Four days ago, as May wound down, I asked what happens when we paint the police as villains, rather than pointing to the thieves, thugs and muggers. This is a particularly acute question in Baltimore, and a good deal of evidence was already in.
May ended yesterday. We now have an even clearer idea of what happens when, on account of the Cops-Are-Devils campaign, we exchange enthusiastic, proactive policing for timid, work-to-rule policing.
Those who think the record low crime we've been enjoying just fell out of the sky are in for a rude awakening. If we are deluded enough to think that we can cut back the things that have produced low crime -- more police, more proactive policing, and more incarceration -- and nothing will happen, we'll deserve what we get. And, in Baltimore, are getting.
Black lives matter.
Oh, wait, the result of the "Black Lives Matter" campaign killed more blacks than any reasonable (or even unreasonable) estimate of cops killing black teens wielding nothing but their Teddy Bear?
Never mind. Go back to sleep and pretend that the demographic group committing the most crimes should not be getting the most police attention.
Another very important post showing that policing, and police-citizen relations and all that surrounds this, may be central to many violent crime realities. Keep staying on this story and especially keep emphasizing that a serious concern for black lives requires a serious engagement with these developments.