The Suburban Times

A community bulletin board for Western Pierce County.

Letter: Do the citizens of Tacoma have to leave Tacoma to be safe?

By

Submitted by Jim Bisceglia.

Do the citizens of Tacoma have to leave Tacoma to be safe?

The property owners and citizens of Tacoma have been and are being failed by their mayor and the city council. The failure of so-called leadership, to quickly arrest violent rioters, looters, arsonist, thugs who threaten and assault citizens, murder citizens and police officers, leave everyone vulnerable and scared. This failure of leadership results in ever increasing violence and increased danger to our community.

Violent crime had been declining since the 1990’s because of proactive policing policies. The theory with the greatest impact was labeled “Broken Windows” model. The essence of this policy is not to let violations of law go unchallenged.

By controlling minor disorders and first offenses, more serious and escalating crime can be reduced. This model proved to make it safer for people living in the inner city and poorer neighborhoods. Assertive policing protects everyone and especially law-abiding poor—and often minority—citizens trapped in the inner city or ghettos where violence and crime are making a devastating and destructive comeback.

Today radical groups, such as BLM and Antifa, have flourished as the so called, leaders in our country have either, failed to condemn or worse verbally encouraged or financially supported the resulting anarchy. The aiding and abetting by our leaders include their delusion that holding back prosecution and law enforcement will somehow reduce the problem when the result is ever more frequent and more violent attacks. These attacks result in more property destruction, injuries and death to the communities these leaders swore an oath to project.

In the current era of violent riots, looting, increasing attacks on citizens and the murder of police officers how could any leader, worthy of the title, consider decreasing funding for or support of the remaining police offices who are our only protection from these criminals?

The views expressed in this article are the writer’s own.

Comments

  1. Right-wing activists have killed over 200 in the last 30 years.
    “Anti-fascists”? Maybe one, if you include self-defense.
    Funny you didn’t mention that.

  3. Spot on analysis Jim. Recently, this country has been moving toward a system of weak, socialistic, self-entitled, unresponsible individuals. The real problem in this country is that nobody wants to be accountable for their actions, work hard, do the right thing for the country, and take pride in calling themselves Americans. It will ultimately lead to the death of this democracy; expedited by politicians who are egotistical and only out for their own good and a media (not this publication Ben, you have been great) that is thirsty for ratings no matter what it does to the country.

    Where is the call from our leaders to stop the arguing? Stop the media attacks? This should be rung out from both sides. However, it certainly has not. Certainly not with the last president, or the one before that. Obama was right in there egging on the rioters last spring (don’t let your voice not be heard). Certainly not with this president either. He states unity, but then turns around and fires away like a typical politician at the opposing party. Congress is the same. The governors? Nope, they fall right in line. Mayors of large cities have been abject failures.

    Jim, great article. It gets at exactly what we need. People to stand behind the country. Stop pointing fingers at the police; particularly those people who have never had to make a life and death decision in the blink of an eye. My life or another who may take mine (often a criminal). Too many Monday morning quarterbacks trying to insinuate that they would have made a better choice and that an officer should be charged with a crime. I get it, there are mistakes that have been made. Officers are human. There are also policies and regulations for these things. All too often, the media and what seems like a wave of sheep are quick to blame the police and take the side of the criminals.

  4. The unfortuant answer is most likely “Yes, they need to move.” Since Tacoma residents fail to elect leaders who support stiff penalties it for crimes it will only get worse.
    I work downtown and have seen the damage to the Courthouse caused by the rioters you referenced.

  5. This article is exactly right. Many of the problems in Tacoma and many other areas around our great country are a direct result of bad leadership. It’s time to quit treating lawbreakers differently according to their supposed affiliations(blm,antifa,the capital rioters, the street racers) etc. They all need to be treated for what they are-lawbreakers! You cannot have a civilized country without our police.
    Most people are good law-abiding citizens, but unfortunately there are always some who take advantage of any excuse to cause problems. When did we lose having to face the consequences for our actions? If we don’t start making people accountable for lawlessness, then we will devolve into a stinking cesspool.
    People won’t like it when the average person starts taking the law into our own hands. Think about it. If you call for help and no one comes the wolf is going to eat you.
    The situation in Tacoma wouldn’t have happened if the people would have dispersed when told to. What did you think might happen when you surround someone’s vehicle? The officer probably didn’t have time to analyze every escape route. He did what many of us would have done, he’s human, he panicked. He should not have been put in that situation. Think about the consequences, it affects many more people than your miserable butt.

  6. Tacoma has been building a beautiful waterfront with museums and eateries along with rebuilding the Downtown and hill top area .
    The leaders need to preserve and protect what others have put into making this small city a go to destination. If they fail, our community will fail.

  7. Well said, my wife showed me the full Facebook video of the ‘street racing’ that took place in downtown Tacoma including the one police car that arrived with lights and siren
    blaring, when the police car slowed down, I saw someone throwing something at the police car and a crowd of people surrounding the car.

    Now, why would a group of people surround a police car and start throwing things at it and pounding on it and yelling ‘pull him out’? What do you think their intentions were? How did we get to this place in time where the police are the bad guys?

    Tacoma is becoming Seattle!

    No wonder everyone is moving to Idaho!

    • They are moving to Idaho because it is the center of white supremacy. Please go move there yourself if you feel safer. Anyone who feels safer in the center of Neo-Nazis and Aryan Brotherhood definitely makes me feel safer if they move away.

  8. Violence is not on the rise, and people are not in more danger. People are responding to decades of bad policing and abuse of power. The fear fanned by the right is imaginary and if you look at any statistic you will see things are much safer now than they were decades ago. The only difference is people are voicing their displeasure at the abuses of a police force that does not need to engage in lethal means.

    As for the rioters, the only people damaged by it were those that contributed to the police/prison system. While it is not my preferred way to protest, this is normal after generations of abuse, neglect, and economic disparity. Address those issues (as should be done) and the protests won’t be there. Systemic racism, sexism, homophobia, and economic disparity are the boot they are protesting against.

    Experts have proven that the whole broken window theory is wrong and in fact, just leads to more police brutality. The lessening of crime has nothing to do with that policy at all.

    I welcome reducing the police budget and putting it into mental health specialists. Police are not qualified to engage with mental health crises, and the fact that my 5’6″ spouse who weighed 106lbs could deescalate a situation with a 6’4 patient who is experiencing a psychotic break without once ever pulling a weapon or forcing the patient to do things shows that cops go to lethal means far too soon. If a 5’6″ nurse can handle it with no weapons, a burly cop with body armor and melee training shouldn’t reach for a gun.

    Why have you all become so fearful when it isn’t you being attacked or abused?

  9. Tacoma’s leadership has a real opportunity to provide a positive alternative to the “woke”, progressive leadership model. Situated between Seattle and Olympia, with their recent records of violence and anarchy in their streets (and with Portland just down the road), Tacoma can show what being “the adult in the room” looks like. Making the national news over the recent riot, is not a positive step forward and should be decried.
    Leaving the town and area is NOT an answer. And if such behavior is left unchecked, or worse encouraged by inaction, it will spread to Fircrest, Steilacoom, DuPont, Puyallup, and all points around our area.
    The answer is to hold leaders accountable by voting them out if they fail us, supporting the police, and not assuming we, the citizens, have no power. We do – if we will have the stomach to assert it.

    • I couldn’t agree more. Why should the good people move from the problem? The problem is the government. By moving the good people are only enabling the bad. People have worked hard to get where they are and should be able to enjoy life. Why should self entitled, selfish, ignorant individuals get their way?

  10. Let’s be frank: this is occurring in cities and states run by Democrats and for good reason. Continue to vote for them and this anarchy will continue. ANTIFA, BLM, et. al. are domestic terrorist groups. Treat them like foreign terrorist groups. Their attack upon the rule of law, police, due process, history, free markets, private property, free speech, etc., all while Democrats fiddle while “Rome burn”, is an attack upon those institutions which permit us to function and thrive as individuals. Without these institutions individuals must find “shelter” in the identity politic groups based on gender, race, economic status, sexuality, national origin, religion etc. This is what’s behind the Democrat focus on identity politics. It is one of divide and then conquer; all and only about power. Indeed it is an attempt to take us backwards in time to antiquity when tribalism was the predominant social construct rather than individualism which is relatively modern. Tribal societies today still lack those social institutions that permit individualism. Thus the first step in “fundamentally changing” (Obama’s words and intent) the US into a tribal society is to destroy those institutions. Democrats who claim to be “progressives” are anything but. Rather, they are regressives attempting to drag us back into the past as merely members of some stereotyped group with all that entails rather than into the future as functioning and successful individuals. Elections have consequences.

  11. Well stated Jim Bisceglia & John Arbeeny “Elections have consequences!” Time to wake up Tacoma residents and stop being sheep.

  12. Lol-that’s funny.You must mean the PROUD BABIES,THE ‘Q’ GANG and the BOOGER-LOOS. Do the RESEARCH, it’s the white supremacists groups that are actually being the trouble makers,or the insurrection at Washingtonion DC. Oh,and as I am most definitely against FASCISM (seriously who could be for it)I am also ANTI-FA and I do believe BLACK LIVES MATTER..

    • To spaceagepolymer and Mona Peterson:

      If you suspend realty, had no real objective sources of information and you failed to recognize the destruction of cities and attacks on innocent citizens that started last summer and continued into 2021 then you might make the statements you did.
      This failure is the only way to explain your ability to ignore what happened and defend the anarchy, domestic rioting, burning of cities, beating and killing of citizens and police officers. Remember the only thing between us and the criminals is the police, if they are allowed to do their jobs.

      Wide eyed.

      • ACTUALLY WERE YOU AT THE “DESTRUCTION OF PORTLAND ” OR DID YOU JUST WATCH THE COVERAGE ON FAUX ?? I LATER SAW A VIDEO SHOWN THAT WAS SUPPOSE TO HAVE BEEN FILMED IN PORTLAND,IT LATER CAME OUT THAT IT WAS FILMED IN EASTERN EUROPE,SORRY YOU SHOULDN’T BELIEVE FAUX ENTERTAINMENT TV.

        • This from an ANTIFA apologist. My dear friend from High School days lives in Portland and has been reporting on the leftists riots (100 days straight at one point) to me personally and on Facebook. I’ll believe him any day of the week than an anarchist stooge. It’s gotten to the point where he is seriously considering a move out of state to escape the anarchy that is Oregon.

  13. Conservatives are so scared by the socialist boogeyman that they’re willing to suspend reality to argue for authoritarianism and what they perceive as strong leadership. Funny, considering how concerned they are about losing freedom and their rights. Tacoma isn’t being burnt to the ground and Antifa and BLM aren’t your enemies. Relax and everything will be OK.

  14. “Turning and turning in the widening gyre
    The falcon cannot hear the falconer;
    Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;
    Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,
    The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere
    The ceremony of innocence is drowned;
    The best lack all conviction, while the worst
    Are full of passionate intensity.”
    William Butler Yeats.

    In answer to the title question, Yes, you do need to leave Tacoma to be safe.