‘The Whole World Is Watching’

In August of 1968, Chicago was the focal point for the apex of the antiwar protests during the Vietnam War. It was also the location for the Democrat National Convention. The two collided and erupted into several days of violent confrontations culminating in what is now commonly called “The Battle for Michigan Avenue.” This series of events emblazoned the chant, “The whole world is watching” into the American lexicon for eternity.

In 1968, the protesters – whether you agreed with them or not; whether you approved of their tactics or not – were protesting for a declared and legitimate cause: to bring about the end of the Vietnam War.

Contrast that to April 15, 2023, when hundreds of predominantly Black teenagers executed a coordinated and planned flash-riot – or “teen takeover – of downtown Chicago. They did so for no reason but to execute violence and the destruction of property. These teenagers – almost all minors – attacked tourists and residents, damaged property including the smashing of store windows and damaging automobiles (many with people inside), and, in several cases, shot at each other.

Again, the contrast here is this. In 1968, the “Yippies” demonstrated to voice their disdain for a prolonged and bloody war being executed by the political party in power (the Democrats) at that party’s national convention. In 2023, the arrogance of entitled youth wreaked havoc and committed true acts of domestic terrorism…because they felt like it.

Brandon Johnson’s Shameful, Enabling Response

The Mayor-Elect of Chicago, Brandon Johnson, as expected, vomited some word salad that both meant nothing and also failed to reflect his past actions and statements. It needs to be stated that Johnson is trying desperately to pivot away from his pubic declarations that supported the Defund the Police Movement.

As FOX News reported, Johnson issued a boilerplate response to the mayhem:

“In no way do I condone the destructive activity we saw in the Loop and lakefront this weekend. It is unacceptable and has no place in our city. However, it is not constructive to demonize youth who have otherwise been starved of opportunities in their own communities…Our city must work together to create spaces for youth to gather safely and responsibly, under adult guidance and supervision, to ensure that every part of our city remains welcome for both residents and visitors.”

The idea that the youth of Chicago have been “starved of opportunity” – whether in their own neighborhoods or across town – so as to warrant what can only be described as tribal savagery, is ludicrous.

This marauding gang of arrogant, entitled, wannabe victims targeted Millenium Park – a  space “for youth to gather safely and responsibly, under adult guidance and supervision” and the esteemed Art Institute of Chicago, both on Michigan Avenue. They violently attacked law-abiding residents and tourists alike, even as a few engaged in the popular pastime of the Black urban youth: shooting each other.

This violence plays out over and over and over again in parks throughout the city. Further, the “adult guidance and supervision” Johnson speaks of is nonexistent because the parents of these kids – teenage children who would think about packing heat and violently assaulting other human beings, destroying property, and taunting law enforcement officers to use lethal force – failed in providing that “guidance and supervision” during the children’s developmental years. Once they “lock and load” it’s a wee bit too late for a delinquent parent to have any authority over the child.

So much for Hillary Clinton and her, “It takes a village to raise a child” propaganda.

And let’s be absolutely clear about one thing. This is not about access to weapons. Chicago is one of the hardest cities in one of the hardest states in which to legally acquire a weapon. Yet violent crime with weapons is at increasing epidemic levels, all thanks to – quite frankly – the asinine belief that we need fewer police officers on the street and that those we have should be “handcuffed” in how they can engage with violent offenders.

And then we have the Soros bought-and-paid-for District Attorney Kim Foxx who refuses to prosecute violent crime. One wonders why the office even exists when contemplating her fidelity to the job description.

The Entitled Lawlessness Of The Black Urban Culture

Ironically, it was the Democrat challenger to Brandon Johnson in the Chicago Mayoral Race, Paul Vallas, who advanced the truth that the city’s Black community has – to a disturbing extent – morphed into a scene from Mad Max.

In July of 2022, Vallas posted these posts to Twitter:

“Last night @ Cicero/Irving large crowd gathered 4 drag racing. CPD arrives & offenders attack Officer. Jumping on car/shattering windshield & opened doors throwing fireworks inside. They exploded & wrapped w/nails. Officer is hurt. There is no fear as CPD hands are tied.”

“This is a 2nd video of the lawlessness. If you can help identify any of these individuals in both videos call Area 5 Detective Division at 312-746-6554 or use the http://cpdtip.com website. We cannot allow the violence against our brave CPD Officers to continue!”

Are we seriously supposed to believe that “adult guidance and supervision” would have prevented this activity or those attacks on police officers? If you are falling for that garbage idea I really wish you would think twice about voting.

This is a failure of culture; the failure of inner-city Black urban culture. To run from that truth is to be arrogantly ignorant of the need to embrace the facts as they present.

According to WTTW, Chicago’s uber-liberal PBS station:

“Through the end of November (2022), 3,258 people have been shot in the city, according to monthly crime stats from the CPD. Of those victims, 637 people were killed…The number of shootings recorded so far this year (2023) [stands at] 2,647…”

And according to NeighborhoodScout.com:

“With a crime rate of 33 per one thousand residents, Chicago has one of the highest crime rates in America compared to all communities of all sizes - from the smallest towns to the very largest cities. One's chance of becoming a victim of either violent or property crime here is one in 31…

“For Chicago, we found that the violent crime rate is one of the highest in the nation, across communities of all sizes (both large and small). Violent offenses tracked included rape, murder and non-negligent manslaughter, armed robbery, and aggravated assault, including assault with a deadly weapon. According to…analysis of FBI-reported crime data, your chance of becoming a victim of one of these crimes in Chicago is one in 115.”

Does that sound like an issue for an increase in social workers? Does that sound like an issue that can be rectified by the creation of “spaces for youth to gather safely and responsibly, under adult guidance and supervision”?

This is not a “resources” issue. This is not a lack of “supervision” issue. This is a cultural issue that has been allowed to metastasize like terminal cancer in the urban Black community due to failed Progressive policies that have enabled a belief that no one is responsible for their actions; that everyone is a victim who is due something, be it reparations or some sort of right to pull out a gun and shoot someone just because they disagree with them.

This is a complete failure of government, which is, at its core mission, tasked with public safety. It is also a failure of the politicians who have focused more on attaining and maintaining power than they have the good of the city.

A great book – choke full of facts, statistics, and plain-spoken language, Black Rednecks & White Liberals by Thomas Sowell, explains the genesis of these failures, especially the cultural failures. Anyone who wants to honestly understand how we arrived at the point of this contemporary Thunderdome needs to consume this book of truths.

Say what you want about Richard J. Daley and Richard M. Daley, they loved the City of Chicago and would have never allowed this kind of cultural savagery to become common solace. They sure as hell wouldn’t have said it wasn’t “constructive to demonize youth who have otherwise been starved of opportunities in their own communities.”

That ideological and politically opportune bullshit rests with Rahm Emanuel, Lori Lightfoot, and now Brandon Johnson (as well as Cook County District Attorney Kim Foxx and Cook County President Toni Preckwinkle). They are all responsible for destroying a world-class city and a cultural mecca, as well as destroying the futures of generations of urban Black youth.

And as we all contemplate the events of last weekend – and as summer approaches with the inevitable increases in violent crimes, keep this in mind. The 2024 Democrat National Convention is slated for…wait for it…Chicago.

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