Thread by @davidminpdx

@EricLevitz Is anyone downplaying the seriousness of homicides? I see plenty of people trying to *contextualize the uptick in homicides. I see people wanting to have a serious discussion about crime rather than one grounded in fearmongering. 1/

@EricLevitz In NYC, homicides were up significantly last year. They are also down compared to *50* of the past 60 years. They are down 80% compared to their 90s height. And despite the homicide increase, violent crime is at/near a 40 year low. Shouldn’t that ALL be part of the discussion? 2/

@EricLevitz The idea that liberals don’t think an increase in homicide is important strikes me as real bullshit. Can you produce a single significant voice saying homicide increases are not a problem? 3/

@EricLevitz But it is entirely another matter to say we must accept the terrible naked decontextualized fearmongering crime dialogue that virtually every American newspaper (not to mention tv news) has been desperately pushing out over the past several months (and for decades). 4/

@EricLevitz The idea that breathless decontextualized fearmongering is the appropriate or inevitable relationship “objective journalism” ought to have towards crime increases is wrong and bad and unique to the era of mass incarceration. 5/

@EricLevitz Why can’t the responsible press EDUCATE us about crime rather than FEARMONGER us about it. Why can’t articles about homicides being up also point out that in some places they are historically still quite low and violent crime is exceedingly low? Why is fear the only mode? 6/

@EricLevitz Why can’t the press take into account the fact that prior to the recent uptick IT HAS BEEN DOING A VERY BAD JOB OF EDUCATING PEOPLE ABOUT CRIME. The press had left the American public DEEPLY IGNORANT and MISLED about crime. It has long been doing a VERY BAD JOB.

@EricLevitz This mode of fearmongering is not the inevitable role of the press. In earlier eras of American history the press frankly did TONS better. When governors used to temporarily release prisoners, including murderers, for Christmas furloughs, the press wrote glowing stories. 8/

@EricLevitz When some released prisoners absconded, the press didn’t fearmonger, they supported more releases! This of course is unthinkable today. BECAUSE THE PRESS IS SO TERRIBLE. But that terribleness is certainly not inevitable or the correct way to relate to crime. 9/

@EricLevitz All of this is to say, no one thinks murder is not a big deal and to frame it that way *is to be part of the problem.* Lets start from the premise that virtually EVERYONE – at least 99.9% of people in our culture – think murder is a big deal. 10/

@EricLevitz When you frame it as though there are significant number of people out there who don’t think murder is a problem you pimp a phony “tough on crime” style of politics that is what got us to this terrible place. 11/

@EricLevitz We all care about murder. The question is can we talk about it in a non-fearmongering way? Because as soon as the fearmongering begins our prospects for addressing it in smart, reasonable, thoughtful, evidence based ways significantly diminishes. 12/

@EricLevitz When the media acts like its been acting, we end up with an endless politics of fear. And the largest prison system in the history of the world. And we fail to meaningfully address the violence. 13/13