When emotion is brought into public policy we can count on bad things happening. Looting and rioting are doing damage to the argument for the need to reform policing. Is it bringing attention to it? Yes. But, not the kind of attention that is needed.
In the cold world of statistics we have these facts:
In 2019 police officers fatally shot 1,004 people, most of whom were armed or otherwise dangerous. African-Americans were about a quarter of those killed by cops last year (235), a ratio that has remained stable since 2015. That share of black victims is less than what the black crime rate would predict, since police shootings are a function of how often officers encounter armed and violent suspects. In 2018, the latest year for which such data have been published, African-Americans made up 53% of known homicide offenders in the U.S. and commit about 60% of robberies, though they are 13% of the population.
Wall Street Journal
We’ve seen this before but it won’t make it onto the nightly news. Instead the emotion of the current events will be highlighted because human suffering gets eyeballs to their TV screens. The coverage makes it seem like all white police officers are purposely looking for black people to kill. The numbers don’t agree with the narrative.
Meanwhile, looting and rioting are destroying businesses and neighborhoods. Chicago, in particular, we saw the destruction of many small businesses on the south and west sides. Retailers that were just beginning to look forward to somewhat getting back to business. First government stepped in with their heavy hand and closed them down. Now some people in their neighborhoods have put the final nail in the coffin. Who wants to re-open a business when the government can deem you non-essential and then because of the action by a police officer in Minneapolis your neighbors literally burn your business down.
A majority of the cities and states where the unrest is occurring are places where Democrats run the government. The people protesting overwhelmingly vote Democrat. There is cognitive dissonance happening here. The people protesting keep the people in power that they say keep them oppressed. It’s almost like battered wife syndrome. You get beaten and beaten but keep going back because you believe that person will change.
They won’t change. They will tell you they’re sorry. They’ll tell you they love you. They’ll tell you they’ll never do it again. But they will.
I’m not saying Republicans are blameless and there may be places where similar things are occurring where Republicans are in power. But, at least right now, what is happening and where it’s happening are not Republican strongholds.
We need to stop asking government to take care of us. Putting them in charge of our well being leads to abuse of power and overreach. If they are your parent expect them to tell you how, where, and why you should live. Keep them at more than an arms length and you’ll find your independence a God-send. You’ll be better off for it and so will the United States of America.