This past week when 2,000 rioters driven by promises of free stuff from yet another social media influencer (“influencer” now being a career choice, as our culture continues its downward spiral), destroyed automobiles, store fronts, terrorized citizens, and confronted police officers in downtown Manhattan. Reaction from the left? Crickets. Rioting for fun and profit has now become as American as hot dogs and apple pie for leftists.
So, here is what we can conclude: The left are more concerned about a song that talks about rioters than they are about the rioters themselves. Turns out that rioting is simply good clean fun for young people, but don’t you dare bring it up and you will be called racist for doing so.
What we are experiencing currently is just a continuation of the erosion of law and order that began under Obama and reached its zenith in the summer of 2020 after the George Floyd riots. Democrat politicians called for defunding the police and did so while they were calling rioters “protestors.” Jenny Durkan, Mayor of Seattle, not only allowed rioters to invade and occupy a section of downtown Seattle, but she called it a celebration of a “summer of love.” Astounding.
Additionally, our current vice president sent out tweets asking Americans to contribute to a fund set up to bail out rioters. Imagine that, an elected vice president not only openly defending criminal behavior, but also asking Americans send them money for bail.
The full effect of defunding and devaluing police and showering Leftist District Attorneys with ridiculous amounts of campaign funding can be seen in our largest, Democrat-run cities. For starters, shoplifting is no longer a crime; in most cities it is allowed up to $1000. And in the purest definition of an upside-down world, store employees who try to stop shoplifters are being prosecuted as criminals. This has led to continuous mob-based invasion of high-end stores, where criminals are running off with thousands of dollars of high-end merchandise with total impunity.
So, in Blue cities and states, crimes are prosecuted based on the race, class or the ideology of the perpetrators, not on the crime itself. Turns out that Chicago’s newest Leftist mayor, Brandon Johnson, is a major appeaser. He recently took offense to rioters being called a “mob” preferring they be called a “large gathering.” This is the problem in a nutshell. Leftist politicians coddle the rioters. In some cases, they reward them: NYC recently settled a lawsuit, paying $13 million to rioters whose “rights” were violated by NYPD. Ridiculous.
Thus, people who once visited these cities and spent their hard-earned dollars there, now avoid them. And rightfully so, as they fear for their safety and security. Likewise, employees of large, city-based corporate entities prefer to work from home.
I am not optimistic, as the denizens of these large cities keep voting for Democrats, expecting the same people who created the problem to be the ones to resolve them. Thus, I fully expect the crime will get worse. And cities will become more depopulated as consumers, taxpayers and businesses will find it safer to move out.
Dr. Otto Hernandez is a political commentator and lifelong educator.