To me, law enforcement is the exception that proves the rule (though what the "rule" is I don't know)
Most laws are NOT enforced. Doesn't keep people from complaining who want to complain about how Big Government oppresses them. But then you get the complaints from the other end about laws NOT being enforced. I guess, considering the relationship between revenues and enforcement, these groups cancel each other out. Except for the claim that "if were in another part of town, this incident would have brought police action". Oh, really. Is there ANYTHING other than anecdote to prove such an allegation? I guess freedom of speech covers the matter of alleging and then stating a nonverifiable anecdote to "prove" it. But what are the documented facts that prove the MPD neglects Northside in areas where it does its job elsewhere? Because to me it could simply be a case of the force doing what the taxpayers are willing to pay for. Freedom from crime is not free. And faulting government doesn't build a base of support for effective law enforcement. Those who fault government at every turn don't seem to get that. I guess they never call 911 (or they do and don't realize, hey, 911 is government!)
Issue: Population changes
Thinking more about this allegation of Minneapolis losing population, makes me realize just how superficially normal modes of thought are. In fact in these larger social analyses, the depth of thought given rarely exceeds the attempt to strengthen some prejudice. Because if you think about it, you realize the only really honest answer is the agnostic one: �We don�t know�. Beyond the question of whether the figures given are accurate is the question, what do they signify if they are? A vote against Minneapolis? Why? Thinking a bit more openly, one could say they were a vote FOR Minneapolis. That is, a person who moves into a satellite community rather than choosing a different city or satellite of that city is really saying �I DON�T want to get away from Minneapolis. If I did, I could have moved to a suburb of Atlanta.� Minneapolis doesn�t exactly own a monopoly on any sort of service or form of consumption, you know. The chains we have here are everywhere now. And there are hundreds of metros that offer the lifestyle choices we have. So, the allure of Minneapolis lies beyond consumption. To some degree it is our exemplary economy that employs so many. But even that is not a totally satisfactory explanation. Perhaps it lies in the way we lean AGAINST the cultural winds of the times. Even people who agree with the �gimme, gimme, gimme� culture seem drawn to our resistance. They complain a lot, but they don�t vote with their feet. Why? I think you start to answer such a question, you start to probe what superficial news articles don�t try to deal with.
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Jim Mork
Cooper Neighborhood
Longfellow Community
Minneapolis, a great city getting greater (much to the disgruntlement of a few)
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