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Political Misfits
Political Misfits bring you news, politics and culture from the belly of Washington DC without the red and blue treatment. Informed by progressive politics, class analysis and anti-war activism, we break down the day's pressing economic, social and political stories from perspectives often ignored.

What Now, WHO? Kente Cringe, Protest Backlash, Soft on Cop Dems

What Now, WHO? Kente Cringe, Protest Backlash, Soft on Cop Dems
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Don’t dismiss the idea of defunding the police. Dismiss those who refuse to address the conditions that create the need for them.

Misfit hosts Bob Schlehuber and Jamarl Thomas and producer Michelle Witte broke down the incidents of violence against protesters over the weekend and some of the latest polling on the protests and the issues driving Americans into the streets. They also scratched their heads over the WHO’s latest confusing statements on asymptomatic transmission of the COVID-19 virus.

Joel Segal, co-author of the original Medicare for All bill, executive director of the Justice Action Mobilization Network and national director of the COVID-19 Emergency Response Group, explained the difference between hate, systemic racism and structural racism, and broke down some of the passive ways inequalities are enforced without drawing attention. He drew the clear connections between poverty and crime, and to the permanent black underclass that has come to be accepted in the US. These protests can help usher in a new America, but they have to address structures. He also offers some advice on framing demands.

Artist and activist Billie Krishawn discussed the art she’s been documenting in downtown Washington, DC, around Lafayette Park. Americans have been turning their pain into beauty on streets and walls, she says, and officials have been engaged in a full-time erasure of it. There is a struggle playing out on surfaces as well as in three-dimensional space, and it is important to commemorate this struggle without endangering those involved. She also describes the solidarity she’s felt in the streets and how people involved in these protests are managing their own community.

The Misfits also covered Rio Tinto’s destruction of priceless cultural heritage sites.

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