There are two types of people in Washington, DC – those who commute from Virginia or Maryland, and those who really live here. I am in the last group, in addition to generations of “original Washingtonians” whose families have called this city at home for a lifetime.
Now I have not lived here for a lifetime, but I am almost ten years old and I consider this city as my home. It is therefore difficult to take seriously that President Donald Trump suddenly decided that DC was a national crisis.
The two controversial incidents involved in young white men, killed one and almost killed, are real and heartbreaking tragedies, but the people who live here have been talking about crime for years: in neighborhood meetings, on DC Reddit-Threads, in the reactions on Instagram and X (S/O Wasthtonian Heney).
Residents have been talking about crime in the capital of the country for years before President Donald Trump decided that the issue is a national crisis. (Chip somodevilla/getty images; ap photo/manuel balce ceneta)
And in DC, the most disturbing trend has lately juvenile crime. Not surprising in a city where the time period is among the highest in the nation.
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And the children who are not in class are not alone at home. They plunder CVs, carjacking people who do shopping, tear through supermarkets and roam the streets at midnight. All night clock was imposed on parts of the city to get them.
You can feel the change in daily life. With some supermarkets you now have to scan a receipt to be released by locked ports. With drugstores you have to press a button and wait for an employee to unlock basic toilet items. That is not just an inconvenience; It is a sign that companies no longer feel that they can work normally.
This is where Democrats are starting to wriggle. We are trained to only talk about crime in the context of prison reform and mandatory minimums, because bad wedding actors have armed it as a racist dog whistle.
I understand that history. But crime is not a racing problem, it is a problem with the proximity. People commit crimes against the people who live in the neighborhood. That is true in DC, and it is true everywhere.
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Refusing to tackle crime, does not protect communities of color; It makes them more vulnerable. The children who cause chaos are not the only ones who live in these neighborhoods. There are other young people who want to learn, want to grow and see how bad behavior remains uncontrolled.
And when you ignore crime, let it festival until it becomes the excuse for federal overshalling and I have no doubt that this president would exploit the home rule of DC if the chance was given.
Let’s be clear, this is not a call for mass imprisonment. Throwing minors in prison and they forget is not a solution. Accountability must have a chance of redemption. That starts with keeping parents responsible, strengthening K – 12 education and tackling truancy before it gets something worse.
We need the DC city council to deepen their dedication to education, after -school programs, mentoring opportunities and mental health care that tackle problems before they escalate. More police can only slow the bleeding. The deeper wound starts at home.
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We also have to change the culture around this conversation. Democrats often fear that talking about crime will make us sound punishable or “tough for crime” in a way that alienates progressive voters. But avoiding the problem only makes the communities that we claim to represent themselves.
A party that cannot talk fairly about public safety is a party that runs the risk of losing the trust of the public.
All children enter the world with equal value; Whoever becomes they depend on the opportunities, boundaries and expectations of the adults around them. That means parents, teachers, mentors and yes, policy makers.
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If we want a safer city, we have to invest, intervene and refuse harmful behavior to apologize, simply because the alternative makes us uncomfortable.
DC is worth fighting. But if we continue to avoid this conversation, someone else will have it for us and we may not think about their solution.
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