I lived in Minneapolis for a while. “Broken” is the right word. It’s interesting that this city, out of all the big US cities, should be such a hotbed for SJW insanity but if I had to guess why, I’d say it’s a combination of:
“Minnesota Nice,” the Nordic/Lutheran/Midwestern attitude of live and let live, which in practice is often, grin and bear it, don’t complain, let them walk all over you because it’s better than causing a fuss. As a non-native I often called this “Minnesota Weakness” :D
The old mistake of thinking “I’m liberal and they’re liberal so we should support each other!” This causes the centrist/center-left majority to think they ought to support BLM, 5:30 am calls to prayer, etc. because they’re support fellow “blue team” people, when of course the support only goes one way, the extremists don’t support the centrists in return.
Fear. The dark folk got REALLY MAD three years ago and set whole city blocks on fire. No one wants to touch off that spark again. More generally, one wants to be labeled racist, or in other contexts sexist, anti-Muslim, whatever, so nobody is willing to give even a half-hearted counter argument to whatever the “oppressed” groups are demanding. (See the linked article where Muslims are pressed at the very idea that they had to “ask” permission to blast noise at 5:30 am rather than simply asserting their right to do so).
Democratic capture of the state institutions. Minneapolis is hopelessly Democratic, I think the city council is literally 100% D or at least has been in the past. But that’s typical for a big city. What’s different in Minnesota compared to other similar states is the total dominance of team D at the state government level. MN as a whole is swung to the D side just enough (thanks largely to the huge population of the Twin Cities) that it’s very difficult to imagine the governorship going R, and the governor appoints the appellate court judges and Supreme Court justices so it’s difficult to imagine the judiciary being anything but far left. This full, continuous capture of the power in the state is not present in Wisconsin, to name one example, or in other similar states.
So in Minneapolis you have the usual D-leaning urban population, but it’s one that is 1. Weak-willed; 2. Wants to be “allies;” 3. Afraid; and 4. Not held in check by a balance of power in state institutions above them that could step in and halt any extreme measures.
It’s not surprising at all that the latest version of race madness touched off here. All the above factors are of a type to ensure no one would have the guts to stop rioters. It’s going to continue to get worse in Minneapolis. Crime is on the rise and even liberal-minded people (who aren’t complete danger-haired activists) tell me they do not consider the city a safe place to be anymore. 100 years from now, the situation in Minneapolis will probably be studied as a way to understand the insanity of 21st century leftism in microcosm.
I lived in Minneapolis for a while. “Broken” is the right word. It’s interesting that this city, out of all the big US cities, should be such a hotbed for SJW insanity but if I had to guess why, I’d say it’s a combination of:
“Minnesota Nice,” the Nordic/Lutheran/Midwestern attitude of live and let live, which in practice is often, grin and bear it, don’t complain, let them walk all over you because it’s better than causing a fuss. As a non-native I often called this “Minnesota Weakness” :D
The old mistake of thinking “I’m liberal and they’re liberal so we should support each other!” This causes the centrist/center-left majority to think they ought to support BLM, 5:30 am calls to prayer, etc. because they’re support fellow “blue team” people, when of course the support only goes one way, the extremists don’t support the centrists in return.
Fear. The dark folk got REALLY MAD three years ago and set whole city blocks on fire. No one wants to touch off that spark again. More generally, one wants to be labeled racist, or in other contexts sexist, anti-Muslim, whatever, so nobody is willing to give even a half-hearted counter argument to whatever the “oppressed” groups are demanding. (See the linked article where Muslims are pressed at the very idea that they had to “ask” permission to blast noise at 5:30 am rather than simply asserting their right to do so).
Democratic capture of the state institutions. Minneapolis is hopelessly Democratic, I think the city council is literally 100% D or at least has been in the past. But that’s typical for a big city. What’s different in Minnesota compared to other similar states is the total dominance of team D at the state government level. MN as a whole is swung to the D side just enough (thanks largely to the huge population of the Twin Cities) that it’s very difficult to imagine the governorship going R, and the governor appoints the appellate court judges and Supreme Court justices so it’s difficult to imagine the judiciary being anything but far left. This full, continuous capture of the power in the state is not present in Wisconsin, to name one example, or in other similar states.
So in Minneapolis you have the usual D-leaning urban population, but it’s one that is 1. Weak-willed; 2. Wants to be “allies;” 3. Afraid; and 4. Not held in check by a balance of power in state institutions above them that could step in and halt any extreme measures.
It’s not surprising at all that the latest version of race madness touched off here. All the above factors are of a type to ensure no one would have the guts to stop rioters. It’s going to continue to get worse in Minneapolis. Crime is on the rise and even liberal-minded people (who aren’t complete danger-haired activists) tell me they do not consider the city a safe place to be anymore. 100 years from now, the situation in Minneapolis will probably be studied as a way to understand the insanity of 21st century leftism in microcosm.
CHAZ speed run this state.