This Isn't Just about Criminal Justice Reform

The real story is the decay of civilization. It is just that everyone is trying desperately to avoid looking at that reality. Child shooting deaths in New York reignite debate over criminal justice reform plan | Fox News

In 2022, nearly 150 shooting victims younger than 18 died in New York City, which is about a 100% increase over a five-year period, New York Police Department data showed. Now, lawmakers on both sides of the aisle are sounding the alarm over the lack of criminal justice reform.

Say it again. A 100% increase in juvenile deaths. Some are focusing on criminal justice "reforms" enacted by New York State. That "reformed" the system because making sure people face consequences for bad actions is unfair. The Left will no doubt double down on gun control

But consider this story from the NY Post: NYC 13-year-old charged with murdering teen Nyheem Wright in fight over girl.

A 13-year-old accused killer has been charged with murdering an older Brooklyn teen during an after-school fight over a girl, cops said Monday.

Two other teenage boys were busted in the heinous crime as well, charged with assault and gang-assault raps, police said.

Do you think this would have turned out differently if 3 guys attacked a 4th guy with knives, or clubs? For that matter, what were you doing at 13? I'm guessing that assault and murder weren't on the agenda, but I've been wrong before.

The real question is, "Why are kids doing a live reenactment of Lord of the Flies?" Why don't they know that some things are right, and others are wrong? Do they believe in the existence of Good and Evil, or do they only believe that the most important things in the universe are their feelings?

The criminal justice reforms (so called) enacted in New York are stupid, and should be fixed. (Dems are refusing - they don't have enough data.) The more distressing situation is the collapse of civilized behavior. Fixing one of those should be easy. Changing the other may not even be possible at this point.

Civilization was nice while it lasted.

This seems like a good place to reference William Butler Yeats's "Second Coming" from 1919.

Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,
The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere
The ceremony of innocence is drowned;

Click that link for the full text.