David Clarke, Black Sheriff of Milwaukee County from 2002 to 2017, is disgusted by the anti-police rhetoric of B.L.M. and the consensus media in general, stating that while the police are certainly not perfect, the vast majority of them do an amazing job in circumstances no layman could ever understand. The chief problem as he sees it is the sense of entitlement granted many of those responsible for criminal activity by the “progressive” notion that they are in fact the innocent Victims of an oppressive system they have every right to loathe. Yes! Law bad, criminals good!
Not surprisingly, when violence began to erupt throughout the States in the days after George Floyd’s death, Chris Cuomo of CNN said he did not see why the rioters needed to be held accountable before the Rule of Law. Way to go, Chris!
When Jenny Durkan, Mayor of Seattle, said that the protocols by which cops are hired, trained and disciplined needed to be reformed, she was admonished by Seattle City Councilor Teresa Mosqueda who said the institution of policing itself needed to be dismantled. It is a call to battle that has echoed throughout the Left.
Are you aware, Teresa, that whatever corps replaces the police, and believe me they will need to be replaced, will be no less prone to the abusive use of power than the institution you are so intent on destroying? The naivete of the Left is truly incomprehensible. Disgusted by the antics of unscrupulous Capitalists, “progressives” prescribe government power as the antidote to such, apparently unaware that in doing so they are creating a monster far more dangerous than the one they are seeking to curb. I could fill a thousand pages with examples of government stupidity, excess, incompetence and corruption, those responsible for such generally escaping justice because they control the very means by which they might be held to account. There is no system that is perfect because people are not perfect. We need to fix the police, not eradicate them.
Mayor Durkan, by the way, is under assault from Seattle’s Left because she allowed the use of tear gas against a surging mob a few weeks ago. It was a decision mandated by Carmen Best, Seattle’s Black Chief of Police. I mention this only because I am constantly confronted with the outright lie that Black people have been excluded from the corridors of power in the U.S., while the events of the last few months have revealed that to be utterly untrue. Did you know that the mayor of San Fransisco, London Breed, is a colored lady? Did you know that the mayor of Chicago, Lori Lightfoot, is a Black, Gay woman? Quite surprising in a country that is “systemically” bigoted!
As of late June, 2020, there had been over 500 shootings in New York City, an increase of approximately 175% over past years. In the 8 days between June 19 and 27 there were 83 shootings entailing 112 wounded and killed. But when New York City Council decided to cut its police budget by approximately one billion dollars, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez was appalled, stating there was no room for “budget tricks” or “funny math” and that the police needed to be absolutely defunded.
In a now famous late July confrontation between A.O.C. and republican Ted Yoho on the steps of the Capital, the latter apparently called her [or her ideas] crazy, disgusting and dangerous. An additional nasty epithet which I shan’t mention reputedly ended the tirade. Ocasio-Cortez rivaled Meryl Streep in her July 23 [?] address to Congress in which she presented as a deeply offended victim of systemic male arrogance, appealing to her sisters in oppression who, she said, had no doubt all experienced such dehumanizing treatment. I cannot speak to Yoho’s behavior. It may have in fact been unforgivable. But in typically Leftist fashion, Ocasio-Cortez’ donning of the mantle of victimhood utterly overshadowed the legitimacy of Yoho’s criticism. Her ideas are dangerous and demonstrably stupid. Given soaring crime rates in the U.S., the initiative to abolish the police would seem borderline Insane!
On the July 4 weekend in Chicago, 87 were wounded in gun play with 17 killed, including an innocent 7 year old girl playing with her friends. Did you know there are 117,000 gang members in Chicago? Did you know that due to under-funding, that city is 3000 cops short of what is deemed necessary to deal with this reality? Is Ocasio-Cortez a compassionate champion of the “oppressed” or a typically naive Leftist totally out of touch with the indisputable facts of life?