THREAD. I was invited to give a lecture at Oxford last week about police and prisons in the United States. After my talk, a student from Europe asked me if there was any hope to avoid fascism in the U.S. given the state of U.S. police and corporate media. A few thoughts.

The student’s question is urgent, and I hope prominent journalists will at least think about it. The below image is from a New Yorker article this weekend. Things like this are happening all over the U.S., (and much of the world). The threat of fascism is imminent.

In the face of existential threats like fascism—and to the ecological survival of our planet—many U.S. journalists in outlet after outlet are running story after story about whether a few types of narrow police-reported crimes are up or down by a number of a few dozen per city.

This coverage is absurd on its own terms. Crime is near *historic lows,* and fluctuations (up or down) discussed in crime stories are small on any objective view of total harm. They don’t compare to death/illness/injury from poverty, pollution, traffic, lack of health care, etc.

I want to say this clearly: Safety is important. I do this work and I write these threads because I care about everyone’s safety, including the most vulnerable people in our society.