How Cities Die
6th December 2021
John Hinderaker at Power Line.
Minneapolis’s Uptown district is two miles or so south of downtown; its center is the intersection of Hennepin Avenue and Lake Street. Until recently, it was one of the city’s principal entertainment and dining centers. No longer. The George Floyd riots, followed by Winston Boogie Smith riots and a persistent spike in both violent crime and property crime, have devastated the area. I don’t know who goes near Uptown now; I once lived nearby but wouldn’t dream of going there now.
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When criminals rule the streets, normal people stay away. That is the situation today in Minneapolis. The city’s depleted police force, under attack by anti-law enforcement Black Lives Matter ideology and thus ravaged by retirements, disability claims and difficulty in recruiting, can’t begin to cope with unprecedented levels of crime and disorder.