He isn’t even mayor yet!

He isn’t even mayor yet!

The two pillars of ‘political correctness’ are, a) willful ignorance, and b) a steadfast refusal to face the truth. – Author George MacDonald Fraser

Don’t get me wrong. I always appreciate it when a previous column subject goes out of their way to prove me right. But I’m thinking Chicago mayor-elect Brandon Johnson may have just set a new record in that notorious regard.

Unless you’re a subterranean stone dweller, you’ve already heard about the four separate downtown-ish Chicago “wilding” incidents where masses of social media incited minority “youths” took over Millennium Park, Michigan Avenue, the South Loop, and 31st Street Beach. I put the work “youths” in quotes because I watched the videos and there were clearly plenty of adults involved.

The traditional festivities included jumping on cars, property damage, assault, harassing Mag Mile customers, and starting fights until the shooting started. And the utterly unprepared CPD simply sat back and watched it all unfold, though I’m not so sure I’d be willing to put my life on the line for the likes of Mayor Lori Lightfoot or her lightweight successor.

Though it is an issue, the issue here isn’t that these incidents took place. Chiraq has been prone to wilding episodes for years. No! It was the mayor-elect’s boneheaded and tone-deaf response to them that caught my and the national media’s attention:

In no way do I condone the destructive activity we saw in the Loop and lakefront this weekend. It is unacceptable and has no place in our city. However, it is not constructive to demonize youth who have otherwise been starved of opportunities in their own communities.

As the impending leader of the third largest city in America, Johnson should’ve shut his mouth after the first period. But no! Because progressives fervently believe that they – and only they – hold the key to all of our social ills, he just had to keep on talking.

The first problem with his statement is, as we’ve already noted, it wasn’t just “youths.” Then I’m thinking that  Johnson must have some sort of strange psychic powers, or perhaps the city applied facial recognition technology, because how else would he know that these particular “youths” had been “starved of opportunities?” Some of them looked quite middle class to me.

Isn’t that the kind of reverse racist statement that would’ve gotten your average Caucasian in a heap of hot water? And “demonizing?” I don’t know about you, but I didn’t hear anyone demonize anyone else. What I did hear was another in a long line of lamentations for the city that no longer works.

What should Johnson have said? Chicago Loop alderman Brandon Reilly somehow managed to get it right:

You need to call it out for what it is. You can’t sugarcoat this, and you can’t make excuses for that behavior. You need to hold them and their parents accountable for this, and use everything in our toolbox to identify who they are, and take the appropriate action, so we don’t have this going on all summer long.

Reilly also noted that this teen “violence and lawlessness” was nothing more than an attempt to score points on social media while he questioned the tepid police response. For reference purposes, 15th ward alderman Ray Lopez issues a similar statement.

So, why were Reilly and Lopez right and Johnson so terribly wrong? Because Johnson’s smarmy political platitudes and absurd progressive patronizing don’t begin to address the realities of what occurred that weekend, nor will they forestall the swift and severe fallout. I spoke with a number of friends and fellow journalists in the wake of those mob events and most of them told me they’re done going to downtown Chicago for any reason. You won’t catch me in the Loop anytime soon, either.

If that’s the way seasoned journalists feel, then how many Chicago business seminars, training classes, and major conferences were cancelled on Monday? How many conventions, trade shows, and major expos were moved to Atlanta, Phoenix, and Seattle after that weekend? How many artists, musicians, movie directors, and comedians are going to think twice about working in Chicago now?

And once that unique blend of major metropolitan business is gone it becomes virtually impossible to bring it back, even if Second City leaders finally do figure out how to quell the chronic violence. If you doubt me, I’d politely ask you to visit Detroit.

But what really frosts my flakes is Johnson’s overly simplistic notion that this intricately layered social situation boils down to a mere “lack of economic opportunity.” It’s not nearly that straightforward. Does anyone within the sound of my voice really believe that more part-time minimum wage jobs at McDonald’s, Walgreens, and Walmart are the answer?

I’ll repeat it one more time. This baseless progressive thought that all we have to do is eliminate bigotry, economic bias, and prosecutorial oppression and Chicago’s poor minority residents will spontaneously evolve into productive and upstanding members of society is pure bilge. We’re talking about an ingrained cultural dynamic here that will take as many years to unravel as it took to create.

The first step towards that laudable goal is to get the irrecoverable violent offenders off the streets for good. It’s certainly not “economic opportunity.” And there will be no “economic opportunity” if the violence is allowed to continue.

Do Caucasians bear a great deal of responsibility for denying minorities the economic opportunities that destroyed the black family structure? You bet they do! But while white folks are really good at creating problems, as their track record indicates, they’re not nearly as good at solving them. That means we’re right back to every one of us being responsible for improving our current situation regardless of the hand we were initially dealt.

That’s the only thing that’s ever changed anything.

Per this piece’s title, the worst part in all of this is that Johnson made that inexcusably stupid statement BEFORE he was sworn into office. Why does Chicago always have to learn the hard way.

It’s going to be a very long four years.

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