The price will ultimately be paid by blacks and whites alike, albeit not in the same ways
The May 25 killing of George Floyd, a black man, at the hands of a white policeman in Minneapolis has plunged America into the maelstrom of identity politics to an unprecedented degree. So far the only victor is Black Lives Matter (BLM), which has garnered huge amounts of corporate support. But the price will ultimately be paid by blacks and whites alike, albeit not in the same ways.
BLM’s primary policy prescription — defunding the police — has already been endorsed by Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden, and ratified by various cities and institutions. It will not make life safer for black Americans. Just the opposite, as Heather Macdonald points out in the July 1 City Journal.
Contempt for the police and physical assaults on cops have resulted in police withdrawing from the streets and a dramatic spike in gun-related crime. The same occurred after BLM’s 2014 anti-police demonstrations, following the slaying of Michael Brown, who was attacking a police officer, in Ferguson, Missouri. The increase of homicides nationwide in 2015 and 2016 compared to 2014 resulted in 2,000 more black homicide victims.
In Minneapolis, ground zero of anger at police for George Floyd’s killing, shootings have doubled this year compared to last year, and half of those shootings have taken place since May 25. New York City has experienced a 42 percent increase in homicides compared to the previous year, and Milwaukee a 132 percent increase. In Chicago, on successive weekends last month, 15 and 18 people were killed, with many more wounded, in drive-by shootings. Almost all those victims were black.
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