As the Sum Times reports, Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley has blamed the news media for Chicago’s recent sharp increase in violent crime. So far, Mayor Daley has blamed guns, the Supreme Court, and now the news media. Perhaps instead of assigning blame to blameless parties, the Mayor should take steps to address the real causes of crime:
Mayor Daley on Wednesday blamed his favorite whipping post — the news media — for making some Chicago police officers overly timid and less aggressive about fighting crime because they’re afraid of piling up citizen complaints.
The Chicago police officers who wrongfully attacked and beat a petite female bartender and a man handcuffed to a wheelchair were not enforcing the law – they were breaking it. The news media should report these stories, as such violations of citizens’ rights are not acceptable. At the same time, this accurate reporting of police officers committing such crimes should not in any way make the law abiding police officers timid or afraid to do their jobs.
Stopping a gang member from committing murder does not involve beating a physically small female bartender. Nor does arresting an armed robber require beating a man in a wheelchair. The police are free to (lawfully) go about their duties. It is only when they grossly violate the law in a way that is completely beyond their duties that the media has a field day over it.
Rather than blaming everyone under the sun for Chicago’s high crime rates, perhaps Mayor Daley should spend Chicago’s resources on actually fighting crime, rather than trying to uphold unconstitutional laws, illegally destroying an airport in the middle of the night, and his own taxpayer-sponsored armed bodyguards.
What the Mayor needs to do is to draft a law that would allow control of the media. There must be strict official control of the media. It is clear that the media is to be blamed, not the criminals.
So Mr Mayor, please, the people want you to control the evil media. The only problem is that 1st amendment thing, but you have ignored the 2nd amendment for years so why not the 1st?