James D. Melton

substack.com/@jamesdmelto...

OK, @codyjohnston.bsky.social I know that Flock cameras can be abused. But cops are learning that using Flock to stalk people is a fast track to being fired. And, got cops, it's otherwise really hard to get fired. Stay with me here. I have a close relative...

… We need to regulate the shit out of Flock. But, in a situation where most big-city PDs are understaffed, Flock is a useful tool. Most big-city residents don't have the privilege of retreating to suburbia and high-fiving each other when they say ACAB.

OK, @codyjohnston.bsky.social I know that Flock cameras can be abused. But cops are learning that using Flock to stalk people is a fast track to being fired. And, got cops, it's otherwise really hard to get fired. Stay with me here. I have a close relative...

… who is a cop in a major city. He mainly uses it to find stolen cars. He also used it recently to capture a domestic and abuser. And he works for a PD that doesn't cooperate with ICE, because working with ICE can get them fired almost as fast as stalking people using Flock...

Before Trumpism, I thought of conservatives as being backward-looking, a bit narrow-minded and averse to progress, but mostly well-meaning.

in the wee hours of the morning. Trump also “trolls” the world by threatening to annex Canada, Greenland and Mexico.

Before Trumpism, I thought of conservatives as being backward-looking, a bit narrow-minded and averse to progress, but mostly well-meaning.

The Trumpites also saw Democrats and moderate Republicans alike as tools of a hidden “deep state,” who were, in turn, beholden to globalists. And who do the shadowy globalists work for? Satan. Literally, Satan.

Before Trumpism, I thought of conservatives as being backward-looking, a bit narrow-minded and averse to progress, but mostly well-meaning.

To the Trump Movement, Democrats and moderate Republicans were not merely the opposition. Trump painted them as literally evil, even satanic. Trump and his movement attributed all kinds of nefarious motives to their opponents.

Before Trumpism, I thought of conservatives as being backward-looking, a bit narrow-minded and averse to progress, but mostly well-meaning.

Slowly, being a conservative became less about ideas and values and more like being a participant in a nihilistic, yet ridiculous, team sport. Trumpism emerged during the team-sport phase of the conservative movement.

Before Trumpism, I thought of conservatives as being backward-looking, a bit narrow-minded and averse to progress, but mostly well-meaning.

Liberals and conservatives seemed to share similar goals but had different ideas about how to build the prosperous, strong country we all wanted. We could have serious conversations with most conservatives. But over time, conservatism began to change.