My favorite part of Martin Luther King's message was when he said to loot convenience stores...Razor's Tweet
Earlier this week, the Baltimore's Mayor, Stephanie-Rawlings Blake, actually said, "While we tried to make sure they were protected from the cars and other things that were going on, we also gave those who wished to destroy space to do that as well."
Quite frankly, her absurd and dangerous statement should not have surprised anyone. She summarized perfectly the real agenda of most progressives. In short, the implication and the message in her statement was clear to the law breakers: you (the punks) are now in control of parts of Baltimore. We're stepping aside. We'll give you the space you need to do whatever you want to do even if it means destroying some "spaces" in the city. In other words, she reinforced the intent of the punks we subsequently witnessed dismantle, deface, damage and ruin public property and private businesses including injuring almost a dozen police officers.
Again, this wasn't a new phenomena nor is this all about race. After all, the mayor and police commissioner of Baltimore are black. Just as important, we cannot generalize. Too many good people are victims of the punk rioters. Last November in Ferguson, we were also witness to the perpetuation of a myth {"Hands Up; Don't Shoot} that exploited rage and caused misery throughout much of the town. That following December, two NYPD police officers were ambushed and killed. That shooting was followed in March by another ambush of Ferguson police officers. Fortunately, they recovered from their wounds. In fact, on several of my posts I had warned of the dangers of perpetuating such false narratives as the one in Ferguson. I laid out---convincingly, I believe---that the likes of Al Sharpton and other con artists only leave violence---and sometimes even death---in their wake.
All of this insanity is not limited to Baltimore and Ferguson. History is replete with cities led by progressive democrats running amok. For example, NYC is now facing some of the progressive onslaught itself. NYC City Council is considering legislation that would "decriminalize" public order offenses such as public urination, public drinking and even jumping subway turnstiles. And while some misguided citizens might think it's a good idea--- breaking the "broken windows" approach to law enforcement never has a good outcome. For example, the NYPD found illegal weapons on a number of those punks jumping turnstiles. NYC Police Commissioner Bill Bratton made it clear that decriminalizing "quality of life" offenses would be a serious mistake. "If you lose the power of arrest, that's where Pandora's Box is open and the 1970's, 1980's have the potential to come roaring back again," said the Commissioner. As someone who was raised in the South Bronx, I can vouch for Bratton's warning.
While there are many good people throughout these urban areas as evidenced today in Baltimore (helping clean up the city), the fact is there will always be punks and race hustlers who will try to exploit the rage of the troublemakers. Heather Mac Donald of the Manhattan Institute wrote it best: "But in the long-run, a two-tiered system of justice that winks at lawlessness when it is committed by officially favored victim groups will make life miserable for the millions of law-abiding residents of poor communities and erode the public safety gains from proactive policing."
It's apparent the progressive political class never learned this lesson. And the Mayor of Baltimore failed in her prime directive: keeping all the people of Baltimore safe.
Earlier this week, the Baltimore's Mayor, Stephanie-Rawlings Blake, actually said, "While we tried to make sure they were protected from the cars and other things that were going on, we also gave those who wished to destroy space to do that as well."
Quite frankly, her absurd and dangerous statement should not have surprised anyone. She summarized perfectly the real agenda of most progressives. In short, the implication and the message in her statement was clear to the law breakers: you (the punks) are now in control of parts of Baltimore. We're stepping aside. We'll give you the space you need to do whatever you want to do even if it means destroying some "spaces" in the city. In other words, she reinforced the intent of the punks we subsequently witnessed dismantle, deface, damage and ruin public property and private businesses including injuring almost a dozen police officers.
Again, this wasn't a new phenomena nor is this all about race. After all, the mayor and police commissioner of Baltimore are black. Just as important, we cannot generalize. Too many good people are victims of the punk rioters. Last November in Ferguson, we were also witness to the perpetuation of a myth {"Hands Up; Don't Shoot} that exploited rage and caused misery throughout much of the town. That following December, two NYPD police officers were ambushed and killed. That shooting was followed in March by another ambush of Ferguson police officers. Fortunately, they recovered from their wounds. In fact, on several of my posts I had warned of the dangers of perpetuating such false narratives as the one in Ferguson. I laid out---convincingly, I believe---that the likes of Al Sharpton and other con artists only leave violence---and sometimes even death---in their wake.
All of this insanity is not limited to Baltimore and Ferguson. History is replete with cities led by progressive democrats running amok. For example, NYC is now facing some of the progressive onslaught itself. NYC City Council is considering legislation that would "decriminalize" public order offenses such as public urination, public drinking and even jumping subway turnstiles. And while some misguided citizens might think it's a good idea--- breaking the "broken windows" approach to law enforcement never has a good outcome. For example, the NYPD found illegal weapons on a number of those punks jumping turnstiles. NYC Police Commissioner Bill Bratton made it clear that decriminalizing "quality of life" offenses would be a serious mistake. "If you lose the power of arrest, that's where Pandora's Box is open and the 1970's, 1980's have the potential to come roaring back again," said the Commissioner. As someone who was raised in the South Bronx, I can vouch for Bratton's warning.
While there are many good people throughout these urban areas as evidenced today in Baltimore (helping clean up the city), the fact is there will always be punks and race hustlers who will try to exploit the rage of the troublemakers. Heather Mac Donald of the Manhattan Institute wrote it best: "But in the long-run, a two-tiered system of justice that winks at lawlessness when it is committed by officially favored victim groups will make life miserable for the millions of law-abiding residents of poor communities and erode the public safety gains from proactive policing."
It's apparent the progressive political class never learned this lesson. And the Mayor of Baltimore failed in her prime directive: keeping all the people of Baltimore safe.
