Who knows what is actually in people's heads....
There was a fascinating thread on NextDoor, in which people wrote in bemoaning the increase in my neighborhood in crime, graffiti, groups of people shooting up drugs & playing loud music at 2 am, etc. There was a post to the effect that it was all Trump's fault.
I wrote in pointing out that the mayor and council of this city have far more responsibility for this state of affairs than Trump possibly could, given who actually is in charge here. The responses were hysterical. Entirely consistent with people who firmly believe that 2 + 2 does not equal 4. Here's one of my favorites:
The three examples you gave (bail reform, ending broken windows, not keeping as many people in Rikers) are not making our city worse. They're stopping our city from disproportionately punishing poor people and/or people of color.
There are a lot of mistakes De Blasio has made, and I'm not exactly a fan of his, but police, prison, and bail reform all help to protect ALL members of our our community rather than just a chosen few.
I did not bother responding...though I would like to ask just how these measures are protecting us, and how these people would explain the runup in crime. Well I already had the answer to that last one...see above.
If these are the people who are dominating in NYC elections, then geez....our city really is doomed. The good news is that my neighborhood is faring much better than neighborhoods like the Upper West Side, and I heard that was true in the 1980s as well.