Mentions of civil rights on the White House website give way to pro-cop propaganda citing fake facts about inner city (read “black”) violence

As I’m sure you’ve heard by now, the “civil rights” page that used to reside on the White House website is now gone. It apparently disappeared at noon, just as Trump was being sworn in as President. In its place is a page titled Standing Up For Our Law Enforcement Community, which begins like this, before veering off into into a rant about the threat caused by those crossing the border illegally. [Trump promises that his administration will be “enforcing our border laws, ending sanctuary cities, and stemming the tide of lawlessness associated with illegal immigration.” It’s worth pointing out that while, yes, immigrants do account for some percentage of our violent crime in America, illegal border crossing is at a 40 year low.]

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As others have noted, the assertion that “killings have risen by 50 percent” in D.C., is a flat-out lie. As the Washington Times reported just two weeks ago, “the overall crime rate (in the District of Columbia) is down 4 percent, with violent crime dropping by 10 percent from 2015. In fact, between 2015 and 2016, there were 28 fewer homicides in the city. So, while there may be more homicides now than there were at some arbitrary point in the past, the truth is that the rate isn’t rising, but falling. But the truth wouldn’t support the narrative that Trump keeps returning to – that all black people live in cities, and that all cities are violent hell holes which require aggressive policing.

So, I guess there’s a new sheriff in town who won’t coddle “the rioter, the looter, or the violent disrupter,” like Obama did… And, by the looks of it, the police, who aggressively supported Trump, are thrilled.

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[The above photo, which was taken by a Facebook friend, shows New York cops getting ready to attend the inauguration in Washington this morning.]

For what it’s worth, violent crime isn’t just down in D.C., but across the United States, but, again, that isn’t a narrative that keeps Americans scared and puts more military-grade weapons in the hands of our police officers. The following comes from CBS News.

In presenting himself as the “law and order” candidate for president, Donald Trump portrays a nation of lawlessness and disorder.

That grim picture may speak to the visceral fears of voters of a country “out of control,” as Trump put it. It does not, though, reflect a trend of declining crime that has been unfolding over 25 years.

Crime figures are a malleable source of information. Depending on what time period is compared, and which crimes are considered, they can be used to tell a tale of progress or setbacks. Here’s a look at some of Trump’s recent statements, President Barack Obama’s very different assertions and how they compare with the facts:

TRUMP: “Crime is out of control, and rapidly getting worse. Look what is going on in Chicago and our inner cities. Not good!” – Tweet.

TRUMP: “Violent crime has increased in cities across America.” – Speech on Monday.

THE FACTS: Violent crime has dropped dramatically since the early 1990s.

According to FBI data, the national violent crime rate last peaked in 1991 at 758 reported violent crimes per 100,000 people. In 2014, the latest year for which full data is available, the rate was 366 per 100,000 people…

Yes, crime is a problem, and far too many people are dying from gun violence in America, but it’s disingenuous to suggest that violent crime has swelled under Obamba, and, more importantly, it’s dangerous, in my opinion, to say that the police are above reproach. Do we want to live in a world where our police are above the law, allowed to shoot people in the back and choke them to death without the threat of legal recourse? Do we want all talk of civil rights to fade away, only to be replaced by hollow jingoistic phrases about the necessity of blindly supporting our police officers? I can appreciate that officers do a difficult and necessary job. And I believe that they’re deserving of our support. But I’m also intelligent enough to realize that it’s not a black and white issue, and that, while we’re supporting our officers, we can also fight to protect he rights of our neighbors, demanding accountability. With power come responsibility, and we deserve to know that, at the very highest levels of our government, they understand that. Yes, by all means, stand up for our officers, but don’t do so at the expense of our citizens. They need to be stood up for as well.

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8 Comments

  1. Demetrius
    Posted January 20, 2017 at 11:34 pm | Permalink

    In addition to this statement promising “law and order,” here are some other immediate website changes:

    All references on the White House and others sites regarding climate change have been replaced by an “America First” Energy policy that focuses on oil, gas, and coal.

    Likewise, pages referencing protections for LGBT citizens on the White House and other Federal agency websites are gone.

    To all those who who were somehow wishing that “candidate” DJT would somehow morph into a president DJT that would seek to unify the country in support of reasonable, somewhat positive reforms … yeah, that ain’t gonna’ happen.

    Instead, this is *already* (on day one) shaping up to be way worse than any of us might have hoped.

  2. Kim
    Posted January 21, 2017 at 10:51 am | Permalink

    Police State: “a political unit characterized by repressive governmental control of political, economic, and social life usually by an arbitrary exercise of power by police and especially secret police in place of regular operation of administrative and judicial organs of the government according to publicly known legal procedures.”

  3. Anonymous
    Posted January 21, 2017 at 1:16 pm | Permalink

    Law enforcement is going to be THE growth industry under Trump, especially for young, white men.

  4. wobblie
    Posted January 22, 2017 at 5:53 am | Permalink

    https://www.crowdrise.com/medical-fundraiser-for-iww-and-gdc-member-shot-in-seattle

  5. Morbid Larson
    Posted January 22, 2017 at 4:39 pm | Permalink

    Street self-immolations should become the norm until Trump is no longer in charge.

  6. Maria Huffman
    Posted January 22, 2017 at 7:57 pm | Permalink

    They took a calculated risk with Trump..the military backed him.

  7. Maria Huffman
    Posted January 22, 2017 at 7:58 pm | Permalink

    Which means that they backed Obama at the time of both elections. They had their reasons.

  8. Maria Huffman
    Posted January 22, 2017 at 8:00 pm | Permalink

    No to any immolation of any sort…

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