As It Should

Shaun King predictably weighs in (or should I say, doesn't weigh in) re: Chicago facebook live torture.

He also doesn’t need me advocating for justice. It will soon drop like Thor’s hammer without my help.

As it should.

I must be on another planet with this guy...I mean, this story of violence in inner city Chicago has been going on for years now (Chiraq anyone?) and King and other BLM want to talk about police violence? Really? He wants to talk about mistakes and bad judgement and not the evil right in front of our faces? I mean, it's one thing to ignore the torture videos coming out of the Middle East, but we're talking about our own country here and this strikes me an alarm bell for what's happening in a deteriorating locality. But it doesn't fit the racist-police narrative and so BLM and guys like King say nothing. Nada on the 762 murders in Chicago in 2016 - the majority of whom are probably victims of color - because it doesn't prove or demonstrate institutional racism. Insanity.

Other thought: a number of social conservatives are coming out with "I told you so" pieces and they are right to. In the 1990s, social conservatives were worrying about our decaying sense of decency in this country. They attacked Murphy Brown, gangster rap, Bill Clinton's sexual escapades, amongst other things because they thought it would lead to cultural decay. They were mocked by liberals and called racist and sexist to boot. I remember because I was one of the liberals who mocked them. I thought they were stupid and I liked gangster rap. But it turns out I was a stupid young person then.

They were right. People are offended by how a loud mouthed sexist liked Donald Trump could be elected to office. How do you think? Standards got more crass, just like we advocated for! We have an opioid epidemic and the breakdown of the traditional family structure in the lower and lower middle classes all across American, in white and black families, because it became more culturally acceptable to get divorced, raise a child by a single parent, etc. Gangster rap was glamourized and now normalized and therefore should it be a surprise that some youths are taking it literally?

Now, I'm not saying I agree with social conservatives, or wish we could go back, but I will at the very least acknowledge: they have a point. Will you?