13 days, 22 murders

The advent of the camera phone probably did just as much. Now it's no longer that thing that minorities always talk about but white people dismiss. Everyone can see what happens and it goes out quickly. Then you have unions and people of certain political persuasions who think we're being mean to cops and those minorities are over reacting.

 

Damn cops shooting unarmed civilians again

 

be great if the white residents of these cities took an interest in ending this kind of violence. might be very helpful.

 

As in, feel free to forward this thread to the usual suspects

 

I think Black people care deeply about violence in their neighborhoods.

 

So do I, but they need the political clout of the white suburbanites and downtown gentrifiers to help change things.

I'm perfectly happy to keep having the "personal responsibility" conversation over and over and over again - if it comes with some genuine change to the systems producing these outcomes.

 

I do too, but they’re caught between the proverbial rock and hard place when it comes to the gangs. They either have to take it, and just keep trying to stay afloat with the quiet constructive solutions that Clint Smith describes, or they can choose to go all Death Wish on the gangs, which places themselves in greater danger, places themselves at risk of ruining their own lives by being put in prison for a very long time and continually perpetuates the violence in the community.

There’s no easy path for them.

 

Gun law systems are a decent start.

The “legalize hard drugs” is a non-starter to a lot of people. And drugs are part of the issue here.

 

Good times up there in Seattle without the police in CHOP/CHAZ. Good times.

Abolish the Police? Those Who Survived the Chaos in Seattle Aren’t So Sure

Young white men wielding guns would harangue customers as well as Mr. Khan, a gay man of Middle Eastern descent who moved here from Texas so he could more comfortably be out. To get into his coffee shop, he sometimes had to seek the permission of self-appointed armed guards to cross a border they had erected.

“They barricaded us all in here,” Mr. Khan said. “And they were sitting in lawn chairs with guns.”

 

While I get the point that CHOP/CHAZ was violent and people probably were scared, but the New York Times feels a little overly dramatic. Two people died. It isn't like scores died. Overall point remains fair, but couldn't they have just said those who escaped the chaos...?

 

The story is a picture of what happens in a place where the police have no presence. That is, “private security” walks around with long guns for money.

 

I get that and I don't begrudge the story. But the headline saying "those who survived" paints a picture that isn't accurate and it's unnecessary. If I say those who survived it's probably in the context of a situation where many people died and only a few got out. Just let the story speak for itself.