Without law enforcement subduing riots, we risk descending into anarchy.
The death of George Floyd in Minneapolis is a complete outrage.
The complete failure of Minneapolis officials to stop and prevent the ensuing riots is a second outrage.
I will talk about this horrifying death in a moment, but I’ll start with the Minneapolis system’s failure.
The first rule of riots is to preempt them and stop them.
While people are rioting, the rule of law is collapsed and street mobs dominate. Because mobs are directionless and led only by waves of emotion, hostility and hate, every innocent person nearby is inherently in danger.
The more authority pulls back, the more the lawlessness moves in and the mob takes property, destroys property and endangers lives.
People who had been forced to stay home by COVID-19 now might find themselves forced to stay home from fear of what might happen to them if the mob caught them in the street. And in the most violent neighborhoods, even staying in your own home is not a guarantee of safety.
Small business owners in Minneapolis, who are often Somali, Black, Hispanic and mostly women, may find their lifetime’s work destroyed by a vengeful, hateful mob.
The first duty of government is to provide physical security.
The city of Minneapolis failed to protect its citizens.
The state of Minnesota failed to protect its citizens.
Now, the president of the United States is threatening to intervene with federal forces, as President Lyndon Johnson did in Detroit in 1967 and as President George H. W. Bush did in Los Angeles in 1992.
Unfortunately, the tragedy unfolding in Minneapolis is one we have seen again and again.
A significant part of the black community rightly feels abandoned and alienated. Liberalism has cheated them in virtually every aspect of their lives. Trapped in a political system controlled by bureaucratic unions, interest groups dependent on or regulated by government and left-wing activists, there is both a sense of hopelessness and a feeling of constant anger that can sometimes explode into rage.
