Let’s confound the race merchants

It’s fun being right.

It’s even more fun proving an adversary is wrong.

A rift between fellow Philly Democrats Congressman Kevin Boyle and city Councilman Isaiah Thomas presents an opportunity to confound my enemies.

Well, at least the jackasses who claim I am racist (cough, cough, Helen Gym and others) primarily because I oppose illegal imigration.

I oppose illegal immigration because, duh, it is illegal, and I am rightfully known as a law and order guy.

In this particular rift, it “seems” like Boyle is defending the cops and Thomas is opposed.

And — surprise, surprise — I side with the Black guy because the facts are on his side. 

In a tweet that was later pulled down, or not, Boyle said of Thomas’ plan, “In a city with a murder rate so out of control, he’s literally championing efforts to further restrict policing.”

Well, it’s not what it seems.

What Thomas wants to do, and I know this because I wrote about his plan  in November, is allow officers to stop pulling drivers over for minor Motor Vehicle Code violations. Instead, a warning or ticket would be mailed to the motorist.

This would have the same law-enforcement effect, but would produce fewer police/civilian contacts that could result in friction.

Police would continue to stop motorists for serious offenses and also for suspicion.

According to stats offered by Thomas, 97% of all vehicle stops between October 2018 and September 2019 in Philadelphia were for Motor Code Violations, not for criminal investigations. More than 70% of motorists stopped for MCVs were Black, while only 43% of Philadelphians are Black. You can draw your own conclusions, but unequal enforcement would have to be one of them.

Rightly or wrongly, Black people are often traumatized during stops, some fearing for their lives, says Thomas.

Why Thomas’ mild proposal would put such a bug up Boyle’s ass is a mystery, other than a lot of police officers live in his district.

But a few cops I spoke to said they’d be perfectly happy to just mail in this part of their job.

This, too, probably would confound the race merchants.