Reference: George Floyd Memorial Thrives, but Minneapolis Neighborhood Struggles – WSJ
This is getting ridiculous. So-called “activists” have created a “memorial” to George Floyd in the intersection where he was killed in Minneapolis, Minnesota. OK, so far, fine. Memorials generally are nice things. However, they have taken over that intersection and adjoining roads so:
“Motorists can’t drive through, impeding patronage of businesses on the block. Police patrols aren’t allowed in . . . A busy bus stop next to a gas station that was boarded up amid the summer’s unrest had to be moved. . . . Local activists, who have set up a medical shed and greenhouse as part of an effort to make the area autonomous, say they aren’t ready to relinquish the intersection to the city. People stand guard and stop police and nonresidents from driving through. ‘When we get something that looks like justice, they’ll get something that looks like a street,’ said Marcia Howard, a 47-year-old high-school teacher and area resident who waved neighbors through a concrete barrier on a recent day.”
Of course, the City is letting this all happen like it’s OK for “activists” to just take over any part of a town or city they want with impunity. When City officials “began discussions to reopen the intersection in August . . . [they] backed off when they were met with resistance from activists and a list of 24 demands that included firing several law-enforcement officials and investing in the community”.
Subsequently, in September and November, the City sent letters to organizers outlining “steps the city is taking to respond to the demands within the city’s jurisdiction. They include funding in the mayor’s 2021 budget to address structural racism in the city, while the 2020 budget includes $100,000 for planning a permanent memorial to Mr. Floyd.”
Minneapolis City Council Vice President Andrea Jenkins, who “represents a ward that includes much of the current memorial, said it is an inspiring and healing place for visitors. For many residents, however, she said, ‘It is challenging, to put it mildly.‘” She added that [t]his autonomous zone has created an atmosphere of criminal activity and drug sales and violence, gun shots, and that’s separate from people who are occupying the space.” Consequently, “[y]ear-to-date, murders are up 65% compared with all of 2019. Shootings have more than doubled compared with the same period last year. Carjackings are up more than 300%, with 385 reported through Dec. 8”, said a police spokesman. He added that “[t]here has been such an anti-law-enforcement rhetoric that people have been emboldened to go out and do what they want.”
OK, so these clowns have taken over an intersection, don’t let the police in, are trying to make it “autonomous, and neighbors are having a “challenging” time living in their own neighborhood, and the government, the jurisdictional entity responsible for that area just throws up its hands and lets this go on, now for months and months and months.
Just as in Portland, Oregon, and Seattle, Washington, public authorities have completely and shamefully abdicated their responsibilities to the businesses, citizens, and taxpayers of their cities and let unelected “activists” just take over neighborhoods as though this is business as usual. This is absolute foolishness; it’s the wild west all over again. It’s a wonder the residents haven’t pulled out every firearm they have and themselves forced these clowns out since the City won’t do it. Fortunately that hasn’t happened yet, but the longer nonsense like this is allowed to go on, who knows what will happen.
Of course the feckless City and its elected officials are busy trying to figure out how to appease these clowns and persuade them to move along rather than actually do anything about it. We respectfully suggest it is a fundamental responsibility of elected officials in any community to provide public services to the entire city, including public safety, and not have residents’ lives, businesses and activities compromised in the selfish interests of a tiny bunch of loudmouthed bullies who attempt to cow the city into appeasing their every stupid demand. Again, to appeasers we have two words: Neville Chamberlain. Look it up.