I don’t know if you celebrate the Lunar New Year. That is not something that is a part of my culture, so I went years before ever knowing that there was such a thing as a Lunar New Year. Many of my neighbors celebrated it. Although I suspect that was because it was legal to set off fireworks at that time, and Lord knows Utahns enjoy a good explosion. Or maybe their families have been celebrating the Lunar New Year for centuries. It was late, and I didn’t care.
I don’t know what Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s cultural heritage may be, but she turned out to celebrate it this year by dancing in the streets and shaking her groove thing in the Windy City.
She does know that the mayoral election is closing in fast, right? And that she has nine challengers for her job? Maybe this was an ill-fated publicity stunt suggested by her P.R. people. Or maybe she is so clueless and entitled that at this point she really doesn’t care. After all, no one should be surprised that a Democrat is going to win the race, and as a black lesbian, Lightfoot probably feels that she is the natural choice. And I have no problem with black lesbians running things, so long as they are competent and have their constituents’ best interests at heart. Neither of these would seem to apply to Lightfoot.
As The Daily Mail noted, crime is through the ceiling in Chicago; it hit a 25-year high in 2021. And the once-great retail district known as the Magnificent Mile is now little more than a ghost town. NBC Chicago reported that Old Navy shuttered its downtown location on January 24, following in the footsteps of Banana Republic, Macy’s, Gap, Uniqlo, and Timberland. The vacancy rate is six times higher than in 2016. The riots following the George Floyd incident did not help, nor did Lightfoot’s heavy-handed approach to COVID-19, which affected everyone but her, apparently.
Related: Why Isn’t ‘Gun Violence’ as Bad in Indianapolis as Chicago?
Twitter also took notice. American Wire had some samples of the reactions:
Since @chicagosmayor's term began, Chicago has suffered 2,278 homicides and over 9,000 shot.
Since January 1, the city has endured 41 homicides and 194 shot.
Yet here Lightfoot is blissfully dancing and asking voters to return her to office.
Lightfoot is detached from reality. pic.twitter.com/uEbL5R9s1m
— Chicago Contrarian (@ChicagoContrar1) January 29, 2023
SHOCKING FOOTAGE of Chicago's State Street that used to be THAT GREAT STREET but isn't so great after four years of @LoriLightfoot #reporterwilliamjkelly pic.twitter.com/055FKcH7d6
— Reporter William J. Kelly #thatreporter (@Williamjkelly) January 24, 2023
It seems that once the dem leeches get in, no matter how bizarre, nothing gets them out until they can't run again. Deblasio was the perfect example of that. https://t.co/ZkBMYQeg35
— Peter (@Peter54383854) January 30, 2023
And that’s not even the full inventory of the comments.
One of the problems with power is that it attracts people for whom power is their only interest. It can bring out the worst in humanity, as the person who pursues it convinces themselves that by virtue of their stated ideals, they are the perfect person for the job. Having the job becomes more important than doing the job. They abandoned servanthood in order to be served. Lightfoot has been quoted as saying that she wants to finish the job she started. I’m not sure if Chicago can survive that.
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