How Mayor Mike And John Carney Tried To Stop Today’s Protest. A must-read. There are elements of this story that utterly fascinate me. Plus, there is a villain, who is neither Carney nor Purzycki (they are merely feckless). First, I get it. We just had a looting rampage in parts of Wilmington. The governor and the mayor don’t want to see a repeat. Although, talking about all the vacant commercial real estate, which the mayor did, hardly seems like it would be an effective argument for organizers:
Purzycki then said Wilmington has been “fragile for some time and it’s finally coming back.” He pointed to the city’s 2-million square feet of empty office space as an example of its fragility.
“That’s two million square feet where there are no jobs, there’s no economic engine, there’s nothing going on,” he said to the group of more than a dozen community activists.
And that’s about two million square feet where people of color aren’t general welcome, like right around Rodney Square.
At the meeting, the Mayor promised to bring body cameras to Wilmington for the police:
During the meeting, Purzycki pledged to bring police body cameras to Wilmington’s department – a policy long called for in the city. The calls grew louder last year following the shooting death of an armed man by Wilmington Police officers. Police released few details following the incident.
When a woman at the meeting questioned whether he supported body cameras in exchange for a cancellation of the protest, Purzycki said, “I’m not holding up anybody for this.”
“I’m here to give you that commitment, no strings attached,” he said of body cameras.
Which, of course, raises the question: Where the fuck has he been during his over three years in office? He only makes this ‘no strings attached’ offer at a meeting where he’s trying to shut down a protest? Among other issues, people are protesting what the police do and what they get away with. Purzycki has succeeded in making sure that every ‘undesirable’ is rousted from Rodney Square b/c it’s not a ‘good look’. Other than that, he’s been AWOL.
As has been Carney. Check out this quote from his press secretary:
At the meeting, Carney told the attendees he had “engaged” with Owens to get the organizers together. Instead of a protest, Carney wants to work with them to “make changes in policy to address issues around persistent racial inequalities,” Starkey said.
Raising the obvious question, where has he been for three years?
Believe it or not, neither are the True Villain in this piece. That honor goes to the single most prominent symbol of institutionalized police oppression in Delaware: Speaker of the House Pete Schwartzkopf.
Separately on Wednesday, Delaware House Speaker Pete Schwartzkopf said activists who decide to peacefully protest when there’s “a 50-50 chance it’s going to turn violent,” should be “held accountable if something bad happens.”
Schwartzkopf, a retired police officer and the leading Democrat in the House, did not state what that accountability would look like. (He also didn’t say what should happen if one of his state cop buddies decides to bust some heads, accountability only extending so far.) His district will host a protest on Friday at 4 pm. in Rehoboth Beach.
At the meeting with the mayor and governor, New Castle County Councilman Jea Street said Delaware’s legislature is “basically run by former police officers and they got a lock on it.”
First of all, why is Pistol Pete sticking his snub nose in this at all? It’s not his district, not even close. Was he speaking as the Speaker of the House, or was he speaking as an ex-cop? A retired Delaware State Police Captain. Does the House Democratic Caucus think Pete speaks for them? Secondly, Jea Street is correct. The cops run the place. It’s why we have a Police Bill Of Rights which enables officers to kill, maim, and beat with impunity. Which is why Carney’s pledge to work to end injustice rings hollow. Until Carney is willing to stand up to the police lobby, both elected and unelected, there will be no justice.
Which is why there will be a protest.
Trump Turns DC (And White House) Into Armed Fortress Over Protest From Mayor. Did I mention the White House?:
The White House is now so heavily fortified that it resembles the monarchical palaces or authoritarian compounds of regimes in faraway lands — strikingly incongruous with the historic role of the executive mansion at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, which since its cornerstone was laid in 1792 has been known as the People’s House and celebrated as an accessible symbol of American democracy.
Police Are Out Of Control In NYC. Just one case study. Police have always been a law unto themselves in New York. Here’s a brief history on how the police basically killed NYC’s vibrant jazz scene through enforcing of so-called cabaret card law.
Trump And Murkowski Divorce. One R Senator is officially off the Trump train. Who’s next? I think this is important.
Texas Rethugs–Racists All. Plus, they’re stoopid. If you’re gonna be a racist, don’t advertise it on social media.
Meet Trump’s Latest USAID Hire. Rails against ‘Our Homo-Empire’.
Latest Jobs Numbers Are–Good? So far, nobody can figure out how this happened. But Trump is already claiming credit. Oh, and this probably kills any more relief for the American people.
Meet Minneapolis’ Police Union Chief. He’s pretty much like every other police union chief. As Alby has argued time and again, police unions are a significant part of the problem.
Testing At Delaware Nursing Homes Still Royally Screwed Up. This time, it’s the state that can’t get its act together.
What do you want to talk about?