In speaking with several of NYPD’s Finest this week the topic of the recent protests came up.  The cops were all tired, having worked quite a bit following the protests around the city.  They were also a bit cranky, having been screamed at and degraded by many of the attendees for hours on end. 

What they had to say was… enlightening, to say the least.

Often at these types of events, you have some quieter moments where conversations between cops and demonstrators can occur. Thinking there might be some insights amongst those who feel so strongly about the Palestinian cause, I wanted to know what they had to say.  After all, the spark of this most recent violence was a ruthless terror attack by Palestinian terrorists where hundreds were killed, raped, and tortured.  You can be a supporter of peace or of Palestine while decrying this horrific event.  Why did the people march?  Were they motivated by peace, by legitimate complaints of the Palestinian people, by antisemitism?

 

(What a great way to change hearts and minds…)

The cops themselves were surprised (it’s not easy to surprise a member of the NYPD) at the lack of knowledge that these protestors had.  They knew nothing about the issue.  Many were young (I guess TikTok isn’t a font of truth) and of course you would expect a bit more passion than logic.  But this was beyond the pale.  The cops I spoke with claimed the protestors had no idea of the history of the conflict, the creation of the Jewish state, or the wars that followed.

It occurred to me why they were so passionate.  It seems like the modern so-called liberal has been brainwashed to view all events though one lens: victimhood.  This entire generation of young people have been raised to see all conflicts from the view of victim and oppressor.  Their knee-jerk reaction is to support the “victim” side no matter what the fact pattern. 

The Israel – Palestinian conflict is complex.  Too complicated to completely unwind into a simple narrative, in fact.  That is why it is a dilemma that seems to have no solution.  But the media and liberal ideology has identified the Palestinians as victims (and many of them are, as are many Israelis – innocent victims of the war around them). 

And so the young people who don’t know much marched in New York this week.  They marched for the victim side.  And they will be marching for the next victim, whoever the media decides that is. 

Just The Latest Subway Vigilante

Bernie Goetz is still roaming the streets of Manhattan, but he has left his gunslinging days behind him.  Daniel Penny is laying low, waiting for Alvin Bragg’s persecution….I mean prosecution, to start.  But this week we had a new subway vigilante. 

 

(Bernie Goetz, New York’s original “vigilante”)

John Rote was heading to his job on Varick Street when he saw a woman being harassed at a subway turnstile near Times Square.  This was a rare event before we gave up fighting crime, but now there is an aura of violence in the transit system that is palpable.  Like Goetz, Rote is a Queens native, not some transplant from more gun-friendly middle America.

But Rote did own a gun, a legally purchased one it seems.  And when he saw a woman being threatened with robbery by one of the ever-growing subway scammers, he took action.  He warned the miscreant, one Matthew Roesch, to leave the woman alone.  When his verbal commands didn’t work, Rote pulled his gun and fired two shots in the direction of the career criminal. 

Rote missed his mark and Roesch fled, unhanding the intended robbery victim.  Rote fled as well but was quickly identified and arrested without incident.  (Roesch was also collared and charged with attempted robbery).

There is a reason that New York City has made it difficult to obtain a legal firearm, and here is a good example.  You cannot just let rounds go in a packed subway station.  Rote was wrong to do so.  He certainly endangered other straphangers and fortunately no one was hurt.

But his impulsive action was in good faith.  While ill-advised and not legal, his intention was to help, to stop a violent crime in progress.  It is a message to the criminal justice and mental health systems that New Yorkers are scared and fed up, particularly with transit violence. 

The NYPD has put in a massive effort to curb the random violence and general disorder, but they are fighting alone and with one hand tied behind their back.  The rest of the criminal justice system has been destroyed by our elected officials.  The mental health system is powerless to take meaningful action.  Both need legislative solutions to make the city safer.  Good luck waiting for that.

The Bernie Goetz shooting was a national media case and a watershed event in a city out of control.  Rote’s situation is different and fortunately for him, the shot he fired didn’t hit Roesch.  Furthermore, Roesch is white.  We are not at 1985 crime levels and there is no racial component to this shooting. 

But imagine if Roesch had been black, and the result had been as it was in the Daniel Penny incident. 

 

(Daniel Penny and Jordan Neely, during their fatal encounter. A question: Will we ever learn Neely’s toxicology results?)

There will be more such stories.  Nationwide, as the criminal justice system pulls back, ordinary citizens are filling the void. 

It’s going to get worse, before it gets any better.      

And finally… America’s Future, In One Video

So if you were thinking of giving up and moving to Beijing… now might be the time.

(This is verified video, by the way… alas, it’s not parody).

(video from New Mexico State Police via The Daily Caller) (And what on earth is “generational trauma”?)