John Mitchell created an art installation highlighting Black Lives Matter artwork and scenes of Seattle Police Department brutality at his Capitol Hill studio. The art installation uses projectors, valued at $25,000 each, to display the video clips and still images through windows and on to the Seattle East Precinct station’s ecology block barriers. Police officers complained that the installation was problematic for exiting the garage, and tonight officers confronted Mitchell.
In a video shot on October 31, seven Seattle police officers approached Mitchell, demanding he removes the projector and threatening to confiscate the art installation. In the video shared on Facebook, one of the officers says, “We’re going to give you a warning. If the officers complain some more [sic] about this light blinding you, we’ll write up a report and confiscate it. You’ve been warned [sic] multiple times.“
Earlier in the video, the same officer asks, “Have you tried driving a car out of there yet?” The ramp the officer is talking about is gated and has a small, no trespassing sign. One protester and one citizen journalist have been arrested at different times for walking up the ramp, indicating that accessing the ramp would likely be met with force.
This is a breaking story and we will continue to monitor.
A vehicle drove through protesters outside of the Seattle West Precinct police station, striking at least three protesters with reports of at least one injured. A group from Seattle’s Every Day March, on their 151st day of protest were outside of the police station when a car exited from a parking garage and drove through the crowd. Reports from the scene indicate the driver is an Amazon security guard, who was asked by protesters to drive a different route but instead drove through the group. Seattle Police are reporting they have a driver in custody.
Earlier reports of Seattle car brigade drivers being ticketed appear to be untrue based on video from the scene, with drivers issued written warnings.
Among the victims was a person who was with Summer Taylor and Diaz Love on July 4, when Taylor was killed and Love gravely injured in an early morning motor vehicle attack while protesting on Interstate 5. Washington State Patrol had closed the freeway, but left access to the off-ramps open.
Video shows a large group outside of the precinct, and screams of terror as the car drove through the protesters. After there was a scene of chaos with Seattle Police working on issuing written warnings to the car brigade drivers and later harassing Every Day March leaders while they were trying to leave.
This is at least the sixth car attack against protesters in Seattle since June 7, 2020. Nikolas Fernandez drove his car into protesters on June 7, shooting one in the arm before surrendering to the police. Fernandez has been charged with felony assault. Retired Seattle police officer Molly Clark drove her car through a Seattle protest while hurling racial slurs. Clark retired from the Seattle Police Department was never charged. A Doordash driver drove through the bike brigade during a march, clipping a person and destroying a bike. That driver was never charged. Dawit Kelete drove his Jaguar SUV into protesters on I-5 in the early morning hours of July 4. He was arrested and has been charged with vehicular homicide and reckless driving.
Seattle Municipal Code Section12A.12.015(A)(4) allows protesters and vehicles to block traffic and be in the street while exercising their First Amendment rights.
The CHOP Gallery on Seattle’s Capitol Hill may not be open to the public but its new installation is already raising the ire of its neighbor — the Seattle Police Department’s East Precinct.
The installation includes up to five projectors streaming protest-related content onto the north-facing windows on E. Pine St. and onto the precinct itself.
A projector from the John Mithcell Art Gallery shines a mural of George Floyd onto the barricades around the East Precinct. Renee Racketty, copyright 2020, all rights reserved
The curator, John Mitchell, gave Malcontent News a tour on Monday. The projectors have not been mounted yet to their permanent positions as he continues to perfect their placement. Some of the projectors, which he acquired used, had once fetched $25,000 each.
“These are professional grade projectors once used by Nike — not sponsored,” he says.
A projector from the John Mithcell Art Gallery shines an image of Breonna Taylor on a wall close to the East Precinct. Renee Racketty, copyright 2020, all rights reserved
Before Mitchell could finish his thought, a marked SPD police cruiser pulled up. “Mr. Mitchell…” the officer began to say from his rolled-down driver side window. The officer went on to explain that one of the projectors made it difficult for him to see oncoming traffic.
Mitchell, himself an accomplished photographer, says he just wants to spark dialogue in the community and encourage other artists to act.
The video includes strong language, discussion on violence, and police activity.
An estimated crowd of 1500 assembled on Capitol Hill to march in recognition of 150 days of continuous Black Lives Matter protests in Seattle. Assembling at Cal Anderson Park, once the heart of CHOP, at 6 PM, the crowd continued to swell as a host of speakers and organizers addressed the enthusiastic crowd. Three black-owned businesses did a brisk business before protesters assembled for their march.
The march route went through downtown and stopped briefly at the West Precinct. The Seattle police reported graffiti was painted on the ecology blocks that surround the building, and some bottles were thrown. We witnessed fresh graffiti but did not see, nor hear any bottles. The march then went to Westlake, where there were more speeches by organizers and black leaders, a candlelight vigil, and live music by the Marshall Law Band. During this time a group of an estimated 100 protesters broke off and moved traffic barricades into the street according to Seattle Police Department reports.
For the return to Capitol Hill a smaller group, who had attended for over four hours, marched back to Broadway and Pine. As the evening march concluded, a large group from ENDD in black bloc, marched east on Pine before turning north on 11th. A resident of Capitol Hill reported that eggs had been thrown at the East Precinct and there was fresh graffiti.
Seattle police then appeared in force heading west on Pine and drove at a high rate of speed north on 12th. When our team moved to investigate, a large group of protesters rounded the corner at 12th and Pine, heading west, with Seattle Police chasing them with dye enhanced pepper spray and batons. No pepper spray was deployed, and upon our arrival with cameras, SPD released two they were just taking into custody and told the third person, “take a walk.” One was held by SPD while one community member yelled from a window and another protester heckled officers. Ultimately the individual was released.
The Seattle LGBTQ Commission will announce on Thursday that they are joining calls for Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan to resign or be removed from office.
The public open letter to Durkan and the Seattle City Council reads, in part:
“It is with a heavy heart that we call for Mayor Durkan’s resignation. Mayor Durkan is Seattle’s first out lesbian mayor and only the second woman to hold that office. We believe that LGBTQ+ people and women, along with Black people and others targeted by white supremacy, belong at all levels of the local and federal government. Such representation is important. However, that representation must involve work to protect our community members from very real harm and violence that has been leveraged against Black and brown LGBTQ+ people. Mayor Durkan’s actions in office have not only failed to create meaningful change for our community but have indeed undermined other efforts within Seattle to create a more just future.”
The advisory body of representative residents of Seattle advises the Mayor, City Council, Seattle Office for Civil Rights, and other Seattle City departments on issues or policies and their ramifications for LGBTQIA residents of the city.
The mayor herself identifies as a lesbian. She and her partner Dana Garvey have two sons but remain unmarried and are not registered as domestic partners.
The Seattle Human Rights Commission had sent out an open letter on October 7, 2020. It reads, in part:
“As the Commission charged with amplifying the human rights concerns of the Seattle community and providing the City’s leadership with recommendations on improving the rights of all the people of Seattle, it is our duty to speak up and speak out for our least privileged community members and not to be complicit in the harm done to them by City leadership.
Given this, it is our belief that we cannot wait until November of 2021 to remove Mayor Durkan and replace her with a servant-leader who will uphold the duty to protect the rights of all citizens, to hold their humanity above all else, and to live up to Seattle’s designation as a Human Rights city.
“We call on Mayor Durkan to immediately resign, and in the absence of her resignation, we call on the City Council to begin removal proceedings for willful violation of duty…”
The total number of current Seattle LGBT Commissioners was not available but 12 commissioners took part in a vote on the matter. The Commission can have up to 21 members; eight appointed by the Mayor herself. The City Council can also appoint eight members. Four are appointed by the Commission itself. The final Commissioner can come through a leadership development program for 18-29-year-olds.
I want to start this with the direct statement that Black lives matter.
The thoughts and observations here are my own. As an individual who is a BIPOC ally and motivated to take bold action after witnessing SPDs repeated treatment of peaceful protesters, I have spent long hours in CHOP.
I’ve had rubber bullets shot at me, teargas and pepper spray in my eyes and lungs, and dodge flash-bang grenades. I have carried the wounded from advancing SPD treating peaceful protesters as a free-fire zone. I have watched SPD repeatedly lie despite undeniable video evidence from every imaginable angle. I have been threatened online and in-person for documenting history.
I have received only a small taste of what the BIPOC community goes through daily and find it mentally exhausting. How can anyone live like this? The nation’s maltreatment of BIPOC peoples has gone on for four centuries, that is four centuries too long. We have to admit our past, to acknowledge our ugly history, and demand an end to institutional racism.
Black lives matter.
Since May 31, 2020, CHOP’s (CHAZ) message is becoming lost due to the deteriorating security situation and the actions of some who are overtaking the space. Change is never a straight line, and change can be frightening and painful. There are people deeply invested in the current system, from all sides, who don’t want to see change. Others are looking at change as if it were a transaction, and preying on the opportunity to profit from it. Others want to see violent change, to serve as proof that the status quo must be maintained.
CHOP is a mustard seed trying to grow in a harsh desert. The fractures we see in our nation, and the support for Black lives matter around the world, are screaming in a loud voice, we need to change.
As I write this, I am well aware that Mayor Durkan has a press conference planned at 4 PM. We may well be seeing the end of CHOP. At the minimum, we will likely see the beginning of the political will to end CHOP. I appeal to the organizers that they should not let this happen, and have the message of Black lives matter fade with it. But clearly, there is a need for change within CHOP.
End support for a homeless encampment within CHOP
The Seattle Police Department has been actively rounding up some of the most troubled souls afflicted by drug addiction, alcoholism, and chronic homelessness and dropping them off at CHOP. As someone who was highly engaged in Occupy and an individual who visited multiple cities to help with their efforts, I saw this same tactic employed across the United States. Embracing the chronically homeless with addiction and or mental health issues is altruistic. It appeals to the aspiration of equality, hope, and is symbolic of the best of humanity. A tent encampment is not a valid replacement for the proper support services of the homeless.
The Puget Sound Business Journal estimates King County spends $100K a year per homeless person in the county. This isn’t a failure of CHOP; this is a failure of Seattle and King County. Bluntly put, an outdoor park is no substitute for mental health beds, drug addiction treatment, social workers, and transitional housing. I appeal to the organizers to dissolve the homeless encampment within CHOP, and not allow SPD to make society’s failure, CHOP’s failure. Continued access to CHOP for shelter also perpetuates homelessness, by detaching those in need from available services.
Organizers should meet with the city of Seattle and King County to create a transitional plan for the homeless there for shelter in cooperation. We did this in Everett, Washington, during Occupy and were able to negotiate and secure housing for every homeless person there.
Create a council of leaders with no appointed head, and a visible acknowledgment of who those people are
History has taught us that leaders within a movement become targets for those who don’t want change. From Malcolm X to Robert Finicum, representing both ends of the political spectrum, our history cannot be denied. But CHOPs very loose organization creates confusion and different messages to the world. Having a “we are all leaders” policy is no longer benefiting the movement or the core message of Black lives matter.
I appeal that CHOP creates a more formal leadership structure akin to a council, with no appointed leader, making it harder to discredit and eliminate. I am aware of the Occupy-style daily councils, but history has shown this can’t scale. Further, at Occupy Seattle, those with political agendas would bring their supporters to the council to vote in a block counter-productive measures. These actions pushed out many supporters, and the message became lost. Please learn from this history.
Improve security during nighttime hours
The organizers of CHOP want to prove to the world against impossible odds that they can create change without militarized police interaction. The Seattle Police Department and Seattle Fire Department hide behind, “policy,” and, “protocol,” which only escalate situations. Not only is this happening in CHOP, but documented at Judkins Park on Juneteenth. The security situation at CHOP changes dramatically from 11 PM to 6 AM.
The security situation needs to be addressed to assure safety not just for CHOP, but the residents who live within the boundaries. Remember, these people did not choose, and most represent peoples sympathetic to the cause (most, not all). The history of revolution and change carries the same message if you want to achieve your goals, “hearts and minds.” You have to win hearts and minds, and that starts with the residents and businesses within CHOP.
Create quiet hours so everyone can get some proper sleep
CHOP organizers should create quiet hours in alignment with the state of Seattle, King County, and Washington. Everyone, from those protecting CHOP, the medic teams, those maintaining the occupation, and the residents within not only deserve good sleep but also require it. Sleep-deprived individuals are more prone to anger, lower cognitive ability, and irritability. It is a volatile mix contributing to the issues. I repeat the words, “hearts and minds,” and I’ll echo the words I have heard repeated, “this isn’t Coachella.”
At Occupy in Seattle, Seattle Police used sleep deprivation techniques of loud music, sirens, and running through the encampment to dissolve the will of those staying there. Please stop making SPD’s job easier.
Just like medical teams, armed security should be recognizable
I appeal to the security team to adopt something that makes them recognizable as security. Some security volunteers wear shirts that say security; other’s don’t. For the community, it makes it impossible to determine when someone is open carrying if they are part of security, making a show of force, or have bad intentions. Designated security should be more recognizable, especially armed security.
Move some barricades to improve safety, even if it is against the will of the city of Seattle
The events of the last 72 hours have shown that moving the barricades back by 10th and East Pine created a serious security risk. I appeal to CHOP organizers to move the barriers whether the city supports this or not, and eliminate drive-through access from 10th to East Pine.
Stop censorship within CHOP
There has been growing hostility toward the live stream, photography, blogger, and mainstream media community. When an organization tries to control the narrative, that organization’s reputation is tarnished. Citizens have every right to say I don’t want to be on video or photographed. Threatening and assaulting individuals, many who are there with the singular purpose of communicating the message Black Lives Matter goes against everything Black lives matter stands for.
If you don’t allow the documentation of the real story, you become no better than the system you are fighting. You can’t say you have a right to protest and assembly, and then ignore the other parts of the First Amendment. The confiscation of camera equipment and the assault of those peacefully recording history should not be acceptable in any society and should have no place in CHOP.
Focus energy on Black lives matter
Finally, I ask that when a council is created, they focus on the real matters at hand—Black lives matter. Activities, actions, and people that aren’t committed to this movement should not be part of the movement. You can achieve this by having more structure and planning while not working to control every second. If an activity that doesn’t focus on equality, Black lives matter, justice, or police reform is planned, we should be asking, “why are we doing this?” There should be time for celebration, reflection, and to enjoy each other in brotherhood, but distractions from the core message need to be reduced. Please end the hijacking of CHOP and Black lives matter. As an example, no one should be profiting off of the misery of the Black community by selling $30 Black Lives Matter t-shirts within CHOP.
When George Floyd was a child, he wanted to be a supreme court justice. In Houston, he was known as a man of God, a man who learned from his past and trying to show others a better way. I am not a religious man and have my sincere doubts about Heaven and Hell. If there is a place after this, it is incumbent upon all BIPOC allies to not let this catalyst of change disappear in a cloud. We can continue on the path Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. started over 50 years ago. A journey rekindled in the American spirit through George’s Floyd’s dying words. Black lives matter. No one should ever again declare, “I can’t breathe,” as their essence is squeezed out by the very people who are supposed to protect and serve.
I believe that CHOP can survive the events of the last 72 hours, but all of us who are allies must take swift action. It is incumbent upon those who support equality, an end to institutional racism, and an end to police brutality to make the required adjustments to keep this movement going.
There is no Batman, Commissioner Gordon, or Harvey Dent, but Seattle is full of Jokers
Radalyn King drove her Nissan Sentra at speeds up to 80 MPH on the city streets. She closed her eyes and laughing crashed her car into the sidewalk, killing two and injuring two others. She then tried to run away from the wreck, where citizens held her until the police showed up. Laughing and drugged out of her mind, King was arrested.
Jonathan James Wilson, who had multiple arrests for violence and assault, grabbed a woman in broad daylight as she walked to work and declared, “Do you want to go over the edge?” The 270-pound Wilson tried to throw her 40 feet to her death until a passerby intervened.
Charged in 2018 for another assault, Wilson was walking a free man in March of 2019. Prosecutors didn’t file their case against Wilson for the 2018 incident until October 2019.
In February 2019, a report indicated that 100 offenders in Seattle had been in and out of the criminal justice system for thousands of cases combined. By November 2019, 90 of the 100 in the February report had reoffended. Most are still on the street as I type this.
David James, a business owner in Pioneer Square, struggling with crime and filth to keep his business running, confronted two homeless people throwing their trash into the street this November. Beaten to the point of needing hospitalization, no one intervened from the public to stop the daytime assault. When police arrived by bicycle, and the assailant ran, they told him, “He’s a drug addict on the street, and whoever decides if charges are pressed probably won’t press charges, so there’s no reason to bring him in.”
On August 2, 2019, Michael Caballero, homeless, assaulted four women in Pioneer Square as they were trying to walk to Second Avenue as part of the monthly art walk.
Downtown grocery store Uwajimaya filed 261 complaints with the city of Seattle for criminal theft in 2018. Of those 261 cases, 11 resulted in guilty pleas or pretrial diversion.
In September, Bartell’s announced they are closing their Third Avenue location because there have been so many assaults on their staff, and the police do – nothing.
The King County Courthouse has become so unsafe, and there have been so many assaults, officials closed the Third Street entrance. Well closed to all but the disabled, which will still have to run the gauntlet.
Seattle made a choice
In November, the people of Seattle had a chance to make their voices heard at the polls. They said in a loud voice, “we want more of the same.”
We want more human feces and urine on the streets.
We want more random attacks and violence.
We want more used needles in our parks and playgrounds.
We want more assaults and thefts.
We want more store closures.
We want more derelict RVs illegally parked and dumping their human waste and gray water on the streets and down the storm sewers.
Merry Christmas! Shitter was full!
Never mind the mail theft, car break-ins, home burglary, porch pirates, and bike theft. Take heart Seattle, things were worse in 1987 so don’t you dare complain about the situation today. Why, did you know that car theft was worse 15 years ago? All of this is fun with statistics as many citizens don’t even bother to file criminal reports anymore. There is no point. It will be hours before the police show up, if at all. Why should they? The city and county won’t prosecute the cases anyway.
While this happens, officials in Seattle would like to remind you:
You can’t wash your car in the driveway; it’s terrible for the environment – dumping your gray water and crap in the street not so much
You better not park your car in a spot for more than the allotted time you paid for, but you can park your RV where you like for basically as long as you want
If you’re a business or property owner, you’ll be fined if you don’t clean up the feces, urine, needles, and graffiti on and around your buildings – it’s your problem
All of this is happening while ordinary citizens have watched their rent skyrocket, their property taxes spiral out of control, their car tabs increase exponentially, their wages stagnate, and Millennial tech bros take over the city. Seattle is the same city that, while ignoring the crime on our streets, was inspecting the trash of citizens looking for recyclables.
“OK, Boomer – whatever.”
I’m not a Boomer, I’m Gen X, and we’re completely out of fucks to give. We hate Millennials with the same fury that we hate Boomers. Here is an idea, quit bitching about your student loans, quit bragging about how woke you are and move out of our Goddamn basements. But I digress, back to the topic at hand.
Just like in Gotham, the frustrated citizens of Seattle lift their eyes skyward and wait for Batman to appear. Is that the Amazon logo I see upon the clouds? Na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-BEZOSMAN!
No, that’s not Bezosman, or Batman, or even Phoenix Jones. That’s the Amazon cloud you see, and the ever-spreading tentacles of Amazon, which is akin to Walmart, Microsoft, Kroger, Google, Netflix, and Apple, rolled into one big happy smiling logo of domination. Forget Boeing, 50 years from now robots will assemble rocketships for Blue Origin.
Meanwhile, at Bezos manor, Amazon plays let’s pretend to deal with the problems they have contributed to (not caused, a significant difference) with feel-good headline-grabbing projects like building a homeless shelter in their headquarters. They care! That’s why they put that shelter in such a high visibility location and cranked up the public relations machine. See what we’re doing? We’re helping solve the problem. Funny, I have never seen a Ronald McDonald house at an actual McDonalds.
While Amazon security watches the sidewalks of South Lake Union, Belltown, downtown, and Pioneer Square are a hotbed of unchecked crime. Not our problem, our rent-a-cop contract security team paid a non-living wage have our offices and employees covered. Don’t feel safe walking to your Tesla after your 13 hour day at AWS in the Kumo building? We can escort you to our clean garages that don’t smell of urine.
The reality is Bezos’s altruism is about as fragile as his South Lake Union glass testicles. He’s too busy counting thousand-dollar bills and sending e-mails with the subject line of, “What’s This,” to wrap himself in AWS super-science to save Gotham.
“Alexa, deploy the Amazon rappelling cable.”
“OK. now playing My Testimony by Rapper Able.”
“No Alexa, deploy Amazon rappelling cable.”
“OK, adding coax cable to your Amazon shopping list.”
“Alexa, you killed me………………………..”
“I’m sorry, I didn’t quite get that. Did you say Alexa, splat?”
In Gotham, Carmine Falcone doesn’t operate with impunity, but the Joker and his minions do
Still, that isn’t the real problem. The real challenge lies in the prosecutor offices of King County and Gotham.
Over 50% of criminal cases referred to the Seattle City prosecutor’s office go untried. The police are so frustrated that they’ve all but given up. Who can blame them when they arrest a person and bring them to jail, and then the same officer arrests the same person during the same shift in the same store. Mayor Durkin is so tone-deaf that she expresses surprise. Well, when you’re the mayor of Gotham, you don’t have to deal with the criminal element like ordinary citizens. The situation is even worse at King County, where 18% of cases referred to the office go to trial. So if you’re homeless in Seattle, what incentive do you have to remotely follow the law? Scratch that. Remotely follow common decency? You can commit felonies at will and the police are powerless. Now tax-paying citizens that contribute to society, you better follow the law.
Carmen Best is not Commissioner Gordon.
Pete Holmes is not Harvey Dent.
Jeff Bezos is not Bruce Wayne.
However, Seattle is Gotham, and the Joker is running wild.
A billion dollars a year up in smoke
Don’t worry, good citizens of Gotham; your city leaders have a plan! If we add a few more taxes, we can get more money for housing and the homeless. A city that has taken hundreds of millions in tax dollars for the “homeless” for years with nothing to show for it.
According to the Puget Sound Business Journal, approximately $1 billion with a “b” is spent every year on homelessness in Seattle. That comes out to about $100,000 per homeless person, per year. Do the math. If we just build tiny homes and give the homeless a place to live, all will be solved. That idea turned into a complete disaster and has been all but abandoned. From the Licton Springs “low-barrier” tiny home village to the broken promises of three mayors to build thousands of units with the money, Gotham keeps collecting your dollars with nothing to show for it.
Maybe if we build a few more bike lanes, take away more parking spots, permit millions of more square feet of office space with no corresponding housing plan, we can make it better. Let us squeeze the local business owners more by taking away more parking spaces, increase the taxes, and hold them accountable for the crime going on outside their doors.
Why, in another few years, we can gentrify out the small mom and pop restaurants and businesses in the name of progress. What a perfect utopia Gotham will be of major chain stores and restaurants, Amazon office buildings, Amazon Go stores, Amazon book stores, and Starbucks. The Amazon employees can step over the piles of shit and dodge the needles, that contractors can clean up in the overnight hours. Well, that is until Amazon itself has had enough and leaves Seattle an empty shell.
There are more important legal matters to deal with in Gotham
Also remember, Gotham’s leaders are busy at the moment protecting Washington state from I-976. We have money, lawyers, and resources for that in King County and Seattle. Amazingly we don’t have money or resources to keep repeat criminals off the street. I feel so…safe. So well represented.
In September of 2019, KIRO reported, after filing a freedom of information act filing with King County Metro, that over 230 Metro drivers have been assaulted. In June of 2019, a homeless man threatened to blow up a Metro bus and shoot the driver. The man was arrested, charged with harassment, and released from jail. It should come as no surprise to anyone they were arrested again, for possession of a stolen firearm. Take the bus Seattle! It’s faster, it’s safe, and it’s good for the environment. Just don’t sit in the urine covered seat and don’t make eye contact with the person shooting up heroin.
As far as representing the interests of King County as a whole, I’m sure the residents of Skykomish are excited about the express bus lines and light rail coming to their community. Oh wait, they’re still waiting for Route 2 to be less of a death trap.
Now someone will get pedantic and points out Route 2 is a WADOT issue – no kidding, thanks, and I do understand that. It’s called an analogy. It doesn’t change the fact people on the edges of King County are getting ass-raped on car tabs and taxes to support transit they will never use or derive benefit. Thanks for your money, suckers.
Now someone will get upset because I used the term ass-rape, and taxes don’t equate to being ass-raped, and I shouldn’t minimize rape by using the term.
Stop being so sensitive, Seattle!
Executive Dow Constantine has our best interests in mind focusing resources on blocking the will of the voters. Anyone complaining isn’t aware of the real problems Seattle is facing! Cars are evil. That’s the real thing we need protection from, the Tesla and Prius death machines! Derelict RVs by the thousands are, of course, OK. We have to think about the needs of everyone. Except when the will of the people goes against what ironically named King County wants.
No, Batman is not coming to save Gotham. The Joker has taken over, and I guess I should ask myself, “Why so serious?”
I should just put on a happy face!
Tech bros will continue to spike rents and housing pricing. The city will collect more hundreds of millions for homelessness and have no accountability. Criminals will continue to attack law-abiding citizens who have no recourse. Our streets will be covered in more feces, urine, and used needles, and eventually, a Hep A epidemic will come during the summer months. Emergency services will continue to be afraid to respond to aid calls without police and support. Police will have their hands tied because prosecutors will continue to do nothing.
It is a madhouse.
The Joker approves.
Dark clouds hang over the Emerald City
I may not live in Seattle. I may not have a voting voice in the new Gotham, but I can vote with my wallet. I can also vote for our King County officials. I’ve reached my breaking point, and be put on notice leaders of Seattle and King County, I am not the only one. I am ending my affiliation with the Democratic Party. As part of the exhausted middle, I can make that much of a stand. Be advised Dow Constantine and Dan Satterberg, the good people of King County have had enough. We may not be able to save Gotham, but at least we can try and save King county.
Oh, and if you’re reading my statement of ending my affiliation with the Democratic Party as I’m now a Republican, you’re incredibly wrong. The party of Lincoln is a moribund, perverse, corrupt shell of itself. The leader is a wannabe dictator, a criminal, a huckster, and the GOP leadership enables him. No, I’m joining the growing ranks of Independent voters who feel abandoned by both political parties.
Low temp at KSEA only got down to 56, that is a summer grade Seattle low. The wind is blowing 10-15 out of the north, northwest, so as I noted on Tuesday the east wind forecast was pretty weak sauce. Given the bright sun and dropping humidity, I would say the record of 81 degrees is going, “bye, bye,” today.
The record high for Thursday is 81 degrees, that one is “at risk.” Record high for Friday is 83 degrees, that one will likely get shattered. Record high for Saturday is 87, that is going to be tough to beat.
Back into the 70s for Mother’s Day.
There have already been 219 lowland wildfires in Western Washington since March, which is a record. The coming record warmth, coupled with reduced rain and dry air will be raising fire risk.
1) NYC doesn’t live up to its reputation as heartless, dangerous, and dirty 2) Homelessness is in the darker corners of the city 3) Seattle’s live and let live policies and lack of law enforcement has created a different environment 4) NYC doesn’t have human feces, used needles, stolen bike parts, and middens lining the streets and sidewalks 5) What Seattle is doing is not working 6) We need a leadership change in King County/Seattle 7) Think about it
I am trying not to turn this into a shower thoughts blog with so much awfulness that continues to happen – so I will try to behave.
I’m in NYC for part of the week, and the Malcontentment Happy Hour will be on the road, relatively low production, and shot from California. So stay tuned for that. I’ve observed some things and have had these thoughts rolling around my head since my last business trip.
On my last trip, I asked the question – where should I jog after dark? The response was, “on Manhattan? Anywhere you want.” I was quite surprised by this response. I’ve jogged or walked from my hotel in NoMad to 78th heading north, past Soho to the south, through Greenwich Village, Times Square, large parts of Central Park, Hell’s Kitchen, Chelsea, Korea Town, Garment District, Alphabet City, and tomorrow I’ll add Tribeca to the route. I can’t say I’ve been to every inch of Manhattan, but I’ve covered a lot of asphalt and concrete. I’ve run after dark and in the early morning hours on empty streets, and I’ve run through congestion and crowds during the evening commute. I’ve run through commercial districts, empty urban canyons of finance and commerce, and past old apartment buildings and brownstones.
Several things stand out to me. First, I have never felt unsafe. I have never had the hair stand on the back of my neck, keep an eye on that person, unsafe. Next, I’ve never seen a used needle on the sidewalk, or in a restroom, or anywhere — not one. I’ve never had to dodge human waste or animal waste for that matter. Police presence is high; there is the perception that the police are everywhere or just a moment away.
On Sunday as I was running in the Madison Park area in the early morning hours, I was surprised at the lack of homelessness. That isn’t to say there isn’t any homeless in Manhattan. That would be a Huckabee-Sanders grade falsehood. I see the homeless and their cardboard encampments under the scaffolding and corners of buildings. As I ran up one street I could see in the distance the top of tents; white tops lined up in an empty lot. Ah-ha! Here is a homeless encampment. But it wasn’t one. It was an outdoor antique market that sets up in the lot every Sunday. It was then it struck me like a hammer. Seattle is one screwed up the city.
New York City has plenty of homeless in it, and they have more places to hide in the darkest corners. In the subway tunnels among the fumes, the damp, and the rats, the homeless call the edges of the tunnels and abandoned lines home. They are there. I have seen an Asian man who looks far beyond his years sitting on 6th on the same piece of cardboard for the last two days. His head slumped down, barely awake and aware. He looks and acts like an opioid addict. It is there, and you don’t have to squint to find it.
But I had this realization in my brain where I have been conditioned to watch for large tent encampments and/or derlict RVs and that I now have to be more aware. More aware for human waste on the sidewalk, needles lurking on the edges, or disturbed individuals lurking in the corners. I see the top of tents in a city, I immedidately assume homeless encampment. Again, I am not saying that New York and the boroughs don’t have them, I have yet to stumble on one. But one doesn’t have to move that far from Pike Place Market, or Pioneer Square, or Capitol Hill, or other tourist meccas in Seattle to find tent encampments and the piles of trash, stolen Lime bike parts, human waste and needles. So many needles – and it makes me sad for my adopted home.
On that same Sunday, there was another man just outside of a pharmacy talking loudly. Homeless and mentally ill, an old man, a Brooklyn Jew was talking to him. Trust me, one, I’m Jewish so I can stereotype, two this old man was a walking stereotype with the accent alone. He knew the homeless man’s name; he knew he took medication; he asked him if he was still taking his meds. He wished him well. The homeless man continued to talk loudly about Jesus and how he’ll care for him. Here was compassion, and patience, and grace, in a city that most believe lacks all of the above. Maybe the moment was well timed, but in Seattle I find that because the city and county leadership is doing what seems like all the wrong things, the good will is erroding all around us.
The policies of Rudy Guilliani tested Constitutional boundaries – I won’t drift into shower thoughts with my view on Guillani, it isn’t as blunt as you may think. The harsh reality is the crackdown he implemented and the policies of near-zero tolerance on any crime no matter how petty has had a positive impact. New York’s crime rate is at and has been at historical lows. The city doesn’t tolerate BS is the most simple way to put it. Remember, this is a city largely filled with liberals with a liberal mayor and a liberal governor, but has a very centrist policy on law enforcement. It sure isn’t perfect, Riker’s Island and the Tombs are finally going to be closed, an ill-managed, under-funded, horror of constitutional violations.
The stark contrast to Seattle and the city’s problems is impossible not to notice. Seattle seems to believe that compassion is live and let live. That and resistance to any program perceived to be big government or might infringe on perceived rights. I can’t let this thought go. Would I jog through Pioneer Square at 11 PM? Or at 6:30 AM on a Sunday? How about Belltown on a random drizzly Monday at 9 PM? I’m not saying that New York is crimeless, and maybe I’m being blissfully ignorant and pushing my luck on being mugged or worse. Hell, I’ve been harassed by teenagers on Lake Washington Blvd. jogging at night (keep it classy Kirkland) – and more than once. Caught with 3 grams of fentanyl? In Seattle you walk. Literally. Let that sink in. 18% of cases referenced by police to the prosecutors office go to prosecution. Let that sink in.
What I do know is the city where I live is a hot steaming mess of used needles, human waste, and tent encampments. The problems are getting worse, not better. In some ways, Seattle is still cleaner than New York. It’s hard to explain but New York has many rough edges to it. I just believe more and more that our elected officials in Seattle and King County have let us down and it is time for a change. What we’re doing for homeless and poverty? It isn’t working. New York, on the surface at least, seems to have built a better mousetrap.
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