The Breakdown Of Law In American Cities
There is a disturbing trend in the cities of America. This trend is the complete disregard of the law and a persistent ignoring of very serious problems that affect the health, safety, and wellbeing of all that live, work, or do business in them and the surrounding suburbs. This cannot go on without some very serious consequences. When people are forced to take the law into their own hands, the situation can get out of hand quickly. Violence and chaos are far too easy to start and difficult or even impossible to stop without massive devastation.
When there is no law then that is anarchy and many of the larger cities in the United States are descending into it.
Anarchy is a slippery slope. When leaders issue orders to not arrest people for crimes, that is a warning sign that things are going downhill at a rapid rate.
What laws are not being enforced?
Shoplifting
Stores are being told they are on their own when it comes to stopping shoplifters. Everyone can just hire their own security force right? That is totally affordable for the small business owner in the eyes of some.
Vagrancy
There was a time when people would be told to move on or go to jail. Now there is no jail and police are not allowed to break up homeless camps in cities, even when they are literally on the sidewalks.
Smaller amounts of hard drugs like meth and opioids
Cities such as Seattle have told their police to not even bother booking someone unless they have more than about 30 doses of heroin. That is considered a personal amount and not anything anyone should worry about.
Property rights
One would think they have the right to say that someone cannot live on their property without permission or paying rent. More property owners are finding that they have a much harder time ridding their property of squatters.
People can make fun and scoff at celebrity LA landowners like Johnny Rotten for complaining about homeless encampments on their front yard but the man has a legitimate complaint. His wife has Alzheimer’s and a bunch of people in the front yard that are on drugs and unstable is not a safe situation. Just because someone is wealthy doesn’t mean they don’t have a legitimate complaint if property laws are not enforced.
Other laws are not being enforced too, and it varies by location and the problems being faced.
Lack of law enforcement is characteristic of an SHTF scenario or breakdown in social order
When crime reaches a certain point, there is no way to combat it effectively. While it is a numbers game in that there are only so many law enforcement officers, there is also a limit to how much risk they are actually willing to take in a situation that seems hopeless. While it is easy to point fingers and say “do your job” or “you signed up for this why aren’t you doing anything” we also need to look at why suicide rates of law enforcement officers in many of our nation’s cities is on the rise.
Laws need to be changed or they need to be enforced.
There are some antiquated laws on the books. Times change and sometimes the laws need to chance with them. While I don’t think a lot of those that are not being enforced fall into this category, the fact remains that for a society to be stable you have to enforce some rules or change them. The result of laws not being enforced is people doing whatever they want without fear of consequence.
Massive homelessness=sanitation and hygiene nightmare
People with no way to make a living become homeless all too often. This leads to a lack of sanitation and hygiene. No screening for diseases or treatment before entry is not beneficial to anyone. People are seeing diseases in the USA that were long thought to be eradicated.
There are many reasons for homelessness in America. We could sit here all day and blame one group or another. There were vagrancy and loitering laws that were enforced in various ways at one time. These laws are largely ignored in many cities. I can sympathize with those that are homeless because they fell on hard times and have no family to lend a helping hand.
The opioid epidemic has led to more homelessness. Consider that some shelters and programs will not help anyone that tests positive for drugs. In my home county we have a program that is designed to provide housing, a job, and support to get people on their feet. It is a successful program but you have to be a resident of the county for 90 days and pass a drug screen. People that are severely addicted are not able to do that. Getting clean is hard and the side effects of withdrawal can even be fatal. That is scary to some. We could blame the addicts for not having self control or getting started in the first place but that does little to solve the problem we are facing today. The pharmaceutical companies and the doctors they employ have contributed an enormous amount to the homelessness problem.
The Cities So Far
This section is do show you the scenario in some of the cities that are experiencing the most suffering from a lack of laws being enforced and people getting the help they need because there is simply only so many resources to go around. When there is a large population of people that are taking and taking and not giving back to society, the pie gets smaller and smaller quite fast.
While I may have more to say about Seattle, it is because I have more prior knowledge of how it used to be and relatives outside of it that can offer perspective.
It is hard for me to hear about the decline of Seattle. I was born an hour and a half from Seattle and lived in that area until 1999. Seattle was the big city that we occasionally went to. School field trips in the 1st grade to the Pacific Science Center are something that I can still remember today. We even got to play in the park. I got to see the Space Needle and remember riding the elevator and being scared to look down. Seattle was a city that everyone was so proud of in Washington. Sure there were always people that preferred to stay out of the big city but most people agreed that Seattle was very clean and the crime was very low for a city that size, especially a seaport. You might see a small scribble of graffiti here and there but for the most part Seattle seemed pretty spotless.
Don’t get me wrong, drugs were always a part of Seattle but nothing compared to the level they are now. During the grunge music years heroin was a problem, but that wasn’t something you just found out in the suburbs with ease. It was there but not so in your face.
I still have family that live just down I-5 from Seattle and the problems of Seattle have definitely found a place a little over an hour up the road.
When I started writing this article, it was not long before I became more involved and wanted to do a little investigating and reaching out to those being affected in my home state. I am concerned for family that is still there and trying to raise very young children to be good and productive adults amidst the cycles of pain and chaos that a mere drive to work can put on display.
Below are photos taken on a 3 mile drive to work at a major Pacific Northwest department store chain.
This next series of photos is courtesy of the Facebook Group “Seattle Looks Like S*** and taken by concerned citizens that are working hard to find solutions to the conditions the Emerald City has fallen into over the last few years.
Seattle was once a model city that others strove to be like. Perhaps that is why the decline is so shocking and heartbreaking. This is not the Emerald City any longer where you can go down a clean street, visit Pike Place Market, take the kids to the Woodland Park Zoo, and maybe see a pod of Orca whales blowing in the bay. Now we have a cesspool of filth, fear, and suffering.
My Dad had the chance to go through San Fransisco during the “Summer of Love”. He arrived there after going through hell in Vietnam, being lost starved, and surviving the TET offensive. He described it as beautiful and clean. This was a time when girls would greet you and put beads on your neck and flowers in your hair much like the famous song. They kissed his cheek and welcomed him home.
Now San Francisco is a city where there is actual interactive maps to warn people where all the piles of human excrement are so they can be avoided. Homeless tents are scattered throughout the city and it is a hygienic nightmare that is festering illnesses and despair.
Nearly 400 people have died on the streets of San Francisco since 2016 according to an article published in the San Francisco Examiner on February 21, 2019. The cause is a variety of reasons including unintentional overdose, exposure, natural causes, murder, and suicide. Those that died during this time had an alarming amount of drugs in their systems. Of those that passed, 47% had methamphetamine in their system while 45% had opioids at the time of autopsy.
This should not happen in a 1st world country. It is wrong, and it shows that we are ignoring a problem that will not go away until either something is done or enough people die that it goes away. Of course there is no guarantee that a lot of death will actually keep others from going down the same path if they have access to the tools of destruction.
The enormous amount of homeless “cities within a city” have resulted in a sanitation nightmare for cities and their residents. Would you want to live in a city where the sidewalks were shamelessly used as bathrooms? As early as 2016 there were over 2,000 homeless sharing a mere 9 bathrooms on Skid Row in LA. The homeless advocate Reverand Andy Bales lost his leg after it became infected with E. coli, streptococcus and staphylococcus that he picked up trying to help people on Skid Row in LA. Reverend Bales is diabetic and that made him more susceptible to infections.
Of course LA has been in the news a lot as it is deemed a sanctuary city. The problem is that resources are already so stretched that taking on more people is likely going to result in a situation that deteriorates at an unprecedented rate.
For those of us that have only been to a few of the smaller major cities of America, L.A. is hard to imagine because it is the largest city in the USA. There is such a high population density and stratification in society that it is already hard to manage.
It baffles me how you even manage to begin to sort through all the wants and needs of so many people and from so many backgrounds.
On March 20, 2019 the Atlanta Chief-of-Police announce that stores in Buckhead were out of luck if they called to report shoplifting. Reasons given were that the city is 300 officers short of what they need and that shoplifting calls take up too much officers time. There is an hour and a half of paperwork and then the time required to transport anyone arrested. Apparently other crime is high enough that they have to pick and choose.
So what are store owners and employees supposed to do?
Why they should still report it and get it “counted” according to the Chief-of-Police but “they should also consider hiring and off duty cop that can “make sure the culprit is made to pay for his crime”.
Wait. What? So they expect store owners to pay for private protection and enforcement from law enforcement offers while they are short staffed? Even if businesses could hire an off duty cop, there would not be enough to police all the stores that need help.
Flint has a lot of problems. Between a huge water quality crisis and lack of employment, folks are reaching their limit. Now the Washington, DC based The Centre for Public Safety Management is advising law enforcement to simply stop responding to some calls and limit any investigations to crimes where there is actual violence involved. Does this mean a woman that is being stalked should expect no police help until someone decides to escalate the situation to violence?
The carnage that is being allowed to continue in Chicago alone should be enough to get people to stand up and take notice. Chicago has been experiencing an unprecedented rate of homicide for a long time and while the situation is believed to be improving, it is impossible to ignore the high rate of shootings in Chicago and how law enforcement officers do not seem to be as plentiful as they should be.
The statistics pointing to a lower homicide rate are questionable considering how many reports of violence you see just glancing over the local Chicago television news sites.
Shootings are so prolific that it is impossible for law enforcement to keep up with investigations. One has to wonder what laws are not being enforced that are leading to such horrific waves of killing and violence.
Since 2015 there has been a strong trend of Baltimore police ignoring some of the violations that should have always been enforced. This change in attitude is largely attributed to the aftermath of the death of Freddie Gray in the back of a patrol car and the violence that followed. Although the crime rate was much higher, police reported seeing less crime overall and made fewer reports. The only thing that makes sense is that they started ignoring a lot of incidents that should have resulted in arrests and charges.
The homicide rate in Baltimore skyrocketed to a tragic 342 reported homicides in 2017. Shootings have gone up dramatically.
There is no end to this without some enforcement of current laws.
Running a gas station is a hard business. Being a hired clerk at a gas station is actually quite a dangerous job and the pay is on the lower end of the scale. Of course some gas stations are run entirely by one family that take various shifts. The profit margins are low on a lot of items. Most gas stations make most of their money on the goods and snacks sold inside the store. Gas is not a big money maker for gas stations to start with but in Appleton police have told gas station owners that they will not respond to calls they make when someone fills up their tank and takes off without paying.
Gas is not particularly high at the moment but with so much crime going on and people getting away with it for the most part, some are taking what they can get.
What makes this story worse is that law enforcement is going so far as to defend those that drive away. They justify not responding by saying that the majority of drive offs are “not crimes” and mostly credit card reader issues and “honest mistakes by drivers”
That sounds a lot like defending the culprit to me. The 24 gas stations in the area are advised that they will need to find their own ways to collect debts from anyone that fills and bolts.
Police in Akron are tired of answering security alarm calls so they have decided that if your alarm goes off, they need to have someone verify that it is real. Well now that basically means your security alarm is really not doing you much good. What if someone is being victimized and cannot verify? If they have one of the fancier security companies that can verify for them, then they may get some help, but it is going to increase response time. Granted, 98% of the security alarm calls are false, 2% are real.
The problem is that when you make this type of announcement you are telling the public that if they choose to break into a home with a security alarm, there is a decent chance they will have a lot of time to do what they want and get away with it. I can understand that police resources are limited and they are trying to make best use of their time but this type of announcement could be easily seen as an invitation to more burglaries and any violence that goes along with them.
Lack of law enforcement brings out the worst in people
When laws are not enforced, then those that enjoy breaking them are going to feel like they are untouchable. The attitude will be so what are you going to do about it? This allows criminals to take advantage of those that really cannot defend themselves from abuse. Grudges and old scores can come into play as people realize that they can get away with more.
No-Go Zones
For many years there have been areas of some cities and suburbs where the cops simply do not respond or if they do, they give it a few minutes in the hopes that gangs and criminal sects will just get it over with. They can always go in and clean the mess up later. There is a tendency for some to just lump everyone in an area like this into one category. What about all the kids and those stuck living in an area like that who have no control over what goes on and no support network when law enforcement chooses to not hear their cries?
Sanctuary Cities
The president recently announced that he was considering releasing those that cross the border and are being detained. His plan is to release them in cities that have declared themselves Sanctuary Cities. That sounds like a nightmare for everyone. Just sending people to cities and seeing what happens seems like asking for trouble. If people are released and have no resources, the safety net that is in place cannot sustain that many people. Regardless of how you feel about immigration, it seems like the end result is going to be hungry and hopeless people competing for resources and a resentful population. When people get really stressed and things start getting weird, they can do things and think things that they would not have dreamed of before.
Diseases we have not seen in the US in years are rearing their heads
When people have nowhere to go you get the problems, we are seeing in places like San Francisco where health care professionals are seeing diseases such as typhus for the first time in years. City workers are actually concerned for their health when they try to pick up.
We are facing a homeless population that is living in such unhygienic circumstances that we are seeing diseases that were declared eradicated. Some diseases most people have only heard of in historical accounts because we had them under control.
While it is easy to start pointing fingers and blaming anti-vaxxers and other groups, the truth is that diseases such of these often pop up during hard times when sanitation and hygiene are not maintained.
Some people will simply leave and the cities will deteriorate even further
People with the means to leave a bad situation will do so at some point if the option is still available to them. Sometimes waiting too long can lead to getting stuck where you are. Since those leaving are likely the ones that are not committing major crimes, the concentration of lawlessness will just get worse.
It is already happening and will get worse. The following migration from the city statistics are from 2010 to 2017 and courtesy of Business Investors Daily.
Chicago – 296,320 people
L.A. -93,959
Detroit -54,640
St. Louis -39,894 people
Cleveland -33,117
Memphis -30,000
Milwaukee -27,959
Flint, Mich. -22,658
El Paso, Texas -21,829
New York City -21,503
These numbers are high and are continuing to climb. Remember that some people moved to these cities during this time too so this net loss could be a lot of people that called these cities home for a very long time. When you start losing a lot of the people that have contributed a lot to the economy by investing a lot of their lives in a city, you are losing a lot. What is left is people that lack the opportunity to leave, those that cannot bear to abandon the city they grew up in, and the criminal and drug addicted populations.
Private protection
Being in a position where you have to hire private protection and security personnel to protect your home and business from basic crimes is very similar to business as usual in an undeveloped or third world country. This is a major gateway to organized crime protection rings and exploitation of people.
Everyone pays taxes on some level. Income taxes, property taxes, sales taxes, ect are all ways that you pay for services regardless of political inclination. Left, right, middle, unaffiliated, we all suffer because we are paying out and not getting what we paid for. There is no refund policy.
The lack of laws being enforced will be paid by all of us and have an impact on the future of our descendants.
When there is a lack of hygiene and sanitation, the rate of disease and illness goes up. These health care costs are a burden on us all and then there is the fact that when people are sick, they cannot work or contribute as much to society.
Insurance costs will go up
When an area is considered high risk or a lot of claims for vandalism, theft, and damage, occur, rates will go up to pay for it. Once rates go up, they rarely go down much unless you get lucky or conditions improve a lot.
Property values will go down
Remember how so many people got stuck owing more than what their home and property was worth during the Great Recession? Well, the problems in the cities and urban areas of America could result in a situation where people are not able to sell out for what they paid. No one wants to buy your property when there are needle exchanges in the neighborhood, no guarantee of a police response, and garbage everywhere. The mass migration from American cities also means more houses on the market so there is no demand to keep prices remotely stable.
Food Deserts
The state of cities and the desperate situations so many Americans are in is even affecting the availability of food even if you have the money.
The lawlessness in the cities contributes to food deserts because grocery store chains will not even consider opening a store in an area that they feel they will struggle to make a profit in. High-crime areas lead to grocery stores closing in some cases because the rate of shoplifting is so high that stores lose money.
This is when there is very little to no access to a grocery store selling what is needed for a healthy diet. In these areas, gas stations, convenience stores, and dollar stores are what people use for a large portion of their grocery and household items. Those that are lucky have a dollar store whereas others find themselves paying for highly marked up items at grocery and convenience stores.
What you can do if you live in or near a city to stay healthy and safe
I can honestly say that I advised my relative near Seattle to move somewhere far from any cities in the area and to not buy a house in an area that seems to be headed toward very high crime. This person is young and has a family. I know it is not realistic or possible for some to leave the cities they are in. I don’t like to write articles that just give reports on what is going on with no solutions. It pays to be aware but folks need to know what they can do to get through as best they can.
Practice good situational awareness and travel around cities with someone else if possible
Don’t have your nose stuck in your phone or headphones on listening to music. Sorry but under the circumstances I don’t think this is a safe thing to do in some cities. Always let someone know where you are going and when you can be expected to return.
Don’t let children without supervision
Kids often mean well but that can lead to them being taken advantage of. People on high-powered drugs are in a different world and in that world, your kid may be a pawn to them. My close relative in Washington told me she just stepped out of her car and locked the door with her two kids in it so she could take a call and had someone peeking in at them in no time at all. This person was clearly not in their right mind and on drugs. She literally cannot step outside her car for a few minutes to take a phone call before someone is seeing what they can steal.
Avoid carrying a lot of cash or valuables on you. Now is not the time to wear the family jewels. Consider dressing down rather than up so you don’t look as well off.
Limit travel and socializing at night
While going out on the town is not my thing, I understand why it is nice for some folks to get out and let loose a little or socialize on the weekends or at night. In cities where laws are not being enforced, it is not safe to be out on the streets at night, especially if you are a woman. Sorry but ladies are seen as easy targets. If you plan on going out, then have a safe plan to have good transportation to and from an even and travel with another person.
Reinforce the security of your home or apartment as much as possible.
There are more ways than you might realize to add some security to an urban apartment or home regardless if you are at home or not. Here are a few suggestions
Consider adding a shotgun to your home or apartment
A shotgun is good for urban environments because you can get shells that take care of business at close range but will not readily travel to neighboring apartments. A good Mossberg Maverick 12g is around $200. Consider that just the sound of a shotgun being pumped is enough to deter a lot of foes. A shotgun is easy to learn how to use even if you have absolutely no prior firearms experience. Even if you don’t like the idea of handguns or rifles like the AK-47 or AR-15, consider a shotgun for the safety of you and your family if the SHTF in your city.
Criminals will have access to guns if they want them so I think you should have a way to meet that force and survive even if you are not into guns normally.
Wear thick close toed shoes and socks when walking the streets
Want to know what happens when you step on a hidden needle tip a junkie through down? Well the doctor will wash your feet in antiseptic and tell you that you need to get tested for STDs and Hepatitis every 6 months indefinitely. That is what they told a relative of mine when she stepped on one sticking out of the concrete steps of a house a friend had recently rented. The doctor told her some things can remain dormant and reappear at anytime. I am no health expert but that is what she was told.
Have enough supplies to be able to shelter in place for a few days or even a week if there is civil unrest
Staying put means staying out of trouble a lot of the time. It is very easy to get caught up in something that you want no part of.
Know how to move around if you absolutely have to in times of civil unrest
I wrote an article that I think is a good additional read to this post. There is a lot to think about when it comes to moving around during times of civil unrest. This subject alone requires a lengthy article and you will find that in the link below.
Riots, Protests, and Civil Unrest: How to move and protect yourself if you must go out
You know how you are told that you should wash your hands often? Well you need to make sure to not skip those showers. If you interact a lot in a city or live in one of the cities I have discussed in this post then I recommend showering and laundering your clothes often. While I am all about getting an extra day out of a pair of pants or a shirt living out on 11 acres in the country, if I was in the city I would make a point to put on clean clothes each day and wash clothes after a single use.
Showering daily after you come into your home is another good idea. Bacteria and germs on your skin can enter a very small cut and cause trouble. While you have easy access to a hot shower and soap, use them daily.
Avoid touching and rubbing your eyes or your nose as they are some of the easier spots for bacteria and viruses to enter your body,
Keep all scratches and wounds treated and also covered when you go out in public.
Seek medical attention immediately if you see signs of any major infection or illness.
There is hope. Never forget that.
We can change things if we want to do it. I think that unless something happens soon that people will start just start taking the law into their own hands. We can stop things from reaching that level of disruption but only if people take a stand and get those out of office that are telling law enforcement to not enforce the laws that are on the books.
One program that has a proven track record of success was featured in the documentary “Seattle Is Dying”. It is a program ran through the prison system but let’s be honest, some people need every aspect of their life controlled if they actually want to kick the habit. Many of them say just as much. You hear people plainly state that they thanked the arresting officer when they finally reached the bottom.
In Rhode Island that is happening. In fact they have an outstanding rate of more than 90% of people fulfilling obligations and kicking the destructive habits and substances that plague their existence.
The programs of clean needle exchanges, Narcan overdose medication, ect. may seem like they are an answer and I believe that those that administer them have overall good intentions but I think that at this point they are naive to believe it is a sustainable way to deal with the drug epidemic.
Keeping people alive and in a constant state of suffering is not an end solution. I am afraid in the long term that for many the choice is treatment and kicking the habit or death. At some point the money and programs are not going to be there to keep people going that overdose 5-20 times over a few years.
I think that although it is a hard reality to face, we need to realize that there are some people that even with all the help in the world, do not care if they live or die or how any of that effects others. These people were more hidden from us in the past but now we see them on the streets of any town and it is not just the big cities.
A lot of smaller towns have a very limited budget for law enforcement. They never had to deal with crime and drugs on the level they have in recent times. Between lack of funds and the rise in crime, some smaller towns and counties have simply told citizens that they are responsible for their own security and safety. A sheriff in Kentucky simply told residents that he could not expect his officers to come in when they would not be paid.
While the lack of enforcement can be tied to a lack of funding, it should never be forgotten that some of the problem is definitely a rise in calls. Even if the police force could handle calls in the past and have enough money to keep the same size force, they are often now in a position of not having funds for extra officers to deal with the issues their communities are facing.
Some of you have read about the sheriffs out in Washington State that have refused to enforce any gun control measures. If you have not, then I recommend you read this in-depth article over at my friend Daisy Luther’s site. She has done an excellent job covering this issue as it unfolds. While I can understand supporting the 2nd Amendment, the fact remains that law enforcement is taking a stand and saying they are fine with not enforcing laws they don’t agree with.
The lack of laws being enforced points towards a need to change them or start enforcing them. People will not take laws and rules seriously if they look around and see that everyone is getting away with more and more. Over time this behavior will lead to people taking the law into their own hands and possibly waves of violence that last for far longer than one might expect.
The solution to the homelessness issue involves investing a huge amount of resources into in patient drug rehabilitation programs and possibly giving up on those that refuse to get clean. Some people do not want to be helped and this only becomes apparent after rehabilitative efforts fail multiple times. Unfortunately there are not enough resources to devote to those that refuge to take the help and lead healthy and productive lives.
Enabling bad behaviors is not an end solution. We can do better than this as a country. The pain and suffering needs to stop and the first step towards that is to not just ignore the problem. While some officials and politicians seems to be turning a blind eye, the more people stand up and take notice the better.
I want to live in a country where people don’t look 50 at the age of 35 because of substance abuse. I want younger people to be able to have friends and not feel like they cannot socialize at all because everyone is so messed up.
People can joke about zombies and watch all those popular shows about fighting them but I think they need to stop watching that for a minute and sheer horror of what has happened to us as a nation and the consequences that the future generations will have to deal with. Sometimes I think those shows were put on the air to help dehumanize people. If you see someone as “zombified” it is far easier to ignore their pain and suffering.
This is not a tv show. People can be helped in many cases and lead good lives. The problem is how to stop the cause and treat those that are suffering so we can all be stronger in the future.
Samantha Biggers can be reached at [email protected]
Updated May 6, 2019
Published May 6, 2019
Samantha Biggers can be reached at [email protected]
as the earth’s climate continues to heat up and as we continue to do nothing to stop it, the number of displaced/homeless people will keep rising. every town, city and community will have squatters and desperate refugees looking for a way to survive. maybe one survival strategy that should be mentioned is to vote for public servants who are committed to doing everything possible to slow the rate of global warming while we still have a chance of being able to do it.
What does Global Warming have to do with homeless people.
Nothing to do with it. That what makes Mary such a nimrod. Her’s is the typical Liberal response which digresses from the problem at hand. Generally to show how smart they are. Stupid people use that tactic endlessly.
Number 1: earth’s climate is NOT heating up. Number 2: CO2 is NOT a pollutant, plants need it to live. Number 3: plants thrive with increased CO2 levels. Number 4: even if it were happening, a few degrees of heating or cooling is not going to destroy the planet. Number 5: so-called global warming is junk science, and has NOT been proven.
You are absolutely right, climate change is a hoax, and anyone that thinks they can control the climate has a Good complex ! I noticed that most (if not all) of these cities are controlled by the left for a very looooooong time, now that’s eye opening !
The authors comments on the second amendment are quite eye opening, while explaining how lawless cities are, she complains that police aren’t enforcing laws on the books. (So that means you’re on your own) I protect myself with a gun, and hope others will follow my lead !
You do not really believe the homeless are there because they were displaced by climate change. My God in heaven.
I have never seen such a stupid statement. I think that just reading that made my brain bleed. Maybe they should lay
down the pipe or the needle ot the bottle and they might see life a little different
I agree with Dan… Except it was the makings of a good article until you threw the Sheriffs under the bus for refusing to comply with GUN CONTROL measures. They are doing their job. When a person joins the Military or Law Enforcement, They pledge to uphold the Constitution. Refusing to arrest anyone as far as the 2nd amendment goes should be applauded. They should take a stand. That’s part of their job is to protect the constitution… Evidently, you do not understand their oath or the Constitution. The politicans directing them to not arrest people for certain city, county or State laws, are one thing, but the constitution is another. If the politicians will not uphold the constitution, who will? Comments like that are helping the elite to destroy our constitution and our Country. I was going to post this on my site, ghostreconsurvival.com until that last paragraph about the Sheriffs, which you cleverly placed at the bottom of your article. It’s quite obvious that you’re from the west coast, but I’m curious, did you vote for Hillary the Hun?
I am actually very pro 2nd Amendment. I really did not mean to come across that way at all. I grew up around guns. While I don’t agree with gun control laws, if they are in place and then not enforced then technically that would be choosing to not enforce laws. I agree that gun control laws are against the constitution. The point I was trying to make is that it is a slippery slope when people start picking and choosing what to enforce. Laws either need to be there and enforced or not there at all. In this case I would say that the gun control laws should not be there or even an issue. Just for the record I have written gun articles for other sites. Thanks for reading. I lean more towards Libertarian actually.
So picking and choosing which laws to enforce can be a slippery slope?
What kind of slope would you call allowing MILLIONS of illegal invaders (not immigrants!) to waltz into the country and get free everything, and all the while the United States Military, Congress, and the entire Law Enforcement Agencies, and the President make the conscious decision to NOT enforce the Constitutional and United States Laws of Immigration??
Ever heard of the word TREASON?
Please explain how “global warming” causes homelessness. In detail if you would.
I don’t know if the City Council in Dallas Fort Worth, Texas passed the resolution or not, but there was a “bill” before the Council that would instruct Law Enforcement not to arrest anyone on theft charges unless the amount stolen was greater than $750.00. This dollar amount is the Minimum Felony Threshold for that area. So I guess they just will not be bothered with Misdemeanor offenders, which amounts to nothing less than a get out of jail free card to thieves.
You make a LOT of great points!
I moved to Washington State when I got a job offer from Boeing.
I’ve lived in Washington state for fifty years and I’m quite familiar with what you’ve pointed out–especially Seattle in recent years. In the late 60’s, Seattle was a ‘fun’ place to hang out and I had an apartment on Capitol Hill…the only major problem I encountered at that time was finding a parking place. I later moved to North Seattle, went into the military, came back to Seattle and (at 27) bought my first home in Renton. I raised my family in Renton until I found a spent .45 cal shell casing three doors down from my home…it was time to MOVE! We moved to Federal Way and spent 26 years there (and I retired) until a few years back when there were three murders in two days. By this time, I avoided Seattle like the plague–I used to attend the February Garden Show, but in the last years, I no longer felt ‘safe’.
Our next move was to Southwest Washington onto ten acres where we built our new home. We are MUCH safer here, though there is a ‘drug problem’ even in small towns.
I realize that not everyone will have the same opportunities to ‘escape’ urban violence whenever it rears its ugly head; still, I’d urge everyone currently living in or near a major metropolitan area to arm themselves against “That Day”. And practice, practice, practice. Then, at least, you just might have the opportunity to defend yourself. However, if you can’t stomach the idea of taking a life to defend your own, perhaps you should look into purchasing a piece of land somewhere far away from the city that you can gradually improve and (if you live long enough) even spend your retirement years there.
At the very least, live your life to the fullest, enjoy the little things, make friends, and get to know Jesus.
Overall a very well written article with a lot to think about. I generally agree with your comments about enforcing laws with this one exception — if the laws are in contradiction to the US Constitution, then I applaud the sheriffs who are making a stand against them. The problem is not the sheriffs but the legislators who intentionally violated the Constitution. The second point I would make is that society usually gets more of what they subsidize, and less of what they tax. Think about why there is such a homeless problem in CA and WA states, and you may agree it is because they subsidize it.
Re-read the article. Law Enforcement and LEO’s (Law Enforcement Officers) are the only solution offered. Ms. Biggers has zero life experience with crime and LEO’s. Nothing written about Neighborhood watch programs run by local concerned citizens? Nothing written about more (3) strikes and your out crime laws? Nothing on reaching out to like minded neighbors to elect local politicians that address crime and direct police to actually do their jobs and enforce the laws. Instead of offering obvious solutions, this article is one long chicken little, the sky is falling scary campfire story.
Ms. Biggers is Maude Flanders come to life.
Was recently in San Diego visiting my son …. absolutely disgusting. Tent cities and trash piles all along the main roads … what could be a beautiful city is now a heap of human trash.
The one thing all of these cities have in common is the liberal policies adopted by their state and local governments. Socialism doesn’t work ( just look at Venezuela) and these cities are going down the same path
Even the liquor stores and bars are closing in Flint. I have driven thru Flint of the freeway and it is really full of empty buildings
As far as people dieing having large amounts of drugs in their systems. They have drugs in their system because they choose to do drugs. I get sick of hearing blame being put anywhere but were it belongs which is on them. I am a drug addict and alcoholic with 30 years of sobriety behind me and I can guarantee that anyone can quit drugs if they decide to . No it is not easy but then little that is worthwhile is. The do gooders want to say oh its a disease. Well it not, it’s a choice. I am a diabetic, that’s a disease as I don’t have a choice in the matter. I have hep c, that’s a disease I don’t have a choice in the matter. I wake up every morning and Choose to stay sober. That means it’s not a disease !! See the difference?
What we are watching is an enactment of the Cloward-Piven strategy. Democrat Socialists are actively pushing illegal immigration to overload the government “with a flood of impossible demands, thus pushing society into crisis and economic collapse.” The demand for social services , medical treatment and housing at our border by the flood of immigrants (probably at no fault of their own in many cases) is placing an unsustainable burden on city, county and state governments, draining them of resources that would otherwise be used for law enforcement, schools, fire protection and general upkeep. Outside entities like George Soros are likely funding this effort in order to collapse our economy and usher in a Communist-Socialist form of government which consists of a ruling elite and a poor citizenry with no control over their own lives: where to live, what to eat, where to work, etc. This has happened in Venezuela, Cuba, and in many other countries the world over, and DOES NOT WORK. The few get rich over the backs of the citizens. These people now in our own government who unabashedly claim to be socialists, who have eyes on ruling our country, are already suggesting a 70-90% income tax rate! Who will willingly work for that?? They are lying through their teeth when they are telling the electorate that the government can and will take care of them. Anything for a vote and to pad their own pockets. Meanwhile, people have been bused to many of our American cities without any place to stay, education, or ability to obtain meaningful jobs. They apply for U.S. government benefits that were advertised to them back in their home countries, and are put on the welfare rolls. Often they are given benefits that our own citizens have contributed to, all their working lives, and yet are told the funds will run out soon! Our own veterans are going without needed housing and treatment! Many of the immigrants who come in with them are indeed smuggling drugs and are into human trafficking – much ado was made about separating parents and children in the holding areas by these government stooges. Adults and the children were being DNA tested to make sure that they were indeed a family unit. Many, MANY were found to be smuggling children who did NOT belong to them into our country for illicit purposes. With no jobs, nowhere to live and inability to communicate in English for many, this only adds to the hopelessness and crime that we’re seeing. This applies to those born here as well. The school systems have already collapsed due to government imposed inability to discipline students and no backing of teachers when they are threatened. I’ve seen this for a FACT. Learning in many schools is a darned joke. Instead of marketable skills, they are studying stupid, meaningless things like gender neutral underwater basket weaving. Those students who are there to actually learn cannot, due to the distractions of students who are there to see and be seen, or to cause trouble. Amorality has taken over the entertainment industry and the news media is a joke. Something big is going to have to happen, and I’m afraid it will, before things get any better. We’d better be praying for a revival. I know this is controversial, and you may choose not to publish this, but it’s truth and needs to be said. Thank you for your research and the great information that you put out there for us. It is greatly appreciated!
Rather than lamenting the fact that govt is increasingly unable to protect you, maybe the solution is to rely less on govt and rely increasingly on yourself and cooperative ventures with other individuals as it used to be before govt stuck their collective noses into everyone’s business. Get together with neighborhood groups and pick up that trash. Fill those potholes yourself. Get together with other nearby businesses to fund group security. Support non-profits that will go out to the homeless to provide ways to get them off of drugs. Quit supporting legislation that makes it illegal to provide low-paying jobs for the homeless (which is far better than no job at all). Stop thinking that govt provides the solutions and look for ways to provide the solutions privately.
The more various levels of governments pass asinine and petty laws, the more people ignore them. When there is a glut of unnecessary laws, like we have at the federal level, everyone is a lawbreaker. If they are already guilty, why bother to comply with any law? Without The People, the fed.gov is powerless.
The origin of American law was common law. It handled most social problems when practiced by intelligent people (the ABA has damned few of those). In most jurisdictions, common law has been unconstitutionally written out of the prevailing law. In the courtroom judges and attorneys are allowed to interpret the law resulting in all rules being fuzzy and imprecise at best. Interpreting is not enforcing. The blame falls squarely on the ABA–it is their members who are most of the legislators, prosecutors, lawyers, and judges. No other profession has as many licensed incompetents.
There are so many problems with the governments in the USA, only expelling those in existence will remedy the problems of citizens and the Nation. One compelling factor for change is that the military swears allegiance to the Constitution, not the fed.gov. Organize, stockpile, and educate yourself–same as the original Patriots had to do to throw out King George. The People are already mad as hell. Go with it, or bow down. ©2019
The biggest cause of homlessness is the sky-high cost of housing which is a product of ever increasing taxes and regulations. The property taxes on homes and apartments have doubled the cost of housing and have driven millions of Americans out of their homes and apartments. Likewise, housing and building regulations have also doubled the cost. The result is a 400% cost increase. It is no coincidence that the states with the highest home taxes and housing regulations have the largest homeless populations.
The breakdown of law and order is a direct consequence of the fact that there are thousands of unjust laws that criminalize peaceful behavior and armies of police who enforce those laws. In fact, the vast majority of Americans who are being arrested today are 100% innocent of any real crime. They have not robbed, assaulted, or harmed anyone. They are just as innocent as the Jews were in National Socialist Germany and that includes ninety percent of those who are being attacked by swat goons. Abolishing all tax funded police would reduce crime by at least ninety percent because more than ninety percent of all real crimes such as armed assaults, armed home invasions, and theft are being committed by government police and bureaucrats. The few criminals that do exist can best be dealt with by voluntarily funded police who would only be authorized to arrest real criminals who commit real crimes such as assault, theft, and disturbing the peace. They would not be authorized to arrest millions of peaceful humans who have never harmed anyone or violated anyone’s rights.
The truth is that the lawmakers and their enforcement agents have destroyed America. They have transformed the former land of the free into the world’s leading police-prison state with the world’s largest prison population and the world’s highest rate of incarceration. After several decades of escalating their so-called war on drugs which has expanded to include guns and cash, military-style assaults against peaceful Americans are now taking place in every city and town across the land. Honest decent Americans are routinely being treated like they are worse than murderers. There are probably more SWAT goons kicking down the doors of peaceful families in America today than there were in Nazi Germany. Likewise, more and more cops have enthusiastically adopted the policies of Comply or Die and Zero-tolerance which are Nazi-Totalitarian policies. Anyone who is not politically connected or a member of the ruling class can now be legally murdered by any cop. The killer only needs to say that he was “in fear” or thought that the suspect possessed a weapon, or thought that the victim’s cell phone was a gun, or the victim’s wallet was a gun, etc. And that’s the end of it. Case closed. The killer gets a paid vacation and the victims family gets a corpse. This country is now being ruled by violent, vicious, psychopaths who laugh at the principle of individual rights, the principle upon which this country was founded.
All this evil was made possible by gun control. If there were unrestricted access to the means (guns) of self-defense, the law makers and their enforcers would never have been able to herd millions of the young, poor, and powerless into their prison gulags for the “crimes” of exercising their natural rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. It would have been like a million nazzis trying to arrest a hundred million armed Jews. That is the reason why our first President, George Washington, described armed citizens as “liberty’s teeth”. Sic Semper Tyrannus.
Rick [email protected]
Laws are meant to keep honest people honest. Laws, in and of themselves, do not deter criminals. The threat of meaningful punishment for breaking those laws does. That, and only that, deters criminals. The downward spiral of our society began when we as people ceased to believe that this is the case. When we as a people decided that treating criminals humanely was important that justice.
Let’s use murder for an example. Murders no longer are swiftly executed for their crimes. They spend years in prisons at our expense, winding out endless appeals. And, eventually, if they are finally executed, there may be a notation on the local news or even more rarely the national news. Why? Because this disturbs us as a people and we don’t want our lives disturbed.
That isn’t meaningful deterrence. It doesn’t send a message to others that we will not tolerate this behaviour as a society. To make deterrence work the response must equal, or exceed, the crime (i.e. Rapists condemned to the death penalty). I realize that this sounds terrible in our kinder and gentler society, but hey, the truth sometimes isn’t pleasant.
I used murder as an example because most all of us can agree its a heinous crime. However, the same principle applies to ALL crimes. If we aren’t willing to prosecute a person for breaking a particular law, then the law is useless, and should not be a law. If we want a crime prosecuted, then we should make sure that the penalty for breaking it is 1) enforced, and 2) usurious. I would go so far as to say the punishment should not fit the crime, it should exceed it and be public. Only in that way can we have true deterrence of crime.
Please, before you say I don’t have experience in what I’m saying I worked in the court system in the deep south for almost ten years. I saw the same people committing the same crimes over and over. Often their short stints in prison or jail just made them more proficient criminals. (Oh, as an aside, three strike laws really aren’t- they still get out of prison eventually). However, proper deterrence can work.
Let me give another example from the other end of the spectrum. A young teenager was arrested for shoplifting. The parents were offered a plea deal from the DA’s office that was basically a slap on the wrist. The parents refused it, because they didn’t think their child would learn anything from being let off easy. They chose juvenile court. The judge hearing the case agreed with the parents. The teen got a 1 year community service sentence, had to pay court costs and restitution, and was made to wear a sandwich-style sign outside the courthouse every weekend for 2 months stating that they were a thief. Most likely, the public humiliation did more deterrence than the other parts of the sentencing. The court system never had that problem with that child again in the years I worked there. The judge eventually got a letter from the kid thanking him for helping in getting their life straightened out.
As far as homelessness goes, vagrancy is a crime almost everywhere. If cities no longer want to enforce it, they should eliminate that law. Then the people who live in those cities need to make a choice. Either deal with it or vote with your feet and leave.
Liberal run cities and states have the same thing in common – failure. It happens to them all over time. When our Federal government is run by liberals it also fails. Since WW2 there has been few times were the Federal Government has run good and with the Deep State we are on a slippery slope toward failure. I am not sure Trump can solve it. This will lead to CW2 and a massive destruction of what exists in the USA. I think we all should prepare with guns, ammo, supplies, and food.
© 2019 Backdoor Survival
The Breakdown Of Law In American Cities
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