It seems there's a debate between people who mean "defund" literally, that is, who want to abolish police, and people who are trying to moderate or (depending on your perspective) dilute the idea. The first group seems to have been at it for longer. If so, they must resent their slogan and their idea being coopted in this way.
Interesting article, thanks for sharing! That everyone seems to have different definitions of what "defund the police means" and urge each other not to take the meaning too literally whereas others do take it literally reminds me a lot of Peter Thiel and his comments about not taking Trump literally during the campaign.
It seems there's a debate between people who mean "defund" literally, that is, who want to abolish police, and people who are trying to moderate or (depending on your perspective) dilute the idea. The first group seems to have been at it for longer. If so, they must resent their slogan and their idea being coopted in this way.