Wrong Again

I get it. I am not the brightest candle on the tree. But I really thought that I understood the instinct for self preservation. Apparently I was wrong. I really thought that people, disadvantaged by income, who lived in the poorer sections of the cities, not only wanted, but needed protection from the low lives and criminals that make their lives, and the lives of their children, unbearable. 

Apparently, I misjudged their mindset. Apparently they prefer the company of drug dealers, purse snatchers, gang bangers, and other miscreants to the police. it doesn't make much sense to me. I've lived poor, but never in one of those neighborhoods that are commonly referred to as a ghetto. 

On a few occasions I have had roadside conferences with police officers that were, to put it mildly, terse. In every case I had erred but the cops reaction was excessive. Actually, I understood. They take a lot of abuse. From the "do you know who I am" types to belligerent drunks to people who just try to evade them. So at times they over react. Submit, calm things down and, usually, all will be well. Be combative and it will get ugly.

To the point, the poorer neighborhoods usually have a higher percentage of crime. The police go in and try to balance the scales. Most cops try to do a fair and honest job. They honestly do try to "Preserve and Protect".

Lately the folks that live on the poor side of town have decided that the police are the enemy of all. The new motto seems to be "Give us Barabbas". They would rather protect the evil doers that prey on them and their neighbors than support the police.

It seems that the police taking action will draw a crowd. The crowd will turn into a mob. Curses will be thrown. Then bottles and rocks. So, rather than cause a riot, the police withdraw. Followed by cheering and smug smiles. But those smug smiles will disappear as the neighborhoods get worse. More robberies. More blood. More drugs. Fewer cops. Cities in a death spiral. As that great philosopher, Pogo, said, "We have met the enemy and they is us"!