A County Of Cowards
By Mitch Berg
In 1993, when Jeff Snyder published his classic monograph A Nation of Cowards, one of the key takeaways was that until the people had the will (to say nothing of the means) to resist the tyranny of street crime, they were getting what they deserved.
This was after a few decades of New Yorkers being told…:
- Carry an extra wallet to give to the muggers.
- But make sure the spare wallet doesn’t have too little money, or the mugger may get angry and kiill you anyway
- Leave your car window open so the thieves don’t just smash them to get what they want.
Eventually, even New Yorkers had enough, and elected the law-and-order Giuliani as mayor, and supported his crackdown on petty crime.
These days, the Minneapolis Police Department is telling us this:
So the question now becomes – are 2020s Minneapolitan more bovinely acquiescent than 1970s New Yorkers?
June 12th, 2023 at 9:06 am
Why be aggressive when you can be PASSIVE aggressive?
June 12th, 2023 at 9:39 am
You can vote and hope . . . or you can move to Washington County.
June 12th, 2023 at 9:50 am
A staple of Sci Fi stories is a future without humans, generally killed off by a plague or asteroid or something. There’s always one guy left alive, wandering in the empty spaces, trying to find meaning of it all. In downtown Minneapolis for the couple of years, that’s been James Lileks. He posts about it on the Bleat.
I’ve often wondered if being the last man alive would be so bad. Best seats in the movie theater as long as the power lasted. Zip through traffic like nothing. All the top shelf booze I’ve eyed in the past but couldn’t afford to drink. Cafe racer on I-94 to Fargo – how fast can I go? When winter comes, borrow somebody’s motorhome and head for Mexico.
Lonesome? Maybe. But I’d be the only guy in the library with unlimited checkout privileges. I could walk around outside at night looking at the stars. And I wouldn’t have to give my wallet or cell phone to anybody.
June 12th, 2023 at 10:06 am
“are 2020s Minneapolitans?”/i>
in a word, Yes!
June 12th, 2023 at 10:36 am
Being able to describe the perp is useless if the media won’t publicize when it’s of a certain group.
June 12th, 2023 at 10:38 am
What happens when you need a root canal, Bigman?
June 12th, 2023 at 10:42 am
Eventually, even New Yorkers had enough, and elected the law-and-order Giuliani as mayor, and supported his crackdown on petty crime.
Chances of this happening in MSP are zero, zip, zilch, nada, nothing, because Lilek’s vote counts as one and not 1 thousand. Oh wait, what am I saying! His vote will be negated by 1000 votes conjured out of thin air. Lights had already been turned off in MSP, all that is left is to watch roaches take over and make sure contagion does not spread.
June 12th, 2023 at 11:29 am
MMP – you’re a glass-half-full kind of guy, aren’t you?
But hey, no waiting two weeks to see the dentist, so that’s better, right? And remember all that free top-shelf booze? Plus, I remember a scene from Castaway with an ice skate and rock . . .
🙂
June 12th, 2023 at 11:33 am
Big, you’ll have access to best endo equipment and supplies as well as potent pain killers. You can learn how to do a root canal on yourself! No need for a skate and a rock, you have all the time on the world, right?
June 12th, 2023 at 12:16 pm
Seems like the Minneapolis police have forgotten about the Minnesota Personal Protection Act. Odd.
Though, I do remember in my training that one of the first things we were taught was not to go into dangerous areas just because we were armed, so I guess that rules Minneapolis out.
My thought on how to fix Minneapolis is the same as how the states of Indiana and Michigan have tried to help Gary and Detroit, respectively; in return for bankruptcy protection and the like, they’ve insisted that some of the self-rule provisions for these cities be revoked. It hasn’t been enough, but it’s helped, I think.
June 12th, 2023 at 12:47 pm
MMP: You can vote and hope . . . or you can move to Washington County.
It’s a thought. I’ve been looking around Pierce County, but Washington Co looks interesting – except you have to drive past enemy-occupied Madison and Milwaukee to get there. And what if Dane County’s infection spreads?
June 12th, 2023 at 1:06 pm
I was thinking of Washington County MN, Night Writer. The important thing is get out of Hennepin & Ramsey counties.
June 12th, 2023 at 3:14 pm
Agreed MMP, but I would go further and move out of the clutches of the Met Council and avoid living in the 7 county met area entirely.
June 12th, 2023 at 4:42 pm
It’s not enough to escape the clutches of the Met Council; you have to escape Walz, the education cabal, the tranny-industrial complex, and the gun-grabbers. And a border might not be enough.
June 13th, 2023 at 5:05 am
In one phrase: Minneapolis lacks a Bernie Goetz.