Seattle democratic socialist Mayor Katie Wilson is being mocked online over the “irony” of residents in the blue-run city erecting barrier walls in a desperate attempt to stop out-of-control shootings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Just months after Wilson took office in Seattle, terrified residents in the city\u2019s Aurora Avenue corridor decided to take matters into their own hands to address near-nightly shootings believed to be connected to criminal turf wars, prostitution and illegal trafficking. After weeks of gang-related shootings and high-speed car chases, some residents spent Memorial Day weekend blocking off their own streets using metal planters, dirt, gravel, logs and chunks of concrete. The barricades were set up to block at least three streets leading into the neighborhood.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Though such artifices could incur fines, one resident named Peter Orr told KTVB 7, “It\u2019s either this, or bullets in my neighbor\u2019s houses.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
News of the neighborhood barricades in Seattle has garnered scorn for Wilson\u2019s policies online.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Among these was conservative commentator Paul Szypula, who wrote on X, “The Irony is Undeniable.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“When progressive policies result in neighborhoods literally barricading themselves off\u2026 that says everything,” he wrote, adding, “What should Seattle leaders be doing so residents don\u2019t feel forced to do this?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Popular conservative account Libs of TikTok mocked, “Seattle residents are now building WALLS on their blocks to keep out criminals.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Commentator Eric Daugherty posted, “Furious blue city residents in Seattle are now building their OWN BARRICADES to BLOCK streets because shootings are so high Omg. This is MADNESS.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“The socialist mayor is IGNORING IT,” he added. “BLUE CITIES ARE COOKED!”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Constitutional analyst Jonathan Turley wrote, “Nothing says socialism more than citizen barricades.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He mocked, “In this case, Les Miserables are seeking to protect their property. After electing a mayor who once called for the defunding of police, Seattle neighborhoods are reverting to self-help measures.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Wilson, who was sworn into office this January, wrote in a 2020 opinion piece about the defund the police effort that “there\u2019s never been a better time to try.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the piece, Wilson posited “there\u2019s a strong argument for simply disbanding police departments and starting over,” reasoning that “institutional culture change is hard.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“Leaving aside debates on the left about whether police abolition is possible under capitalism, or at all, let\u2019s stick with the current movement demand of cutting the SPD [Seattle Police Department] budget by half. That\u2019s a lot of officers. It may sound alarming, until you realize that U.S. police perform numerous functions for which armed personnel, trained for violent conflict, are unnecessary or unsuited \u2014 and often, unsurprisingly, cause harm,” she wrote.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As mayor, however, Wilson has not moved to cut the police by half. She has responded to recent shootings by launching a “multi-pronged gun violence strategy,” in which she convened a panel of experts to help the city reduce retaliatory shootings, address youth violence and coordinate efforts between police, schools and community groups.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Wilson has paused expansion of the city\u2019s CCTV surveillance and license plate reader programs pending a privacy audit, while maintaining existing police camera systems in high-crime areas, including the Aurora Avenue corridor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n