Reading Between the Lyin's: "Rochester is Unequivocally Safe!"

Let's face it, most politicians and elected officials are boldfaced liars.

We are not talking about "little white lies" to make people comfortable or not to offend, because everyone does that.

People do not like hearing the truth and only want to hear your opinions if they concur with theirs.

We are talking about BIG lies that distort the truth and really have no relation to reality.

Politicians lie big time to get themselves elected to public office, then they continue to lie to make themselves popular in order to win re-election.

They are facilitated in their political lying by their public relations people, who put a spin on deliberate untruths to make them appear "real," to calm down the voting populace, so people won't think that things aren't as bad as they really are.

Case in point is one of the latest pronouncements made by Rochester's current mayor, Malik Evans.

Evans, wuss-like and bland, effectively won the Democratic primary early last summer, which determined his "victory" in the general election in November.

He won only because the voters wanted then-mayor Lovely Warren out, and he was the means to that end.

Rochester didn't have the moral courage to attempt a write-in campaign for another candidate, as did Buffalo, so Evans won because he was the only candidate.

Despite desperate attempts by the local liberal news media to create a positive image for Evans, he remains not particularly popular or much liked.

He knows this, and immediately began to "take steps," which didn't increase his already fragile popularity.

Once ensconced on the mayoral throne, he proceeded to silence the most popular member of the Rochester Police Department, Captain Frank Umbrino.

Captain Umbrino is the most honest member of the City's administration, telling hard truths about the staggering increase in crime and homicides in Rochester.

If not politically correct, he was truthful when speaking to the press about whatever latest violent crime and/or homicide incidents occurred here.

Evans could not stomach Umbrino's popularity, so he silenced him by proclaiming that Umbrino would no longer be holding press conferences.

Anti-cop Evans could not bear the truth being spoken about how dangerous and crime-ridden Rochester had become, and how ineffective the administration was in dealing with it.

Most elected officials begin by not knowing the truth and end by not wanting to know it. Evans is a prime example of this type of politician. 

And that type is legion.

Then Evans promptly absorbed all of the city's anti-crime programs under the direct control of the mayor's office, which seemed rather stupid, since none of them have ever been particularly successful in the past and this action guarantees that their continued failures will be his failures.

He will have his Communications Czar do spin control on that.

And the bland little man was letting his ego overrule common sense.

But one of the stupidest things done by Evans was his pronouncement that Rochester was "unequivocally safe."

This was the biggest lie he has told so far, because Rochester is most definitely NOT safe.

2021 was a record-breaking year for homicides in Rochester. Per capita we became the deadliest city in the state and the nation, and we are only a medium sized city, not a New York City or a Chicago.

Non-fatal shootings, stabbings and assaults increased horrifically in Rochester, while the anti-cop attitude of the Warren Administration continues in the Evans regime.

It is this attitude towards law enforcement that has caused RPD's police officers to seek early retirement or quit and go to less abusive and unsupportive cities and towns elsewhere, leaving our police department understaffed and angry.

In little more than the three weeks Evans has occupied the mayoral throne, we've already seen three (possibly four) homicides, numerous shootings (in which a child was shot), stabbings, assaults and carjackings. Some of these occurred in what were formerly regarded as "safe" and "quiet" neighborhoods, not the crime-ridden areas of the ghetto.

Not that Evans cares.

But, to assuage the fears of an increasingly dissatisfied populace, he attempted to do some spin control, using the acting chief of police as his mouthpiece.

Acting Police Chief David Smith, a holdover from the Warren Administration until Evans completes his national search to find Smith's replacement, almost simpered when he stated that while violent crimes were up (we knew that already), non-violent crimes were down!

Isn't that wonderful?

No, it isn't.

It is the violent crimes, continuing unabated, that are killing our city, ruining our quality of life and angering the populace when it is clear that our public safety is the least of this administration's concern.

There is no way Evans could spin this in a positive manner, because it was really insulting.

Some of the homicide victims were cases of mistaken identity. Some were innocent bystanders. These are the frightening incidents, where people who are simply minding their own business die for no reason at all, since they were not the real targets.

This is what is frightening, forcing more and more people to rush away from public venues and lock themselves away in their homes for fear of becoming a victim on the streets, only to become victims of home invasions if their dwellings aren't secure enough.

Yes, Rochester is "unequivocally safe"...if you can endure a siege mentality.

Liar, liar, pants on fire!

Undoubtedly there will be more pants burning as the Evans regime progresses.