Memphis, Tennessee has made national headlines numerous times in recent months, showcasing the cataclysmic results of leftist policy regarding law and order. In recent months, Memphis has been a hotbed for violent crimes which have shocked the nation.
Eliza Fletcher’s kidnapping and brutal murder, carried out by a career criminal who was released from prison early, horrified the country, as did the live-streamed shooting rampage a Memphis resident went on — which led to a massive police manhunt that slowed the city to a crawl. The leftist stronghold is now dubbed one of the most dangerous cities in America, and in 2021, it broke its own all-time high homicide record.
Police officers in the city recently brought national attention back to Memphis when they mercilessly beat civilian Tyre Nichols in the street, ultimately resulting in his death three days later. Many liberal keyboard warriors and media outlets have tried to blame the tragedy on white supremacy, despite the fact that all five of the officers involved are black men.
The city of Memphis itself is 65% black, the Chief of Police included. The officers are racially “representative” of the city, which, according to most liberals, is an essential qualification for any public employee. Officers and officials need to “look like” the community in order to effectively police the cities in which they serve, according to BLM and leftist activists. It was the progressive belief that if you reduce the number of white officers and replace them with the more-desirable minorities, white supremacy would be quashed, and black citizens specifically would be safer during interactions with police.
That narrative however, has crumbled, after this most recent atrocity. Now, the popular talking points have to somehow pin this attack on pervasive white supremacy, that is so effective that it caused black police officers to commit violence against one of their own.
During the 2020 BLM riots following the death of career criminal George Floyd, police officers nationwide either decided to retire early or leave their respective departments. Hundreds or more of potential recruits opted not to pursue a career in law enfacement after watching the disastrous “defund the police” movement’s ultimate consequences. Officers were understaffed, under-funded, and under-supported by media outlets and local legislators who both vilified the police force constantly. These officers were given an impossible task: to qual violent and fiery protests which called for the abolition of local law enforcement, while activists chanted daunting and threatening slogans such as “the only good cop is a dead cop.”
“The unrest that began in Minneapolis then spread throughout the nation under the guise of Black Lives Matter (BLM) activism, causing more than $2 billion in damages — the most expensive demonstrations in US history. Additionally, more than 700 police officers were injured while attempting to deescalate protests, according to Justice Department data.”
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The violent outbursts called on city officials, many of whom bowed down to the mob, by shashing policing budgets. As a result, many urban departments throughout the U.S. have seen a massive shortfall in officers patrolling the street, prompting a massive uptick in crime and worsening response times.
As for Memphis, the city was looking at a shortfall of over 500 police officers, while facing some of its worst crime rates in history. In an attempt to mitigate that problem, and to ensure that more diversity counld enter the force (because representation matters), the department lowered the standards to become an officer.
The New York Post reported that at least two of the five officers charged with murder for the death of Tyre Nichols were beneficiaries from these lax hiring standards. Law enforcement official Karan Parmar wrote to LinkedIn that Memphis city leaders changed hiring standards because “the existing process was too strict and kept certain people from getting jobs at the department.”
Relaxed standards can’t be to blame though, according to BLM militant and writer for the Atlantic, Jemele Hill, who categorically blames every flaw in the system of policing on “white supremacy.” Similarly, her ally Cliff Albright, who runs a race-baiting a nonprofit organization, has claimed that black cops are essentially “Uncle Toms” (a racial slur frequently used against conservative minorities) who are complacent with “racist policing.”
“. . . let’s be clear: merely diversifying police forces will never address the violent, racist architecture that underpins our entire criminal legal system. The mere presence of Black officers does not stop policing from being a tool of white supremacy.”
U.S. Representative Cori Bush
Instead of speaking broadly about the issues facing black individuals, such as fatherless homes, crime, and the collapse of the nuclear family, the talking heads would rather ambiguously blame their favorite boogyman: white supremacy — which has become synonymous with all evil, in the eyes of the left.
