Have you ever talked to someone who works on one of those pumper trucks and cleans out septic tanks? Or to someone who services porta potties? They claim you get so used to the smell you don’t even notice it.
I think something similar has happened to people who live in the cesspool that are most large urban areas run by Democrats. The long-term residents no longer notice how much living there stinks.
I recommend getting out of any city, but if you live in a blue city in a blue state, you should flee at top speed. Maybe you don’t care about stepping over homeless people or having to watch your step to avoid human feces. Perhaps you’ve gotten so good at brushing off panhandlers you don’t even notice them anymore. But how do you feel about being mugged, killed or raped by an illegal alien who lives in city-provided housing in your neighborhood?
Cities used to have “bad neighborhoods.” There were corners or streets known for prostitution or drug dealing. Today, the bad areas have grown. Instead of having a few criminals in isolated locations, there are large areas of general lawlessness. Places where the cops don’t go and laws are not enforced, where prostitutes line streets, and where the police don’t bother making arrests because the prosecutors don’t prosecute and criminals walk free.
The United States was once known for the rule of law. Politicians ran on a “law and order” platform. Now we are sliding into lawlessness. It is well past time you learned to be your own first responder.
Lawless Border
We have plenty of home-grown criminals, but the Biden Administration has been importing more. Some are gang members from El Salvador while others are more run-of-the-mill criminals from Venezuela and other countries in South and Central America. I am not trying to imply that all immigrants are criminals (although by breaking our immigration laws, they technically are), but let’s just say that other countries have followed Cuba and cleaned out their jails by sending their criminals north.
On top of that, we have enemies and potential enemies who sneak across the border. Last year, border officials caught 169 people on the terrorist watch list. This is in addition to thousands of “special interest aliens” arrested at the border. This includes 13,624 from Uzbekistan, 30,830 from Turkey, 1,613 from Pakistan, 164 from Lebanon, 185 from Jordan, 139 from Yemen, 123 from Iraq and 15,594 from Mauritania. The list doesn’t include Syria, which has sent refuges across the globe, or China.
Nor does it account for the estimated 600,000 people who were not caught at the border. How many of those are terrorists or potential terrorists? How many illegal immigrants from Syria, Libya, or Yemen will end up in sleeper cells? Do you think some of those Chinese nationals who slip across the border will end up spying for China?
Prepare for the Purge
You’re probably aware that Pittsburgh, Pa., a city of 300,000, will lock up police stations and have only 14 or 15 officers on duty between 3 and 7 a.m. Maybe you’ve read about the police shortage in Austin, Texas, and how the murder rate is rising after the Defund the Police movement reduced the number of officers serving in the city of almost 1 million people. I know you’ve heard about rising rates of retail crime and criminals walking free in big cities across the country.
Now we have news that Baltimore, one of the most dangerous cities in the country, recently had only three officers patrolling its Southern District, too few officers to respond to calls. This is yet another example of how the Defund the Police movement robbed citizens of their security and gave criminals a free pass.
If you live in or near Baltimore and you don’t have plans to leave, well… you may deserve the nickname Washingtonians give their northern neighbors: Baltimorons. If you live in other large cities where services are declining, calls to 911 go unanswered, mass transit is increasingly unsafe, homeless people camp out in public parks, druggies flop about on city streets like zombies, and people who defend themselves are arrested while the criminals dance in the streets, then you may be a moron.
Get out Before it’s too Late
So what’s keeping people in large liberal cities? It can’t be the schools; they generally suck. It can’t be the cost of living; it’s usually high. Is it the Starbucks? Trust me, we have Starbucks out here in the hinterlands. If it’s the job, transfer to another office or work at home. You might make a few bucks less, but you’ll longer and likely be happier.
If you like the opera, the ballet, the museums, and the other attractions, then vacation in the big city, but live somewhere else. It’s just not worth the risk.
Seeing the rapid deterioration of our cities, which were once this country’s strength, I understand why the wealthy in third world countries have armored cars, armed drivers, bodyguards, and live in gated communities or high-security compounds. It makes me wonder how long it will be until the illegal immigrants start kidnapping rich Americans or their children and holding them for ransom. (I’m taking bets. The over/under is at 9 months.)
If you don’t plan to move, what steps are you taking to protect yourself?
It’s Going to Get Worse
If you think things are bad now, just wait. Because of the way cops are treated by the cities that employ them and by much of the populace they are supposed to protect, there are fewer cops on the street every week. Maybe your neighborhood is safe today, but that doesn’t mean it will still be safe in a year or two. Maybe the gas station you frequent remains crime free, but that could change. If you hear about a carjacking there, better start going to a different gas station, or better yet, move out of the city.
When you see stores posting armed guards in at the door or paying a deputy or police officer to park in their parking lot, don’t think they are doing it to protect you. They are doing it to limit their liability. Consider it a sign you need to shop somewhere safer.
The good news is police officers who leave large cities often relocate to red states or smaller towns. That’s good for those of us who live in red states, small towns, and rural areas because these officers will have seen the other side of the coin. I don’t want Barney Fife as my local officer. Instead, I want a seasoned, 35-year-old officer who spent at least seven years on the street in the city and maybe some time on the SWAT team or as an investigator. I want someone who left the high-crime area because his wife was worried about his safety and wanted to raise their kids in a safer environment. When the golden horde leaves the cities and heads to the country, I want experienced officers who will happily set up and man the road blocks.
Traveling to the City
Here are a few things you can do to increase your safety when you head to the city:
- Get gas 30 miles outside the city. Urban gas stations are a high-crime area.
- Likewise, stop at a fast-food restaurant, outside the city, not in the city. Have spare water and munchies in the car.
- Get in and get out of the city before nightfall. You are much safer going to an 8 a.m. doctor’s appointment than one at 3:30 because at 8 a.m., the vast majority of criminals are still asleep.
- If you stay over in a hotel, avoid cheap motels where your door opens into a parking lot. In hotels, avoid the ground floor. You are better off on the third to 7th floor of a hotel where intruders need to take an elevator to access your room. Just don’t get so high the local fire department’s hook and ladder truck can’t reach you.
- Don’t leave your guns or anything valuable in the car overnight. This is where guns that fold or breakdown and can fit into backpacks are useful.
- Know an alternate route home. Have a plan of what you will do if the bridge you normally take gets knocked down or simply blocked. Have a map in case the GPS system or your phone goes down.
- Always be armed. Unless I am the one taking off my clothes, I generally ignore no firearm signs at doctor’s offices. This is one reason I often carry two guns. I can take off my bigger pistol in its OWB holster to avoid scrutiny and still be carrying a pocket gun.
Boiling Over
I have mentioned previously that I think we may face a period of danger between Election Day and the inauguration. Keep in mind that no matter who is elected, about half the country is going to be pissed. While civil unrest may be a threat, it could also be used as a cover for other activities. An angry populace makes it a great time for Russian or Chinese troll farms to try to spin up some hatred and generate a protest. And who would be surprised if those sleeper cells or illegal immigrants help things move from a peaceful protest to a riot? All they have to do is put on a face mask and wear black and Antifa will get the blame.
Inauguration should be your deadline to have left the city. You might be surprised at how nice it is when the stink of the cesspool is miles in your rearview mirror.
Video of the Day
I’ve cued up this video to start at an interesting section on crime statistics in cities, but feel free to start from the beginning and watch the whole thing.
