Portland Decides to All but Stop Enforcing Minor Traffic Laws Because They Caught Too Many Black People
If there’s one thing the past five years have underscored, it’s that leftists embrace selective enforcement of the law.
They’ll go scorched-earth against Republicans and white people who commit the slightest infraction, but they routinely downplay or ignore egregious transgressions committed by Democrats or certain people of color.
One glaring example is the dropping of charges against Black Lives Matter rioters and looters who terrorized New York City last summer to “protest” George Floyd’s death in Minneapolis police custody.
Another example is the left’s ongoing encouragement of mass illegal immigration, which has unleashed an unprecedented border crisis.
The hypocrisy continued on Tuesday, as the Democrat-controlled city of Portland, Oregon, announced it no longer will enforce certain traffic laws — such as expired plates and broken headlights — after discovering that black people disproportionately violate them.
Mayor Ted Wheeler said the aim of the selective enforcement of laws is “increasing equity” and “reducing racial disparities.”
According to authorities, black people account for 18 percent of traffic stops in Portland, even though they comprise 6 percent of its population.
Today, @ChiefCLovell and I announced two significant procedural changes to PPB. These changes are focused on increasing equity, reducing racial disparities, and improving safety in our city.
— Mayor Ted Wheeler (@tedwheeler) June 22, 2021
[firefly_poll]
The mayor further handcuffed the Portland Police Bureau by ordering officers to get consent from drivers during traffic stops before searching their vehicles and saying cops must inform suspects they have the right to refuse.
On Twitter, Wheeler explained that he’s institutionalizing selective enforcement of the law in response to complaints from black Portland residents.
Two, officers will follow new consent search procedures that create more documentation and provide more information to people who are being asked for their consent to a search. This will ensure people understand their rights when an officer asks to conduct a search.
— Mayor Ted Wheeler (@tedwheeler) June 22, 2021
We have more work to do, but these changes reflect calls from the community, particularly from Black Portlanders, to change how PPB conducts traffic stops and consent searches.
— Mayor Ted Wheeler (@tedwheeler) June 22, 2021
Using Wheeler’s “equity” line of reasoning, the United States should stop enforcing all laws altogether since — according to FBI statistics — black people commit a disproportionate amount of certain crimes.
More than 2x as many whites are murdered annually by a black than cases of a white murdering a black.
Violent Crime
Black offenders/white victim: 500K
White offenders/black victims: 90K
But, hey, let’s talk “white nationalists.”#FAKENEWSPRIORITY pic.twitter.com/KuFqpxKxBS
— Larry Elder (@larryelder) August 8, 2019
In March, Black Lives Matter was mocked on Twitter after it allegedly posted a pie chart showing that black Americans, who comprise 13 percent of the US population, reportedly commit 52 percent of all crimes.
The graphic backfired because it was supposedly being used to push the narrative that black people commit very little crime.
BLM are so stupid, if anything this shows the 13% of blks commit the most crime https://t.co/yonf4fo5tS
— Thee First Supervillain ??♀️✨✨ (@Why_U_Here_) March 6, 2021
All joking aside, Portland‘s selective enforcement of its laws is troubling for several reasons, not the least of which is that it compromises public safety.
The move also promotes a dangerous slippery slope where laws against more serious crimes — rape and murder, for example — could stop being enforced at some point in the name of achieving “equity.”
Essentially, this suggests that crimes committed disproportionately by white people will continue to be punished but certain crimes will be ignored if they’re disproportionately committed by black people.
This is astonishingly stupid, racist and frightening. It’s similar to how some colleges no longer consider the SAT in admissions amid complaints that black students score lower because the standardized test is “racist.”
This laughable claim is mirrored in the divisive movement pushing the indoctrination of critical race theory in schools, which says meritocracy is a “white supremacist” notion.
Did you get that? According to CRT advocates, judging individuals based on merit — not race or skin color — is a “white supremacist” ideal.
Please be mindful that “merit” is an inherently racist construct designed and centered on white supremacist framing that justifies who IS and ISN’T worthy of education, safety, justice, empathy… basically humanity.
— Alison Collins 高勵思 (@AliMCollins) October 12, 2020
If we allow the clownish advancement of “equity” (instead of equality) to pervade every institution, pretty soon there will be no rules or standards for anything anymore.
If extrapolated to extremes (which is where we’re headed), this could mean that:
- Anyone can drive a car without a driver’s license.
- Anyone can vote without being eligible.
- Anyone can perform surgery without a medical degree.
- Anyone can come into your house without owning it.
- Anyone can be president without being duly elected.
Portland’s selective enforcement of its laws to achieve “equity” is a recipe for disaster.
But then again, the liberal haven is already a crime-infested cesspool, so would anyone notice its further descent into anarchy?
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.
