I propose research for a massive letter writing campaign. To that end, this diary will serve as a font of ideas. A brainstorming session. How can we apply the lessons that we have learned from other political fights to not only unify the Daily Kos community and rally all Kossacks to participate in trying to get this passed, but how could we then use that leverage to pressure our politicians into at least reviewing the bill for passage. Daily Kos has already recognized and attempted to address the problem, now we must have the will to actually pressure our politicians to notice it.
We would probably need to recruit a lot of people to research and write letters not only to politicians on a national stage, but also to local politicians, committees, mayors, governors, city councils, city managers, sheriffs, prosecutors; anyone in a position of power. We already have part of the work done the work of making a template that any Kossack can use to write to their politician.
|
Hello (politician/VIP),
I need your help!
The United States has a unique problem which, in the name of human rights and justice, must be solved with all urgency. According to the Guardian's The Counted, 808 (check before use as this statistic changes daily) people have had their lives snuffed out by police violence so far in 2015. At the current rate, our police will have killed 1,100 by year's end. Police in the United Kingdom have, on the other hand, killed two people in the past three years. The United States averages 3.19 deaths per day. The statistics collected in 2015 point to an even more pernicious and insidious problem -- institutional racism in our policing. Four times more black people have been killed so far this year compared to their white peers. This problem is clearly unsustainable from a human rights perspective. There is a proposed solution to this slow motion tragedy, however. The members of the Daily Kos community crowdsourced the Michael Brown Over-Policed Rights Act to reform modern policing and protect Black lives. This proposed bill aims to: Prevent racial prejudice in policing. Identify problem areas like Ferguson, Missouri before they blow up. Reduce violence in policing. End mass incarceration. Address unfairness in policing (such as extraordinary numbers of alleged offenses per population) Ensure police are held accountable for dishonesty and malfeasance. Propose solutions to the current lack of reporting on policing statistics (especially regarding race and force, both lethal and non-lethal). Provision body cameras to police officers. Eliminate weaponized police equipment in problem jurisdictions. This proposal is one of the best ways to address the problems facing our policing and criminal justice systems. We at the Daily Kos community officially request your position not only on the issues facing modern policing and criminal justice, but also your opinion about the Michael Brown Over-Policed Rights Act. We understand that your power may be limited in this area, but also understand that the soft power you have within (the democratic party/progressive movement) could go a very long way to having this proposed bill introduced, passed and ultimately signed by the President.We hope to hear from you and look forward to working with you in the future. Thanks for your consideration, (UID/Real Name) |
-----
What needs to happen next is we need to get as many Kossacks on board writing letters to their various representatives on local, state and national levels to get as many opinions as possible.
I believe a social media push may also be in order, and there are several big names that could use their followings to make this bill known to the public at large. How can we get them on board?
This is a campaign year, and we can make this a campaign issue. I have seen the power of kos letter writing campaigns in the past, and we can do it again. Perhaps we can even get mini versions of this law passed in some states. Maybe even a lot of states, if we pool our resources together and make the MBOPRA go viral. I know this seems like a herculean task, but getting governors to bend the knee at FOIA requests is an even heavier lift and this amazing, wonderful group pulled that off (see the green chart below). We can take the Michael Brown Over-Policed Rights Act one step further, we can go as far as our minds take us!
How would we go about this campaign to contact each and every representative in local, state and national governance and let them know about this law? How would we track the responses? How could we use the upcoming election and many, many more eyeballs on politics to our advantage and make more people aware of the MBOPRA?
I have some ideas, but I want to know if this is viable or I am just shooting the breeze here. If something like this is possible, we should try to achieve it. Feel free to add your thoughts on if we can do this and how we could go about it...
And, ultimately I know this goes far beyond just writing. That is my skill. We are taking all ideas from all media: graphic designs, music, pictures, writing -- and also considering all ideas for publication: social media campaigns, blogathons, cross-posting articles, designing websites, online petitions, real-life petitions, putting up YouTube videos. Another idea Support the Dream Defenders have floated is Kossack constituents setting up live meetings with their local politicians specifically to talk about the MBOPRA.
The sky is the limit here, folks. Any and all ideas, no matter how far fetched, are welcome. Thanks very much for your participation,everyone!