DL Open Thread Sunday, April 25, 2021
How did America’s police forces react to the Derek Chauvin verdict? They shot and killed six people in various jurisdictions. Hey, when all you have is a gun, everything looks like a target.
Why do police escalate to fatal force so quikcly? It’s the training, stupid. Quick, show me another profession that allows union members to be trained not by their employer but by outside sociopaths instead.
What can we do about it? Many think federal oversight is the only viable option. I agree.
Amazon has opened 50 fulfillment centers warehouses around the Philadelphia region, allowing politicians celebrate the crappy jobs they bring (as if the politicians had anything to do with securing them — there are 50 of them, how hard can it be?) But there’s an obvious downside — large parcels of cheap land are scarce, and some of those Amazon and its competitors are building on is right next to residential neighborhoods that will be swamped by truck traffic. Even the old Boxwood Road site, with its easy access to Del. 141 and I-95, is going to bring a lot more traffic to the area than shift work at the auto plant ever did.
Earth’s warming climate has literally shifted the planet’s rotational axis a total of four meters since 1980, and the pace is increasing. Scientists think the redistribution of mass provided by melting polar ice is the main culprit, but they think the depletion of aquifers for agriculture also plays a role.
The News Journal leads today’s edition with a subscriber-only story about how the pandemic has threatened “Wilmington’s bright future,” that bright future being described as plans for more buildings. The text tells a less promising story, including the news that the city’s population has apparently dropped in the past year.
The floor’s yours.
Federal oversight isn’t needed. A good plan with smart leadership is:
https://www.nj.com/news/2021/01/newark-cops-with-reform-didnt-fire-a-single-shot-in-2020-moran.html?outputType=amp&__twitter_impression=true
That’s not a bad plan, but if we wait for each city to do it individually, it will get done by … when exactly?
Action at the federal level is badly needed, the police will not change until we make them and as ever the politicians are too cowardly to do anything. As noted the police and their unions frequently have political power, the adorable Delaware State Police come to mind, and are not afraid to use it. Having the famed Cop Cabal in Delaware’s house does not help either. Establish training standards nationwide and for a change get it right. In the meantime the slaughter goes on, and on.