV on YouTube. https://bearingarms.com/author/tomknighton/
https://bearingarms.com/tom-k/2020/06/15/not-be-only-problem-defund-police/