Staff Reports
In Portland, the latest dramatics unfolded as the city’s top law enforcement official found himself delivering his statements with tears running down his face. The chief was addressing an incident involving two individuals linked to criminal cartels who, evidently, had been subject to the city’s lenient ideals until a serious confrontation with federal agents altered their stories—permanently. Nothing like a little public sobbing to add to the layers of politics we are seeing these days, is it? Oh, but only if tears were all it took to solve crime. The streets would be safer already!
The chief’s overwrought attempt at addressing the situation highlighted the identity politics so entrenched in Portland’s administrative system. He took the opportunity to express some sort of connection with the Latino community, mentioning their fears and concerns, before quickly reassuring everyone that this wasn’t an indictment on the community itself. You can’t help but wonder if he should have been handing out bouquets of roses, along with his tearful assurances. It’s ironic, really—two alleged criminals with dangerous ties get stopped, and somehow the focus shifts to soothing feelings.
The reality is, the situation was more about serious wrongdoing than a misunderstood cry for understanding and acceptance. The two individuals allegedly involved were not exactly neighborhood volunteers or community outreach workers. They were reportedly trying to plow through federal agents, an action hardly qualifying them as your run-of-the-mill traffic offenders. Yet here we are, with a police chief you’d expect to be a little more steely, behaving as though he’s auditioned for a daytime drama, complete with his own script of politically correct remorse.
One could argue that the tone-deaf reassurance attempts are laughing socks of what was or should have been a straightforward law enforcement matter. Any tough-on-crime ancestor would shudder thinking about the days when addressing crime came with an no-nonsense press conference, rather than needing a motivational speaker and personal tissues handed from the front row. The trend of papering over serious issues in exchange for appearing woke and understanding is reaching parody levels.
Through it all, the real victims in this scenario are the officers who find themselves grappling with increasingly ridiculous directives and an environment operating under the weight of political correctness rather than public safety. As the crime fighters on the ground contemplate the realities of going to work in a town where the coddling of identity seems to come before action, you can’t help but feel a twinge of vexation for those who signed up to genuinely protect and serve. One can’t help but suggest the city trade in its tears for some real backbone before the next criminal decides they too, are ready to test if sympathy is the real arm of the law in Portland.
