Getting Hard To Be A Liberal?
Written in conjunction with guest writer LRM.
For the purpose of argument, let’s assume for a moment, that you, dear reader, are a dyed in the wool liberal. As a “good liberal” you believe that you are on the side of the angels. In your heart of hearts, you know a climate catastrophe is just around the corner, you advocate the elimination of fossil fuels, cow farts and red meat. You believe that capitalism is the root of all evil and that there is no social problem that can’t be solved by throwing more money at it, preferably someone else’s money. You want to “make the rich pay their fair share”. You are not quite sure about socialism but you buy into the “injustice” of income inequality. And, on top of all this, lately you’ve been asked to believe that America, for all its freedoms, is a horribly racist country.
Why are you asked to believe this? The American media, at the behest of rabid activists, has been incessantly trying to drill it into our heads for the past 50 years. And the liberal activists who make these claims brook no dissent or even discussion. All opinions to the contrary have, they say repeatedly, been “thoroughly debunked”. Their focus shifts, however, from time to time, when the news headlines provide grist for their seditious mill. In the wake of the George Floyd incident, the theme du jour is “systemic racism,” so let’s take a look at that.
Activists would have you believe, dear liberal, that America is rife with “systemic racism” at all levels of our society and especially within police departments. Scanning the recent news headlines and stories, one gets the impression that dozens of African-Americans are gunned down every day by the police. But is this true?
In 2019, the latest year for which we have data, 1004 people,most of whom were armed or otherwise dangerous, were killed by the police. This number is for the entire country of over 300 million. This number appears to have been holding steady for the past several years. Of this number, 24% were black (source: Heather Mac Donald, www.wsj.com). Because blacks represent only 13% of the population, activists argue that this discrepancy is de facto proof of systemic racism. Deliberately omitted from such analysis, however, is the “inconvenient truth” that blacks commit a disproportionate number of homicides, running at a staggering 52% according to the Bureau of Justice statistics. So, although blacks are responsible for 52% of the homicides, they represent only 24% of police related deaths. Hardly evidence of “systemic racism.” In fact, it appears that in all of 2019, there were only 9 UNARMED blacks shot to death by police. During that same time period, by the way, there were 19 unarmed whites that suffered the same fate. And during this same time period, 89 police officers were killed in the line of duty. Not the picture, obviously, of so called “systemic racism” as claimed. With facts like these, it gets a bit harder to be a good liberal, doesn’t it?
Another “inconvenient truth” you won’t hear mentioned by activists, is the sad fact that the vast majority of young black men are killed by other young black men. This number is staggering: close to 8000 each year. And, despite this horrific reality, as a good liberal, you’re asked to advocate “defunding the police.” With the elimination or even reduction of policing, you’d have to be willing to accept an increase in the number of black on black homicides from 8000 to God only knows what, in order to eliminate the 9 “blue on black” deaths, a position I think you’d be hard pressed to really believe in. With a diminished police force, you rightfully suspect, cities across America could become become like present day Chicago, which has become a literal hell on earth. Just a few weeks ago, on May 31, 2020, Chicago had its bloodiest day ever. Eighteen people were killed and 85 wounded by gunfire IN A SINGLE DAY. (source: chicago.suntimes.com). The vast majority were, of course, black. And NONE were shot by police. This surpassed the former record from June 10, 2019, when 10 people in Chicago were killed by gunfire and 52 wounded in a single day. These numbers make Wyatt Earp’s town of Tombstone, Arizona, look downright pacifist. Defund the police? Hard to recommend in the face of all this, I think, even for a good liberal.
Police shootings are often portrayed as racially motivated, but statistics show that black officers are more likely to fire on a black suspect than are white officers in similar situations. The accusation of “racism” is hard to apply, even for a good liberal, when both the police officer and perpetrator are black.
George Floyd’s death in police custody was without question tragically violent. But his death does not represent the norm. Most police officers struggle every day to do a horrendously difficult job in which they are required to interact with violent, disturbed and dangerous individuals. And, they find themselves in dangerous confrontations more and more frequently, because WE KEEP LETTING THE CRIMINALS OUT. Absurd “no bail laws” like the one in NYC, and routine plea bargained minimal sentencing, put criminals back on the street lickety split where they are free to create mayhem. “Defunding the police” and sending the money to social workers will NOT, unfortunately, change this harsh reality. Calls for “defunding the police” aren’t “reform”, they are plain stupidity, and difficult to defend, even for a good liberal.
So, maybe it’s time for even “good liberals” to do some soul searching. Maybe it’s time to stop making excuses for the violent, antisocial and criminal behavior that plagues our cities. You are NOT a racist if you believe that all lives matter, and that ALL black lives matter, not just the ones killed by police. It is said that the road to hell is paved with good intentions. But good intentions, dear liberal, isn’t what’s needed now. Just because your heart is pure, it will not guarantee you the outcome you want.