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Violent crimes, not peaceful protests, are increasing in many cities around the U.S. For example, writes Ted Van Dyk in the WSJ, “Chicago has been experiencing a murder plague visited on mostly minority residents over many months.” Mr. Van Dyk has been active in Democratic national politics and policy for 40 years.
It seems incredible that elected Democrats are supporting initiatives to defund the police, releasing prisoners from local jails, and even removing law-enforcement officers from schools.
Democrats should forget President Trump for a second. The current round of violence isn’t being undertaken by civil-justice or other reformers but by radicals using Jacobin street-violence tactics. The idea is to provoke confrontation and violence with constituted authority so as to discredit it, counting on a few gullible local residents to see police as oppressors. The pretense of peaceful protest is rapidly disappearing. Deaths, serious injuries, arson, public and private property damage, and economic dislocation have resulted.
Principled Dissent, Not Lawless Disorder
Many of Mr. Trump’s policies deserve criticism, but this isn’t one of them.
Democrats are presenting a pro-chaos caricature of themselves, which will discredit them with the public if they maintain it. Especially at the local level, elected officials must recognize that a majority of Americans want to live normal lives without threat of violence or harm.
