Enabling criminals and calling it “criminal justice reform” is dangerous for everyone involved — even for the pro-criminal advocates themselves. Chaos, after all, tends to have a dark sense of humor.
Oakland bakery owner Jen Angel, a “long-time social movement activist and anarchist,” as described by her loved ones on a GoFundMe page, was brutally killed earlier this year. Two thieves smashed her car window, stole her purse, and drove off. Angel chased the car and got caught in the door, leading to her being dragged 50 feet.
CRIME IS JUST A ‘BASIC CITY EXPERIENCE’ IN SAN FRANCISCO
Angel’s loved ones said that they did not want the men who killed her to receive jail time, because it would only “perpetuate more harm.” They get some credit for sticking to principle but the story does not end there. On Sunday, a friend of Angel’s was on her way across the bay to attend a memorial service for Angel that was to center on her commitment to “restorative justice.” That friend was jumped by two teenage girls who shoved her to the ground, stomped and kicked her head and face, and stole her bag and cell phone.
So a woman who was on her way to anarchist baker Jen Angel’s restorative justice memorial (she was murdered in a robbery) got curb stomped and robbed by two teenage girls. What is this world coming to? pic.twitter.com/5LHTdEGKDb
— EIE (@enuffisenuffla) May 9, 2023
To paraphrase Irving Kristol, a conservative is a liberal who has been mugged by reality. So what happens to social justice activists who get mugged by the criminals they fight to keep out of jail?
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The dark irony of this saga lays bare the consequences of listening to those who would have criminals run free in society. Criminals do not care whether you are a social justice activist or not. They do not care if you support “restorative justice.” They are predators who see you as a target. And when they realize they face no real consequences for going after you, thanks to the very criminal justice reforms that you support, they will attack and harm you.
Some activists might be okay with that, as it appears Angel and her activist friends are. (Although she wasn’t okay enough to let those robbers just take her purse and go, apparently). But just because those people want to live their lives as easy targets for criminals, it doesn’t mean everyone should be forced to share in their suffering. City leaders and voters do not need to listen to these people. It’s not like the criminals do.
