The problem in liberal paradise that liberals can’t understand

Nothing that I have tried to resolve has been more frustrating and vexing than solving the issue of why a 14-year-old would take the life of a 15-year-old with a weapon of war.
— San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom, concerning his city’s high murder rate

Over the last fifty years liberals like Newsom have deliberately broken down all the rules of society, all restraints on behavior, while subsidizing the formation of generation after generation of black fatherless families, leaving black boys to grow up without discipline in a normless jungle, like human beasts of prey; and then the liberals can’t understand it when young people raised to be beasts of prey behave like beasts of prey.

Following their spiritual father Rousseau, they believe that if you break down the unequal institutions of society, man’s natural goodness, compassion, and equality will manifest. So they happily destroy civilization, and then they are shocked, shocked, at the onset of savagery.

- end of initial entry -

Hannon writes:

“Almost half the victims were black, even though African Americans make up less than 7 percent of the city’s population.”

No mention of racial breakdown of the murderers, or what races comprise the more than 50 percent of non-black victims.

The whole article has that ethereal, smoky quality to it, as if no one, not even the experts, can piece together the problem. Asserting the mystery of criminal behavior is not dispassionate objectivity, it is part of the fog that enshrouds that beautiful city.

Ever since reading your critiques of newspaper and magazine writing I’ve read them with more care. The phenomenon you describe goes beyond political liberalism. There is also a distinctive aspect of style and now that I think of it an editor once described it to me as “New York Times style.” It is formulaic, and one of the key principles is to “put the reader there” mentally and then unfold the story. So in between style and formula and information selectivity we get little particles of actual information. It is about packaging and appeal and woe to any datum that threatens to erode profitability.

LA replies:

And woe to any datum that threatens to erode the liberal orthodoxy.

Terry Morris writes:

From the S.F. Chronicle article:

Newsom said of 2008’s homicide total, “I’m not going to accept it. We’re going to mix things up in the next year.”

What an appropriate statement from this mixed up mayor of this mixed up city.

LA replies:

Yes, good catch. After admitting that reality makes no sense to him and that he can’t explain it, Newsom says that his solution will be to “mix things up.” There’s a liberal response to a liberal problem!

Posted by Lawrence Auster at January 03, 2009 07:02 AM | Send