Every panic, every scandal, every reform… built a bigger, stronger machine. This deep dive traces the evolution of U.S. policing from slave patrols to militarized cities — and why the system rewards fear over safety.
Amazing work. I know you're working within the system, because that's reality, that's what we've got, but in addition to the tremendous, smart, data/model-driven policy reform which we need to focus on now and for the next 25-50 years, I think it's also important to think LONG game and prepare people for the next evolution in human governance, which will require a revolution of the mind.
I'd love to introduce you to an author I recently found named @christophercook, who's writing an incredible book solely on Substack ... about human rights, liberty, voluntarism, decentralization. He's brilliant. Your brilliant. Y'alls work really compliments each other. Again, reality/policy reform comes first, but spreading philosophical foundations will help expedite reform, reduce central power and prepare for a new society down the road.
Lastly, one thing we can do right now is support whistleblowers who are solving problems TODAY. I recently discovered You Are the Power (YATP). "You" because you can support the cause and make a BIG difference. YATP is an AMAZING group of lawyers volunteering their time to uncover political/police corruption at the local/state level, then they use social media (you essentially) and good ol' fashion phone calls and ostracism to harass the evil politicians/police using force to bull-doze over our rights. They have a 90%+ success. 300+ victories. 100% success this year. And their success happens quick 'cuz the bastards aren't used to seeing their evil deeds on social media. I believe the future will include decentralized watchdogs with teeth like this, but ramped up at scale using crowdsourcing (we the people) and modern mar/tech/communications.
Your work/reform spreads Hope. That's my thing. I'd love to help promote your ideas, YATP, Innocence Mission, orgs already moving the world fwd. Data, models, ordinary people with extraordinary ideas ... real solutions. I'd love to partner somehow ... if nothing else, we can share each other's work until we have a game plan. Cheers and much love!
Thank you for taking the time to write something this thoughtful. I really do appreciate it.
I agree with you on the long game. Policy reform inside the current system matters because it’s the system we’re operating in. But without philosophical foundations, reform just turns into marketing. People get sold on slogans that sound righteous but don’t actually solve structural problems. That cycle slows real progress. If we don’t rebuild the intellectual framework underneath reform, we just rotate narratives every few years while incentives stay broken.
On decentralization and voluntarism... I’m very open to that philosophically. Those are all parts of the how to manual that I would direct if I actually had everyone's attention... I believe concentrated power almost always drifts toward capture. Distributing authority reduces the damage any one institution can do and creates more room for accountability and experimentation. That doesn’t magically eliminate corruption, but it does reduce the blast radius and makes reform more dynamic instead of dependent on one centralized bottleneck.
You’re also right to bring up whistleblowers. That’s huge. In policing especially, the culture has historically rewarded silence. Loyalty is survival. A lot of the insight that informs my writing comes from people who will tell me something privately but aren’t willing, or sometimes aren’t able, to say it publicly. That gap between what insiders know and what the public sees is part of the systemic dysfunction. Protecting and supporting people willing to expose wrongdoing is critical if accountability is going to be more than a talking point.
Groups like YATP matter in that sense because they apply organized, focused pressure at the local level. Institutions often respond faster to direct scrutiny than to abstract reform debates. I think decentralized watchdog efforts... when they’re disciplined and evidence-based... must be part of the future.
As for the broader vision, I’m realistic about how deep the problems go. We didn’t get here overnight. The rot is embedded in incentives, budgets, culture, and power structures. That means reform is slower than people want. But I do believe that if enough people engage seriously with the ideas, the 25 reforms I’ve outlined would meaningfully shift the trajectory. Not because they’re perfect, but because they target structural incentives instead of surface-level symptoms.
Right now, reach matters most for me. I used to write things and stick them in a drawer one day per week while I ran my restaurant and ultimately came to conclusion that I'll never be able to get my word out in that industry so I sold it and started writing this past fall. Anyway I can get the word out is crucial to me because I want to conversations to start. Narrative matters. Even if implementation feels far off, changing what people talk about changes what becomes politically possible. If the right people encounter these ideas and build on them, scale them, or adapt them, that’s how momentum forms.
I write long because these systems are complex. You could break each piece into a 10-part series. Meanwhile, we spend most of our public energy arguing over cultural flashpoints while ignoring foundational failures. My goal with the 25-part series is basically to say: if you want something worth being serious about, pick one of these systemic issues. Each one requires study, coordination, and sustained effort. None of them are solved by slogans.
Shoot me a direct message and I'll give you my information I definitely want to partner up with as many people as possible because as much as I understand engaging on substat and helping my numbers grow through doing things the algorithm likes, a much more comfortable just working and working and working and effing my work get out there that way.
I have my airpods in and listening 🎧. You're a great orator.
Very different from just reading it.
Thanks. I'm trying to get a part of myself out there. I tried to read it how I feel when I'm writing it before I polish it up into a nice sentence
Dude's really on to something.
Right? Pokes holes in two sides. Shows truths and lies in both.
Amazing work. I know you're working within the system, because that's reality, that's what we've got, but in addition to the tremendous, smart, data/model-driven policy reform which we need to focus on now and for the next 25-50 years, I think it's also important to think LONG game and prepare people for the next evolution in human governance, which will require a revolution of the mind.
I'd love to introduce you to an author I recently found named @christophercook, who's writing an incredible book solely on Substack ... about human rights, liberty, voluntarism, decentralization. He's brilliant. Your brilliant. Y'alls work really compliments each other. Again, reality/policy reform comes first, but spreading philosophical foundations will help expedite reform, reduce central power and prepare for a new society down the road.
Lastly, one thing we can do right now is support whistleblowers who are solving problems TODAY. I recently discovered You Are the Power (YATP). "You" because you can support the cause and make a BIG difference. YATP is an AMAZING group of lawyers volunteering their time to uncover political/police corruption at the local/state level, then they use social media (you essentially) and good ol' fashion phone calls and ostracism to harass the evil politicians/police using force to bull-doze over our rights. They have a 90%+ success. 300+ victories. 100% success this year. And their success happens quick 'cuz the bastards aren't used to seeing their evil deeds on social media. I believe the future will include decentralized watchdogs with teeth like this, but ramped up at scale using crowdsourcing (we the people) and modern mar/tech/communications.
Your work/reform spreads Hope. That's my thing. I'd love to help promote your ideas, YATP, Innocence Mission, orgs already moving the world fwd. Data, models, ordinary people with extraordinary ideas ... real solutions. I'd love to partner somehow ... if nothing else, we can share each other's work until we have a game plan. Cheers and much love!
Thank you for taking the time to write something this thoughtful. I really do appreciate it.
I agree with you on the long game. Policy reform inside the current system matters because it’s the system we’re operating in. But without philosophical foundations, reform just turns into marketing. People get sold on slogans that sound righteous but don’t actually solve structural problems. That cycle slows real progress. If we don’t rebuild the intellectual framework underneath reform, we just rotate narratives every few years while incentives stay broken.
On decentralization and voluntarism... I’m very open to that philosophically. Those are all parts of the how to manual that I would direct if I actually had everyone's attention... I believe concentrated power almost always drifts toward capture. Distributing authority reduces the damage any one institution can do and creates more room for accountability and experimentation. That doesn’t magically eliminate corruption, but it does reduce the blast radius and makes reform more dynamic instead of dependent on one centralized bottleneck.
You’re also right to bring up whistleblowers. That’s huge. In policing especially, the culture has historically rewarded silence. Loyalty is survival. A lot of the insight that informs my writing comes from people who will tell me something privately but aren’t willing, or sometimes aren’t able, to say it publicly. That gap between what insiders know and what the public sees is part of the systemic dysfunction. Protecting and supporting people willing to expose wrongdoing is critical if accountability is going to be more than a talking point.
Groups like YATP matter in that sense because they apply organized, focused pressure at the local level. Institutions often respond faster to direct scrutiny than to abstract reform debates. I think decentralized watchdog efforts... when they’re disciplined and evidence-based... must be part of the future.
As for the broader vision, I’m realistic about how deep the problems go. We didn’t get here overnight. The rot is embedded in incentives, budgets, culture, and power structures. That means reform is slower than people want. But I do believe that if enough people engage seriously with the ideas, the 25 reforms I’ve outlined would meaningfully shift the trajectory. Not because they’re perfect, but because they target structural incentives instead of surface-level symptoms.
Right now, reach matters most for me. I used to write things and stick them in a drawer one day per week while I ran my restaurant and ultimately came to conclusion that I'll never be able to get my word out in that industry so I sold it and started writing this past fall. Anyway I can get the word out is crucial to me because I want to conversations to start. Narrative matters. Even if implementation feels far off, changing what people talk about changes what becomes politically possible. If the right people encounter these ideas and build on them, scale them, or adapt them, that’s how momentum forms.
I write long because these systems are complex. You could break each piece into a 10-part series. Meanwhile, we spend most of our public energy arguing over cultural flashpoints while ignoring foundational failures. My goal with the 25-part series is basically to say: if you want something worth being serious about, pick one of these systemic issues. Each one requires study, coordination, and sustained effort. None of them are solved by slogans.
Shoot me a direct message and I'll give you my information I definitely want to partner up with as many people as possible because as much as I understand engaging on substat and helping my numbers grow through doing things the algorithm likes, a much more comfortable just working and working and working and effing my work get out there that way.