SouthernWorldwide.com – Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson, a democratic socialist, is facing online ridicule for the perceived “irony” of residents in the liberal city resorting to building barrier walls to combat escalating shootings.
Mere months after Wilson assumed office, residents in Seattle’s Aurora Avenue corridor, living in fear, took proactive measures to address near-nightly shootings. These incidents are suspected to be linked to criminal turf wars, prostitution, and illegal trafficking.
Following weeks of gang-related gunfire and high-speed car chases, some residents utilized the Memorial Day weekend to physically block off their own streets. They employed materials such as metal planters, dirt, gravel, logs, and concrete chunks to construct barricades.
These makeshift barriers were strategically placed to obstruct access to at least three streets within the neighborhood. While such actions could potentially lead to fines, one resident, Peter Orr, conveyed the severity of the situation to KTVB 7.
“It’s either this, or bullets in my neighbor’s houses,” Orr stated, highlighting the desperate circumstances driving their actions.
News of these neighborhood barricades in Seattle has ignited criticism of Wilson’s policies on social media.
Conservative commentator Paul Szypula pointed out the “Undeniable” irony of the situation on X.
“When progressive policies result in neighborhoods literally barricading themselves off… that says everything,” he wrote. He further questioned what Seattle leaders should be doing to prevent residents from feeling compelled to take such measures.
The popular conservative account Libs of TikTok sarcastically remarked, “Seattle residents are now building WALLS on their blocks to keep out criminals.”
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Commentator Eric Daugherty expressed his astonishment, posting, “Furious blue city residents in Seattle are now building their OWN BARRICADES to BLOCK streets because shootings are so high Omg. This is MADNESS.”
“The socialist mayor is IGNORING IT,” he added, concluding, “BLUE CITIES ARE COOKED!”
Constitutional analyst Jonathan Turley commented, “Nothing says socialism more than citizen barricades.”
He humorously likened the situation to characters in “Les Miserables,” stating, “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.”
Mayor Wilson, who was sworn into office in January, had previously expressed support for the “defund the police” movement in a 2020 opinion piece, writing that “there’s never been a better time to try.”
In that piece, Wilson suggested that “there’s a strong argument for simply disbanding police departments and starting over,” citing the difficulty of achieving institutional culture change.
“Leaving aside debates on the left about whether police abolition is possible under capitalism, or at all, let’s stick with the current movement demand of cutting the SPD [Seattle Police Department] budget by half. That’s 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 — and often, unsurprisingly, cause harm,” she had written.
However, as mayor, Wilson has not pursued a halving of the police budget. She has responded to recent shootings by initiating a “multi-pronged gun violence strategy.” This strategy involves convening an expert panel to aid the city in reducing retaliatory shootings, addressing youth violence, and improving coordination between law enforcement, schools, and community organizations.
Wilson has placed a pause on the expansion of the city’s CCTV surveillance and license plate reader programs pending a privacy audit. Concurrently, existing police camera systems in high-crime areas, including the Aurora Avenue corridor, are being maintained.
