After weeks of speculation, it’s time for the invasion of Memphis. Pam, Pete WAR! and Stephen (new nickname I saw - Naziferatu) flew in this afternoon to kick off the operation. (I thought the air smelled sulphureous.) There have been members of the ABC agencies in town for several days. I don’t see that it got any national play, which must be disappointing for them. It just doesn’t have the pizazz you get from a war-torn Portland or Chicago. But I’m sure they hope they can get some violence out of it. Pam gave the cops permission to, well…
Stephen echoed this.
National Guard troops and vehicles were seen in a staging area.
Memphis is an interesting place to test out soldiers on American streets. It’s a blue city not only in a red state, but in a red county where 61% of the voters went for Trump in 2024. That says a lot since just 30% of the population of Memphis is white. The county below us in Mississippi is red. The county across the river in Arkansas is red. It goes without saying that all of those Republicans are thrilled with this.
I honestly don’t know what they expect is going to happen. You can put soldiers on the streets and, yes, crime will go down. That’s how it works in police states. But that does not solve the issues that lead to crime which will still be there when they leave. If they leave. Activists are talking about push-back but I don’t know what they plan to do. It could get ugly fast.
I guess we will see where this goes. I have no idea what’s in store.
I think the question I’d have is how/where the Tennessee state, and Shelby County authorities fit into all this.
I mean, except for pretty limited circumstances, the Federal law enforcement agencies don’t really have jurisdiction for most of those criminal acts that they’re talking about, and the NG has none at all. So it’s going to take cooperation by the county sheriffs, county DAs, and city police in order to actually do anything. And if as you say, Memphis is a blue city, then I suspect the city government will direct their cops to not get in the way, but not help either.
So in my estimation, it’s just more performative bullshit that doesn’t actually amount to anything. They’ll show up, puff out their chests, make a big show, and then claim that crime went down as a result, because as you say, with all that law enforcement, or at least uniformed presence, criminals will likely lay lower than usual.
But also, like you say, it’s not going to actually result in more arrests, convictions, or any fundamental change in the crime rate or reasons for crime. It’s like a city square with a bird problem; lead a pack of dogs through there, and the birds will clear out temporarily, but they’ll come right back, as you haven’t done anything to actually repel the birds in a longer-lived fashion.
I think it would be bad for the public to not have it be televised, but I wonder how Trump would react if the media just decided not to cover it at all. Would Trump keep this up if he wasn’t getting all this attention?