this post was submitted on 25 Dec 2023
171 points (97.2% liked)

Hacker News

1770 readers
1 users here now

This community serves to share top posts on Hacker News with the wider fediverse.

Rules0. Keep it legal

  1. Keep it civil and SFW
  2. Keep it safe for members of marginalised groups

founded 1 year ago
MODERATORS
 

There is a discussion on Hacker News, but feel free to comment here as well.

top 19 comments
sorted by: hot top controversial new old
[–] jennwiththesea 24 points 11 months ago (3 children)

I had no idea the violent crime rates had decreased to pre-pandemic levels. That's huge, and ofc none of the regular sources want to talk about something so positive.

[–] Viking_Hippie 13 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago) (1 children)

The pro-cop propaganda machine needs you to always be afraid of rising crime. It's how they keep literally getting away with murder.

Also how they trick people into electing corrupt authoritarians into office, even in places with largely progressive populations like Portland, New York and San Francisco.

[–] WhiteHawk 5 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Idk if it's that deep, negative news just sell better. It's the same problem everywhere else, including countries where police brutality is a non-issue.

[–] Viking_Hippie 4 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Idk if it's that deep,

It is. How else do you think they managed to get a fascist cop the DEMOCRAT nominee for mayor in New York where the population tends to be more left than most of the country AND distrusts cops more than the high average of the nation.

The New York Times, the NY Compost and most smaller legacy NY media outlets ran a gigantic pro-cop fearmongering campaign, convincing voters that Eric Adams was the only one who could save them from a gigantic rise in crime that wasn't actually happening.

[–] WhiteHawk 4 points 11 months ago (2 children)

Grand conspiracies are rarely the best explanation for anything

[–] [email protected] 3 points 11 months ago

Not all conspiracies require all parties to keep secrets. A lot of this stuff is done right out in the open.

[–] Viking_Hippie 2 points 11 months ago (1 children)

People and media outlets don't have to conspire in order to act in their own self interest. Scaremongering sells papers and cops grant access in return for positive coverage. The DNC rely on cop "unions" for votes and campaign contributions aka legal bribes.

That's not a conspiracy, that's just how yellow journalism, cronyism and an inherently corrupt political system work 🤷

[–] WhiteHawk -3 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Or maybe the media just fearmonger because that makes them the most money. People tend to click on negative news much more often than positive.

[–] Viking_Hippie 3 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago)

That's what I just said. Try re-reading the part about yellow journalism.

[–] SupraMario 11 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Here's one even better for you, our homicide rate is nearly half of what it was in the 70s and 80s and has been shrinking every year (pandemic being an outlier).

[–] MrClayman 2 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Actually? That’s great news!

[–] SupraMario 4 points 11 months ago

Yep, our homicide rate was like double what it was 70s/80s but way less televised. Now with 24/7 news and social media, it makes everyone feel like it's happening 24/7/365 right down the road from their homes. The media is breeding fear into people, because that's what gets the eyes on the ads revenue.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 11 months ago

Democrats are such shit at messaging. They should be shouting this from the rooftops.

[–] [email protected] 12 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Give it 30 years in states that ban abortions and see if the numbers go up.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 11 months ago

Maybe even 15 years

[–] FireTower 9 points 11 months ago

The crime rate going up or down is heavily dependent on how you shape the numbers. Crime might go up in Chicago one month while it goes down in LA. Homicides may decrease but identity thefts may grow. Crime in the 2020s might be on average higher than it was in the 2010s, but the COVID years are an outlier in the grand picture. New York could have no crimes tomorrow and their crime rate would be zero if you measure only over the span of a day.

People search for data to prove they are right rather than search for what their opinion should be.

The US is, and has been for decades, increasingly safer.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 11 months ago

This is the best summary I could come up with:


Crime in the United States has declined significantly over the last year, according to new FBI data that contradicts a widespread national perception that law-breaking and violence are on the rise.

A Gallup poll released this month found that 77% of Americans believe crime rates are worsening, but they are mistaken, the new FBI data and other statistics show.

Yet 92% of Republicans, 78% of independents and 58% of Democrats believe crime is rising, the Gallup survey shows.

The most recent annual report, released in October, covered 94% of the country and found that violent crime in 2022 fell back to pre-pandemic levels, with murder dropping 6.1%.

A few cities, including Memphis and Washington DC, are still seeing increases in their murder rates, but they are outliers.

Videos of flash mobs on shop lifting sprees or carjackings in broad day light are more ubiquitous, even if those crimes are not.


The original article contains 590 words, the summary contains 144 words. Saved 76%. I'm a bot and I'm open source!

[–] [email protected] 1 points 11 months ago

Smart - Can't have as much wage theft if wages are uncriminally below the poverty line.

[–] [email protected] -2 points 11 months ago

Idk, we got companies breaking labor laws left and right, former POTUS caught stealing docs from 338m citizens and police searching classrooms for contraband books daily.

Seems pretty crime-addled to me.