Crime and Punishment (?)

You recall the old adage about how a conservative is a former liberal who got mugged? Case in point…

Shivanthi Sathanandan, the 2nd Vice Chairwoman for the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party, posted on Facebook Wednesday that she was “violently carjacked” by “four very young men, all carrying guns.”

At the height of the George Floyd riots in June 2020, Sathanandan wrote Facebook posts supporting efforts to “dismantle” the police. “We are going to dismantle the Minneapolis Police Department. Say it with me. DISMANTLE. The. Minneapolis. Police. Department,”.

Ms. Sathanandan (gender and she/her pronouns assumed) had quite a different point of view after her recent ‘road to Damascus’ incident.

We need to get illegal guns off of our streets, catch these young people who are running wild creating chaos across our city and HOLD THEM IN CUSTODY AND PROSECUTE THEM. PERIOD.”

There was a picture of the poor woman’s bloody head, which I did not include here. We try to keep thing light and humorous on the Rich Freggiaro Cycling Blog. She also claimed to have a broken leg, cuts and lacerations, and feeling “rage” against the lack of accountability against criminals. Welcome to my team, Ms. Sathanandan!

On a much lighter note, but closer to home, there is this:

Residents of the Spanos Park West and Westlake Village neighborhoods in Stockton were in for a rude awakening Thursday morning. Many reported vehicles along the neighborhoods with their tires missing.

For my readers all over the US and Europe (there is at least one ‘across the pond’) Spanos Park is a pretty upmarket part of Stockton. You might expect a car parked off of 8th street or El Dorado Street south of the Crosstown Freeway to be missing a few parts after sitting out over night. But not in Spanos Park .

Residents noted that most of the cars targeted were Hondas.

Stoker and I have owned nothing but Honda cars since we got married, and so far our tires have remained in place. But the catalytic converter on my Honda Element was stolen a few years ago. It’s hard to imagine a more staid, white bread (oops, was that a micro-aggression?) car brand. But apparently white bread is popular among car thieves: according to The Zebra website.

The most stolen car of the past decade is the Honda Accord.

I am aware that the Stockton Police Department is understaffed, But I still expected a more aggressive response than this tepid press release:

Police suggest that all residents take precautions and are asking people to keep their outdoor lights on to assist in capturing footage, use their parking garages if possible, and remain vigilant.

Yes, by all means remain vigilant. If you see something report it immediately. No officer will respond since no one was injured, and you will be directed to a web site to file a report. Then even if by some incredible lucky chance the police identify the thieves, what are the odds charges will be filed or that anyone will do any jail time?

Poor Ms. Sathanandan’s experience was extreme, but I imagine going out to your parked car and finding the wheels missing might cause some ‘defund the police’ politicians and citizens and non-citizens to rethink their position.