You have read here many times about the crime plaguing America’s big blue cities. That crime has driven many big city residents to look for a better America in places like Florida, Texas, and other states where politicians care more about citizens than they do about criminals. The states and cities where Democrats appear to govern with the best interests of criminals in mind have watched as hard working residents have fled in droves. So it isn’t surprising to read in the NY Post that Democrats are attacking news outlets that report on their failures. The Post’s editorial board writes:
The liberal media suddenly cares about crime. Oh, not the staggering toll on businesses and quality of life, or even the loss of life. No, they’re upset that “fear-mongering” hurt Democrats in the midterm elections.
And for that, they blame the New York Post.
“NYC Media Might Have Cost Democrats the House,” laments New York magazine.
“New York’s Seismic Tilt Toward the GOP,” the New York Times claims, was due to “doomsday-style ads” and “constant media headlines.”
Fact is, it was New York Democrats who cost Democrats the House, by pushing a flagrantly illegal gerrymandered election map, which, after being overturned by a judge, led to a more level congressional playing field. Add in an accidental governor more interested in raising money than debating ideas, and a spirited campaign by Republican challenger Lee Zeldin and, well, here we are.
But setting that aside, let’s consider their arguments — seven myths they push to claim that voters were “fooled”:
1. SURE, CRIME IS UP, BUT IT’S NOT AS BAD AS IT USED TO BE!
“Incidents of major crimes are higher in New York City and Nassau County than before the pandemic, though they remain well below levels seen in recent decades,” the Times notes.
“Decades” is a pretty vague term. Crime rates for 2021-22 have reversed a consistent decline in shootings and homicides since the mid-1990s, as well as drops in other index crimes.
Newsweek had to go back 32 yearsto try to make a point about comparative safety — juxtaposing 2022 with 1990. And yes, in 1990 there were 2,245 homicides. In 2021, there were 485. So far this year, 391. But are we really comparing the worst year for crime in modern New York City history as a way to make people feel better? Overall crime is up 30% from last year. The average New Yorker doesn’t want to see how bad things can get.
2. NEW YORK HAS ALWAYS BEEN THIS WAY
After education activist Yiatin Chu tweeted that she “Paid $2.75 to be in a subway car with a loud and aggressive man threatening to hit his female partner. Switched cars at next stop to be in a public toilet / urine-odor, crowded car for the rest of my ride,” the Times’ Nikole Hannah-Jones replied, “Yes, yes. This was absolutely unheard on subways until two years ago.”
Maybe not unheard of, but certainly more rare. There was a tremendous focus on improving the streets and subways under Rudy Giuliani, Michael Bloomberg … and yes, even Bill de Blasio. Because despite his absentee mayoralty, he understood that none of his socialist pipe dreams were possible if people didn’t feel safe. So he kept the proactive policing of Bill Bratton and his acolytes.
To the same point, the Times claimed that The Post “Splash[ed] violent crimes across its front page, however rare they may still be.”
But we don’t run stories about random pickpockets on the front page; there have been a number of recent crimes that have shocked the conscience. Here are some of the incidents that we covered in the past few months:
- A 61-year-old FDNY lieutenant, a 24-year veteran of the force on her way to lunch, was randomly stabbed to death in a frenzy by a madman.
- Eight innocent bystanders were shot in one month, including a 16-year-old girl and a 70-year-old grandma. All of them are black, many of them women.
- A Hispanic woman was brutally beaten, randomly, in a subway station by a homeless ex-con to the point where she might lose an eye. “I don’t give a s–t,” said Waheed Foster, the man who did it, and who also beat his foster grandmother to death. “So what?”
- A shoplifter was arrested 101 times — and let go almost every time because of bail “reforms.”
We covered other news during these months. The Queen died. We’re sure the Kardashians did something. But according to Democratic activists and their media handmaidens, the fact that we decided these soul-crushing incidents were news was, to quote New York magazine, “hyp[ing] rising crime to an unreasonable degree.”
We believe that others have abdicated their responsibility to the public.
3. THE VOTERS DON’T EVEN LIVE IN HIGH-CRIME AREAS!
“The homicide spike did not reach into affluent enclaves of Westchester or Long Island; but the New York Post did,” says New York magazine’s report.
This ignores a few issues. First, a good percentage of those voters commute into the city, avoiding the seriously mentally ill camped out in Penn Station or Grand Central. Or they may want to come into the city, to see a Broadway show, eat in a nice restaurant. At least they used to.
But most importantly, does that mean that they shouldn’t worry for the condition of their state overall? It is black and Hispanic New York City residents who bear the brunt of the majority of crimes. Progressives say white suburbanites are racist to worry about crime, but wouldn’t it be racist not to care about the victims?
Action Line: The list goes on in the NY Post’s piece, but you can guess all the likely excuses. You have to ask yourself about the motivations and capabilities of any politicians who wouldn’t want crime to be reported on. In the meantime, find a home in America where the politicians put your interests first. Start your search with my 2022 Super States, and click here to subscribe to my free monthly Survive & Thrive letter so you’ll be one of the first to be notified when I release my 2023 Super States update.
