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I’ve heard Seattle was bad, but golly willikers I didn’t expect it was like that. In Dallas traffic is somewhat worse than before Covid and crime slightly higher, but otherwise the rising price of labor and worse customer service is the only hint something weird happened in 2020, except possibly some lingering bitterness. And this is a city which has homeless people! They’re simply not given free reign to go anywhere they want and do anything they want. It’s literally that simple and I can scarcely believe that the obvious solution isn’t being pursued in Seattle and other west coast cities.
The question is, if the police do something that has the potential for looking bad, and then things go wrong and it does look bad, will the city government have their backs? And, if the city government does support the police when something goes wrong in a way that looks bad, will they remain in office?
It comes down to what the voters are more willing to tolerate. I bet the voters in Dallas have different answers than the voters in Seattle.
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I visited Seattle in July 2011; there were a few bums, but it was still a livable city then.
This is 3rd and Pine in 2011:
https://www.google.com/maps/@47.6108626,-122.3384563,3a,75y,309.5h,74.65t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1soRad70MZbSsrq9eYFj0QbQ!2e0!5s20110701T000000!7i13312!8i6656?entry=ttu
The main public library building had just opened; it was sparkling clean and still had the new smell. I don't want to think about what it must be like now.
And I visited Portland in September 2008, walked back to my hotel at 2 a.m., wasn't hassled. Back then Portland's homeless all seemed to be the "crusty" type: white guys with dreadlocks, who usually have dogs.
That jump from 2019 to 2021 is so jarring.
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