# How Do You Feel About The CHAZ / Seattle Take Over **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [June 12, 2020, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-feel-about-the-chaz-seattle-take-over/855551 "2020-06-12T17:55:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![octopus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/octopus/32/3716_2.png) [@octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/octopus)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2020, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-feel-about-the-chaz-seattle-take-over/855551/102 "2020-07-04T20:41:58Z")
Speaking of the financial impact of damages… Minnesota wants a bailout for the damages resulting from the complicity of the ‘leadership’ in that state as well. ---
**Author:** ![Deeg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/deeg/32/2955_2.png) [@Deeg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Deeg)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2020, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-feel-about-the-chaz-seattle-take-over/855551/103 "2020-07-05T03:45:32Z")
That’s better although as we’ve seen the SPD hasn’t been a reliable witness with regards to CHAZ. They claim to have received “numerous reports” but do they have any evidence? They’ve already had to backtrack once. But I do concede that if you want to believe that CHAZ was a firepit of hell then the SPD has given you an excuse to do so. I, however, do not swallow everything the government tells me so I’ll wait until they provide some supporting evidence. Maybe they will; enclaves like CHAZ often end up chaotic no matter the philosophy: liberal, libertarian, etc. God knows our current society is far from perfect but it mostly works. ---
**Author:** ![Deeg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/deeg/32/2955_2.png) [@Deeg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Deeg)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2020, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-feel-about-the-chaz-seattle-take-over/855551/104 "2020-07-05T13:59:49Z")
Here is an article that talks about the end of CHAZ/CHOP: [CHOP protesters envisioned a world without police -- but struggled to make it real | CNN](https://www.cnn.com/2020/07/05/us/chop-seattle-police-protesters-public-safety/index.html) It started off well enough but outside forces moved in and made it untenable. Homeless, mental illness, and (likely) gangs took advantage of the police-free area. One quote that illustrates how hard these things can be: The power of de-escalation was repeatedly tested. In the park, a man experiencing homelessness set up a grill in the tent city, and called it something like “Klay’s Kommunity Kitchen,” Madison said. “He wrote KKK in grease,” Madison said, “and he stood by that.” An angry crowd formed, and the security team had to figure out how to de-escalate it. They eventually got the crowd to disperse, got the man to shut down his grill and clean off the KKK, and then called in a mental health volunteer. “We tried to not be the police but keep the peace.” ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2020, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-feel-about-the-chaz-seattle-take-over/855551/105 "2020-07-05T14:39:00Z")
Interesting article. Thanks, **Deeg**. ---
**Author:** ![Deeg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/deeg/32/2955_2.png) [@Deeg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Deeg)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2020, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-feel-about-the-chaz-seattle-take-over/855551/106 "2020-08-07T14:26:57Z")
Here’s another follow-up, this time from the NY Times. There’s no “money quote” in the article to post here. A number of businesses are suing the city, saying they were abandoned and had to hire their own security. Guns were rampant and there was much intimidation. For now it appears that the truth was between Fox News (and conservative media) and the more liberal press. It wasn’t as violent as Fox portrayed but it also shows the pragmatic problems with “abolish the police”. The police exist because without them other groups will take advantage of the situation. There are many problems with police but they are (mostly) controlled by a democratic government; that’s better than groups not controlled by anyone. > **[Abolish the Police? Those Who Survived the Chaos in Seattle Aren’t So Sure...](https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/07/us/defund-police-seattle-protests.html)** > > What is it like when a city abandons a neighborhood and the police vanish? Business owners describe a harrowing experience of calling for help and being left all alone. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2020, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-feel-about-the-chaz-seattle-take-over/855551/107 "2020-08-10T16:33:11Z")
A good summary of then NYT article [here](https://whyevolutionistrue.com/2020/08/10/nyt-finally-gets-around-to-reporting-on-the-chaos-in-seattle/), for those on the wrong side of the paywall. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-feel-about-the-chaz-seattle-take-over/855551.md?page=5)