Yes. This is glaringly obvious here in Portland.
I moved back here in 2015 and found the city overrun by druggie criminals that live on the streets. (Grew up here but left in 1999.)
I could tell stories, but this one says it all - They leave used needles on playgrounds and children are being injured by stepping on them (and sliding over them). True story.
I joined a neighborhood association safety committee to try to make change. I learned that the Portland citizen doesn’t want change.
Their HIGHEST value is what they call “compassion.” Even the few who argue for public safety begin their sentences with “I’m a compassionate person, but _______.”
The opposition shouts us down. “How dare you! These people are down on their luck and need help! You want to criminalize their poverty!”
Many Portlanders do want change, but they remain silent. They can’t reconcile safety with their need to feel “compassionate.”
I gave up after a year. It was obvious to me that criminals were preying on the liberal desire to “feel like a good person.”
Somehow they have misunderstood the word “compassion.” They only understand the part that empathizes and believes all criminals to be “good.”
They miss entirely that real compassion includes accountability and holding up standards. Tough love.
They have let the psychopaths hijack their empathy, and they’re defenseless against this type of criminal. They’ve allowed them to nearly destroy the city.
That was obvious to me in 2015, and I’m glad Jordan is pointing it out.
