Massachusetts Town Gives Clearest Example Of Suicidal Empathy Yet

Interesting cambridge, democratic socialists of america, massachusetts admin May 20, 2026 0 Comments

Massachusetts Town Gives Clearest Example Of Suicidal Empathy Yet

The Cambridge City Council voted Monday to end the Massachusetts city’s use of ShotSpotter, a gunshot detection system used by law enforcement agencies to locate and alert potential gunfire.

The policy order passed in a 5-2-2 vote, according to The Harvard Crimson. The outcome is not entirely surprising, given Cambridge’s reputation as a left-wing stronghold. The Cambridge City Council was the second U.S. city to recognize polyamorous domestic partnerships, passing an ordinance in 2021 developed with help from the Polyamory Legal Advocacy Coalition. (RELATED: Polyamorous Relationships Rapidly Gaining Gov’t Blessing)

In a city council meeting Monday, more than 30 residents stated their strong opposition to ShotSpotter during public comment. Many cited racial concerns.

Siobhan McDonough, a keffiyeh-clad man who introduced himself as a member of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), urged the council “to remove the hidden microphones in working class, majority black and brown neighborhoods in our city.” McDonough claimed the business model of the company that operates ShotSpotter is “totally reliant on Donald Trump’s Department of Homeland Security [DHS]. This is unacceptable to the people of Cambridge as they tell you over and over, ‘Stop wiretapping Cambridge. Take down ShotSpotter immediately.’”

Andrew Kim, also a DSA member, noted Cambridge residents “have voiced how ShotSpotter has been deployed in a way to further inequality and systemic racism in Cambridge.”

Kayla Goodale, another DSA member, claimed ShotSpotter amounts to “unfettered surveillance on the largest populations of black and brown residents in Cambridge,” and that ShotSpotter is “funded by DHS and undermines Cambridge’s status as a sanctuary city, and our commitment to not collaborate with [Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)].”

A woman named Virginia Suarez offered her comment digitally.

“Some of us are really worried about going in person and I think that it is valuable to just name that … they’re really worried about going in person,” Suarez said, likely alluding to fear of deportation.

“I am a black and brown person, and so please consider me as if I were right there with you guys in saying to please take away the ShotSpotter. They do not make our city safe. What would make our city safe is to have … spaces to have resources distributed … before things happen, not after things happen, but before things happen. To provide spaces for the youth to have jobs, for the youth to have, um, places to, to be at, and that does not start with the aftermath,” Suarez concluded.

Harriet Lindeman, who introduced herself as a recent graduate of Harvard Divinity School, spent most of her time playing an audio recording from her phone into the microphone. (RELATED: How America’s Biggest Socialist Group Could Get A Million Mamdanis Elected)

“To make sure we hear from neighbors more directly impacted than I am, I will also be sharing a recorded note from a Putnam Gardens resident. He is unable to be here but feels that ShotSpotter surveillance puts him and his family at risk. I’ve also sent in an English translation.”

The voice note, delivered in Spanish, refers to the dangers ShotSpotter poses to “the families of Cambridge, especially the immigrants, the mixed-status, those who work in essential jobs.” He also notes that some Cambridge residents are afraid that an interaction with the police may end with questions about their immigration status.

It seems many Cambridge residents oppose ShotSpotter because they fear it will result in criminals being caught. If ShotSpotter is unevenly distributed in Cambridge, it is because crime is unevenly distributed in Cambridge. These DSA members, and others who opposed ShotSpotter on racial grounds, have inadvertently made “black and brown” neighborhoods more dangerous for those who live there. Such neighborhoods are made safer by the presence of a technology which alerts police to criminal activity.