I’ve struggled to find something to write about this morning. The news that is on everybody’s lips here in Chicago are the riots that took place here over the weekend. If you don’t know what I’m talking about here’s a new report from Jennifer D’Onofrio of ABC7Chicago:
CHICAGO (WLS) — The Illinois Restaurant Association is raising concerns about unruly crowds in downtown Chicago last weekend.
For the past two days, the city has been in the local and national spotlight after a chaotic weekend.
Video showed groups of young people causing mayhem on Michigan Avenue on Saturday and at 31st Street Beach on Friday.
Some teenagers were shot, dozens of arrests were made, with businesses, residents and tourists scared. These meet ups are often hyped up and circulated on social media.
The Illinois Restaurant Association’s goal is to promote, protect and improve the restaurant industry in the state and they’re concerned that if people don’t feel safe, they won’t come downtown, especially as the weather gets warmer.
Some news reports refer to “unruly crowds”. Others refer to “riots”. I think that a disorderly assembly in which shots are discharged and people are shot or beaten is reasonably characterized as a “riot”.
It’s not just Chicagoans concerned. I’ve been hearing concerns expressed by people all over the country.
My take is that all of the parties involved are doing what they’ve learned to do. The young people have learned to organize these mass gatherings through social media and that there are no consequences for disorderly behavior. The police have learned that a “hands off” attitude is the safest strategy (for themselves) and, while there will be some fleeting criticism, there won’t be any real consequences to the police if they fail to do anything about “unruly crowds” shooting each other and beating each other up. Elected officials have learned that as long as they mouth the right platitudes, they’ll still be elected and/or re-elected.
Sadly, it’s a lot harder to unteach than it would have been to prevent people from learning the wrong lessons in the first place.
Mayor-elect Brandon Johnson has characterized the behavior as “unacceptable”. I do not think that word means what he thinks it means. If unacceptable it should not be accepted.
If Chicago is avoid the collapses of Baltimore, Detroit, Washington and other American cities these wildings must be suppressed. Otherwise the Chicago downtown will be abandoned.
Nothing says successful, important cities will survive regardless. In 200 AD Rome had something like 1 million residents and was the center of one of the world’s great empires. In the early Middle Ages it was home to several thousand people and a minor backwater town. In 1950 Detroit had 2 million people and was one of the richest cities in the world. Today it has no more than 600,000 people, and it is a.miserable rat hole.
Many American and European cities are sliding into chaos. But Chinese Russian, and even Iranian cities are not. The stink of cultural, economic, and political death sticks to the West. “The old order changeth, giving place to new.â€
Get out of the cities. Learn Russian or Mandarin. Get a gun. Hoard food.
One hardly knows what to say anymore. Lori Lightfoot insulted everyone’s intelligence with her remarks. The new mayor gets a freebie because he doesn’t actually have to do anything. But where are the voters? They apparently accept those platitudes you refer to. And those who don’t are in Winnetka or Hinsdale.
I’ll say it even though others won’t. Those film clips show predominantly blacks. The inner city culture is showing itself. It just doesn’t need to be this way. And if was the white hired guns of Antifa I’d say the same.
Chicago and other large cities are going down the tubes because the residents allow it. People seem strangely unaware of what’s going on in the SE. GA, SC, NC, FL and TN are growing by keeps and bounds. And it’s mostly in third or fourth tier cities, and non-cities. This is the future. I think the Rubicon has been crossed.
It’s such a shame. I loved Chicago. But Chicago is gone. Those riots were a five minute walk from my first residence there. At basically Mich Ave and Wacker. Today? You couldn’t pay me to be there.
Chicago and other large cities are going down the tubes because the residents allow it. People seem strangely unaware of what’s going on
Real law and order is what is needed, and what most yearn for., with real consequences implemented for perpetrators and real justice rendered for those victimized. But, such a scenario is seen by progressives as not politically correct. Justice Warriors wail and scream, accusing actions to stabilize our faltering society, as “racist, fascist†and the like. Progressive DAs around the country, like Bragg, are turning felonies into misdemeanors, letting felons out of jail with a mere slap on the hand, and police officers become demoralized to take action against criminal acts least they be charged themselves. And, as our culture erodes more, as more people become dependent on anything/everything the government says and offers them, they become increasingly docile about doing anything (even voting for change) to rectify the chaos proliferating around them. Pretty soon the bad encompasses the good and, like Rome and other civilizations before us, a once doable and sustainable city/country becomes “Mad Max†territory.
We are seeing this happen right before our glazed-over eyes. However, with all the prevailing lies and corruption that are ignored, excused, or covered up, the general populace, IMO, has become numbed to challenge and protest against it. For all those clapping about the consequences paid by the J6 men and women, there is nothing said about the nonchalance shown to more horrific and violent acts by Antifa during the 2017 inauguration violence, the costly 2020 summer Antifa, BLM riots, and the gangs of youth who continually steal with impunity, and intimidate business owners. And, while many of the J6 defendants continue to rot in jail for 2+ years, with little access to due process, more are being hunted down by the justice department, after all this elapsed time, serving as examples to others to only engage in protests politically aligned with the current government.
“It’s not just Chicagoans concerned. I’ve been hearing concerns expressed by people all over the country.”
Media drives it. Remember that stories about crime dropped in the media by about 50% after the election was over. In the large majority of the country crime is still well below where it was in the 90s and it is decreasing in most places across the country. Look at all the recent stories about politicians from Ohio saying they are afraid to go to NYC which is much safer than the large cities in Ohio.
Steve
“In the large majority of the country crime is still well below where it was in the 90s and it is decreasing in most places across the country.”
Ah, yes. Thank god no one worries about riots and guns going off on Michigan Ave from Jackson to Wacker, like in the horrible 90’s when if you went out……….well, nothing happened. That’s why the retailers are leaving and city downtowns are looking more like ghost towns. Thank god Compton wasn’t looted for liquor and condoms the other day. That’s why people aren’t fleeing the cities…….except they are.
Everything is just peachy………if it wasn’t for those damned media people who, well, don’t report a lot of it.
At least you have a future as press secretary when Jean Pierre runs out of gas (light). Steve – the new Baghdad Bob. BTW – do you get your talking points by fax, email or courier?
I can’t testify to the situation in other major cities but in Chicago there are two facts that need to be reconciled. First, the number of physical arrests is half what it was in 2019. Second, the number of priority 911 calls that went with no response as is required for a priority call is nearly a half million annually.
Steve would have it that crime is way down and media are throwing people into a frenzy. The explanation offered by some Chicago pols is that there are not enough police officers (Chicago has a larger number of police/100K population than any other major city).
I think there’s a pretty simple explanation that completely comports with what happened last weekend when people report that they tried to flag police down when they were attacked to no avail. My explanation: force protection has become the primary objective of the CPD. They aren’t responding. It explains how arrests can be down, why many priority 911 calls go without response, why homicides have risen since Mayor Lightfoot took office, how carjackings are a multiple of what they were before she took office and how shoplifting is sharply up. If you don’t respond, the crimes aren’t reflected in the stats. Also, why risk your neck if the cases won’t be taken up by the state’s attorney or will be thrown out in the courts anyway.
But that doesn’t mean they didn’t take place. When a tree falls in the forest it makes a sound whether the statistic is recorded or not.
I specifically said most places and not everywhere. Chicago might be worse. Maybe a few other places but most are better than in the 90s and major crimes are decreasing.
Steve
The comparison to the 1990’s isn’t very relevant. Crime peaked in the early 1990’s – the fact that crime is less than that peak isn’t some standard that normal people use. The early 1990’s was also three decades ago and no one under the age of probably 50 had any experience with the rise in crime through the 80’s that peaked in the early 1990’s.
Point being, what is the standard against what you measure as crime being too high or too low? A lot of people on the left seem to think that as long as we don’t exceed the early 1990’s peak, then crime is not worth talking about. Well, rightly or wrongly, a lot of Americans don’t agree with that.