The Chaos in “Democrat-led” Cities.

The Chaos in “Democrat-led” Cities.

First thing I have to say is: fuck this Trump step-up of law enforcement/aka quick slide to Fascism. We are fine here. Nothing but the usual. Save our tax dollars for, oh I don't know, saving people's jobs during the Trump Virus shutdown. Ok.

The breakdown of mayoral political parties is 35 Democrats , 13 Republicans , and 2 Independents (both elected with state Democratic support). From Wikipedia.

Anytime there is a riot, shooting, civil disturbance, something fucked up, there are always those yahoos who are quick to point out “DEMOCRAT CITIES!!! THESE ARE HAPPENING IN CITIES CONTROLLED BY THE DEMOCRAT PARTY!!!”

Ok. First of all, it is not the “Democrat Party.” It is the “Democratic Party.” A member of that party is called a “Democrat.” When people say “Democrat Party” they are deliberately getting the name wrong to piss off Democrats, who as we’ve just learned, are members of the Democratic Party.

I know it seems like a petty thing to take issue with, but that is the whole point of the slur. It is meant to make Democrats seem petty. That was started by Bush 43 to throw shade at the Democrats. (I know he’s experiencing a rehabilitation of sorts, thanks to the god awfulness of the guy in charge right now, the “president” of the 38 percent…but Bush was a divider as well during his 8 years. He just wasn’t as obvious or disgusting about it.) Deliberately getting someone’s name wrong has always been a subtle way to take a jab at someone, and you know what? It’s really fucking immature.

Second: Civil unrest in the name of social change? Smart people tend to live in cities. People move from their Podunk towns because they can’t stand the smallness and the small-mindedness of the small town, so we move to big cities. It is these types of people that tend to be more liberal, more Democratic, and more inclined to speak out about injustices in the world. (calm down…this is a generalization. Yes, Conservative Republicans also live in cities. But in general, cities tend toward being Democratic for the reasons I listed above.) These Democrats tend to vote for Democrats, so much so that Republicans never mount a serious challenge. In my own city, Democrats outnumber Republicans 10 to 1.

Third: Systemic racism ain’t called that for nothing. It is IN THE SYSTEM. Meaning, it has been around for years. It is insidious, it is baked into the fabric of cities in the form or redlining and disinvestment in poor communities, who unfortunately (and not at all coincidentally) tend to be Black.

Fourth: …Republicans and Republican supporters have the easy job when it comes to cities: they can criticize from afar and from outside.

In the 50 largest cities in the US, there are only 13 Republican Mayors, compared to let’s call it 37 Democrats... In sheer numbers, not even looking at policy of the individuals occupying the offices, there are three times as many Democratic Mayors as Republicans.

(I’ll be honest. Other than maybe San Diego, there are no Republican led cities on this list that I would ever want to live in.)

It STANDS TO REASON that when the breakdown is like that, there is a statistical probability that in a Nationwide wave of protests the Democratic run cities will experience more of the violence that is often on the fringes of otherwise peaceful protests… (hey, Baltimore’s protests have been a model of peace and civility, with a few notable exceptions…now if only we could extend that peace to the rest of the city…)

Speaking of which.

Fifth: The police are out of control, no matter what the stripe of politician running that city is. You mean to tell me that the “Democrat” mayors with the out of control cops are responsible for the behavior of those cops…so that means you are decrying Police brutality too? Or are you part of that whole “sit down shut up don’t get into trouble and there won’t be any hassle” crowd? Either way, the Police that you defend on your Facebook feeds are operating as equal opportunity pricks in cities both Republican and Democrat.

Ok, I think that’s it. I am the Parochialist.