The Difference in Lancaster -- And Why?

 Lancaster is a small city (like 60,000) people in south central Pennsylvania.  It is also the site of the latest unrest over a police shooting.  Video shot by police body cameras shows the man who was shot running towards the police brandishing a knife.  Not surprisingly, the police shot him.  Of course, the immediate response was the usual one; it was racism.  Yes, RACISM!!  Police shot a black man, so it must be racist.

After the shooting, there was unrest in Lancaster.  It was a pale imitation of the sort of unrest we've seen in big cities like Minneapolis and elsewhere.  Still there was some arson and vandalism.  That continued even after the video showing the man running towards the police waiving his knife was released.  RACISM!!!  The facts didn't matter.  It was racist for the police to shoot a black man; they should have just gotten knifed.

What is different in Lancaster, though, is the local reaction to the uproar.  Last night in Lancaster, there were eight people arrested for rioting.  It seems as if the local police and city government have taken a stronger stand against the rioters than was the case in the bigger Democrat cities.  So why is that?

There seem to be a few differences in Lancaster that are worth pointing out.  

First, let's note one similarity.  The city's mayor is a Democrat.  Lancaster, however, is not a lop-sided Democrat locality where the mayor can feel safe in his or her job.  In fact, Lancaster is located in Lancaster County which has about half a million people.  It is strongly Republican; President Trump beat Hillary Clinton in 2016 in the county with around 60% of the vote.  The mayor in Lancaster can just do what she wants without it affecting her re-election chances.

Second, Lancaster is a much smaller city that hot spots like Portland, Seattle, Minneapolis etc.  The people in the city government likely know many of the people who were or would be affected by ongoing riots.  The impact of the actions by the "mostly peaceful protesters" (sorry, I couldn't resist) on the local population was clearly felt by the local politicians.  It was not some theoretical but impersonal impact like that felt by the other Democrats in the cities with unrest.

Third, there appears to be little question that the police acted properly.  When George Floyd died in Minneapolis due to drug overdose, that fact was not released for weeks.  Until then, there was just the video of the policeman with his foot on Floyd's neck.  It looked clearly like Floyd was the victim of police misconduct.  

Fourth, we are getting close to the election, and it has become rather clear that the people across the country do not like what they have seen with regard to the hands off treatment of rioters, looters and thugs.  

Hopefully, peace will be restored in Lancaster.  If the rioters continue to be taken off the streets, the end to the riot will come that much faster.