Actor Simu Liu explains to conservative trolls that abolishing the police doesn’t mean there won’t be police anymore

If defund the police doesn’t mean defund the police and abolish the police doesn’t mean abolish the police … where is this roulette wheel going to stop?

Actually, that's exactly what "abolish" means.

— Roland le Fartere (@Crapplefratz) June 9, 2020

If it doesn't mean "absolutely no police" then why call it "abolish police"? As @EdtheSock and others suggested, call it "reform police".

Words matter. Terms like "defund" and "abolish" sound like police brutality is the cause, not a result, of systemic racism. #ReformPolice

— Sameer Umar (@hoteliq_sam) June 9, 2020

A hashtag you have to explain is a bad hashtag. Hashtags are supposed to encapsulate the message. Calling everyone who takes your hashtag literally "dumb" is arrogant and entitled. Surprise!

— Ed the Sock (@EdtheSock) June 9, 2020

Words no longer mean what they mean! Hooray!

— Ship of Theseus (@AxeOfWashington) June 9, 2020

i'd say 'abolish definitions' but apparently i can't anymore

— 🆕SpookyflyShadows (@DragonflyShadow) June 9, 2020

https://t.co/O9Gw3SiOQK

I guess like everything else on the left, words just mean whatever you want them to mean in that moment

— Loren (@LorenSethC) June 9, 2020

Get the dictionary out.

— Joey (@JBurner45) June 9, 2020

It does mean that, though.

— Thickolas Cage (@chocl8girl) June 9, 2020

It literally means to put an end to the police thus getting rid of them pic.twitter.com/k1fTtdNOLn

— Mr. Mooney (@AngelChrist97) June 9, 2020

You may want to stick to your lines.

— Kim Jong-unthony Bialy (@AnthonyBialy) June 9, 2020

Nice Spin

— Chris Valentine (@cmvalentineb) June 9, 2020

so it's maximum hyperbole, got it

— Doom Cult Game Studio (@doomcultgames) June 9, 2020

🤡🌎 *honk honk*

a·bol·ish
/əˈbäliSH/

verb
formally put an end to (a system, practice, or institution).

— David "not the baseball player" Wright (@UnrealDubya) June 9, 2020

I was JUST about to ask if he knew what abolish meant.

— Mac (@JournalistMac) June 9, 2020

I like Lincoln’s narrative of the word ‘abolish’.

— walid (@wherati) June 9, 2020

So does abolishing slavery not mean that we actually intended to rid it from our society? Because I'm black and I got questions fam….Words either mean something or they don't. Yall can miss me with that "NewSpeak"

— Obadiah (@Lawdamercy8) June 9, 2020

I'm going to abolish growing potatoes at my house. That doesn't mean I won't be gardening potatoes; I just plan on changing how I garden them.#NotBright

— T C (@Liberty4Granted) June 9, 2020

Just going to change the meanings of words again?

— the militia 🇺🇸 (@bg2ndA) June 9, 2020

"You should know that we always use words inappropriately and redefine them later! It's on you!"

— Myrddraal (@HandOfTheDark) June 9, 2020

"When I use a word," Humpty Dumpty said, in rather a scornful tone, "it means just what I choose it to mean—neither more nor less."

— Bert Hyman (@berthyman) June 9, 2020

Pro tip: Then don't say 'abolish'

— Simon Trent (@TheGrayGhost7) June 9, 2020

“Abolish the police doesn’t mean no more police anymore”

There’s the guy I want to make my public policy, right there. Sign me up. pic.twitter.com/zFrVSqsD79

— Theodore Roosevelt (@TheodoreRoosev8) June 9, 2020

It even says so in the article:

' “Abolish the police” isn’t just a firmly stated policy position. It’s a destination. '

— Chris (@realKeinChris) June 9, 2020

I ask again: can you please tell me how social workers are gonna stop assaults and robberies in progress?

— Tony Valdes🇨🇴 (@DesertCoyote615) June 9, 2020

They take the police with them. Well here they do.

— Bev (@MistyMadam) June 9, 2020

Having spent 24 years as a Cop, trust me when I tell you that you are clueless as to the evil that lives in some people’s soul. People do reprehensible things to each other. I’ve seen it. And they do those things WITH the Police in existence. Good luck pal. You’ll need it.

— Kevin Mandel (@KMAN011) June 9, 2020

B-b-but we don't MEAN to abolish the police!

— Reich0 (@Reich015) June 9, 2020

A helpful hint to those like Liu who are trying very hard to spin what we all saw on the protest signs last week: Yes, these are radicals who want to defund and abolish the police.

Actually, yes it does.
We don't want just "reform".
We want the actual dismantling of the police.
It is true tho' that it is not gonna happen overnight.https://t.co/qDxwbas9HP

— Jubilee (@workingjubilee) June 9, 2020

Related:

Al Sharpton explains that ‘Defund the Police’ might be misleading without some interpretation https://t.co/YuLUhfTgP2

— Twitchy Team (@TwitchyTeam) June 8, 2020