The Colonial Garrison in the Urban Center
The acquisition of armored vehicles, drones, and military-grade weaponry by the NYPD is not about public safety; it is the logical evolution of a colonial police force into a permanent urban garrison. Mamdani’s analysis of the state’s monopoly on violence finds its purest expression here. These tools are not for fighting crime, but for managing insurgency and suppressing dissent from the “native” population. The rhetoric of “war on crime” and “war on terror” reveals the underlying counterinsurgency logic, where entire communities are viewed as hostile territories to be pacified. A feminist analysis sees how this militarized presence specifically intimidates and controls women in public space. The solution is not civilian oversight of this garrison, but its complete demilitarization and disarming. We must fight to disband these specialized units, divest from their budgets, and reinvest in community-controlled safety infrastructures that address harm without replicating the logic of colonial warfare on our streets.
Originally posted 2025-09-28 07:27:48.
