If you’re honest with yourself, you probably get little uneasy when visiting a big city you’re unfamiliar with.
Maybe you’re on high-alert when you jump on the subway, knowing it’s not the safest place you could be.
Well, you’re probably smart to be concerned as crimes on mass transit have skyrocketed… But, hey, don’t blame the criminals.
Is it just a coincidence that the liberal leaders of big cities have eased up on crime enforcement and are adopting a more “progressive” approach in the cities with the highest crime rates?
We think you know the answer to that.
The Broken Windows Theory
No, it’s no coincidence that crime is increasing as progressive social policies take hold. This is especially true in urban areas.
An article in City Journal referencing a piece called “Broken Windows” by James Wilson and George Kelling (originally published in 1982) discussed how easily the tide can turn when minor crimes are brushed under the rug.
Abandoned properties lead to broken windows.
Overwhelmed adults stop scolding misbehaving children, who in turn, become more emboldened to misbehave…
Families leave, while people loiter and fight and drink their problems away… and no one stops them.
Drinking, drugs, unemployment – they all increase, and so does crime.
Then the progressive policies that create a welfare state continue to support and grow the problem.
Rioting, gang violence, fatherless families who are dependent on government support – support that does nothing but create a vicious cycle.
So how have these policies made crimes easier to commit? Don’t we have law enforcement agencies, prosecutors, and city officials to keep us safe?
Well, today’s progressives can’t stand capitalism or the idea that hard work and integrity paves the way to success. They can’t stand our President and the laws and values that lead to personal wealth.
Their socialist agenda – one they believe “equalizes” everyone – is only making the division of class more obvious.
One of the driving forces behind the rise in urban crime is the lack of respect and authority given our law enforcement officers.
The 2014 shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, the 2016 shooting of Laquan McDonald in Chicago, and numerous other incidents where police were justified in doing what they had to do to stop a crime have led to a massive racial divide.
Progressive officials want to blame the police and say minorities and those in poverty are being targeted.
The police are losing their hold on crime by having to refrain from doing their jobs for fear of a lawsuit – or worse. The narrative that law enforcement officers are using excessive force is perpetuated by the liberal media and the liberal leaders who control it.
George Soros works to help elect progressives to office as district, state, and commonwealth attorneys. Billionaire Michael Bloomberg blames guns – not the policies of the welfare state – for leading people to a life of crime.
The bottom line, as was described in “Broken Windows,” is that progressives want to “rehabilitate” criminals rather than punish them.
Some cities have stopped making arrests – or are giving very lenient sentences – for many non-violent crimes like shoplifting and forgery.
This makes criminals more emboldened to commit worse crimes. After all, they got away with it the first time.
Poor things. It’s not their fault they’re criminals. We will fight to make sure criminals are treated just as fairly as citizens who obey the law!!
Mass Transit
Such is the root of problems that affect all Proud American Travelers when visiting urban areas – especially the big cities that draw so many tourists every year.
New York, San Francisco, Chicago, Seattle…
And the most obvious place you and I may see the effects of the progressive agenda’s influence on crime is on a city’s mass transit system.
The “broken window” that’s caused mass transit to become so dangerous recently is the fact that fare evasion – you know, jumping the turnstile or otherwise hopping on the metro for free – is rarely punished.
There was a time when fare evasion, fights, and other misdemeanor crimes on the subway systems of New York, Chicago, and San Francisco were punishable by arrest and fines.
Now, they’re widely ignored, sending the message that crimes committed on mass transit are not going to have major repercussions.
On San Francisco’s Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) system, violent crime rose over 100 percent between 2014 and 2018, culminating in one week of 2018 in which three murders took place on the BART.
Sexual assaults, robberies, and other felonies are also at a high rate as police presence has decreased.
So why is police presence being decreased in some of the most crowded places in cities?
Well, because the progressive policies put in place to “create change” have also pulled funding from law enforcement agencies.
And then there’s the progressive ideology that focuses on finding – sometimes creating – police “misconduct” and white-collar crimes committed by wealthy corporate heads.
San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin has vowed not to prosecute offenses like prostitution, public urination, or camping out in a public place so her office can focus on the real “bad guys” – the police who are “bullying” criminals.
Violent crime is also on the rise on New York’s subways.
Recently, New York District Attorneys decided to stop prosecuting fare evasion on the subways, and since they weren’t going to worry about catching turnstile-hoppers, they decreased police presence.
You can imagine what’s happened.
The subway system has become a playground for New York’s criminals.
Mayor Bill DeBlasio has shifted police presence from the subways to neighborhoods, causing one anonymous source in the NYPD to say he’s ultimately “handcuffed the police… and these guys know it.”
It’s the “broken window” effect in full-force.
Blue Lives Matter (just not to liberal city leaders)
In Massachusetts, Democrat Representative Ayanna Pressley has introduced legislation to decriminalize prostitution and public drug use.
And back in Chicago, progressive prosecutor Kim Foxx says the city’s criminal justice system is biased against minorities, so they show unparalleled leniency for violent offenders by setting them free to commit violence again.
Incidentally, she is the one responsible for refusing to prosecute actor Jussie Smollett who allegedly staged what he said was a “racially-motivated” attack against him.
Chicago officials have cut funding for a new police academy so they can boost welfare spending, sending less cops out on the streets and mocking their authority by this slap in the face.
And in Seattle, barely 20 percent of all police reports result in a conviction.
Homeless populations have soared in one of the wealthiest cities in the country as city officials refuse to charge for prostitution or drug crimes.
You see, it’s “economic injustice” that has brought these criminals to this place, not mental health issues or substance abuse. It’s so unfair that they should have to follow the law when they have such an “unfair disadvantage.”
One police officer told City Journal that Seattle should be called “Freeattle” because of the almost socialist way the city is run. Free everything – from housing to clothing to food to medical care — and in many cases, freedom from prosecution.
Petty crimes are also ignored in Portland, while prostitution and drug use skyrockets unchecked. Yet city leadership doesn’t make the connection between this and an increase in violent crime.
The moral is, watch your back in any urban area just as you should always exercise caution when traveling or visiting a busy city.
And be vigilant on public transportation, because – despite the fact they want to help – law enforcement’s hands are often tied.
Thank you, progressive leaders, for your vision of “equality” that’s leading us toward anarchy.
We couldn’t have done it without you.
(h/t Proud American Traveler)