newYou can listen to the Fox News article!
Why are blacks and Hispanics favoring Republicans? Democratic strategists are desperate to know after a series of polls showed the beginnings of a political realignment. They might want to consider a conversation I recently had in a barn on Chicago’s South Side.
I found myself in that unfortunate situation last month when my daughter’s Jeep was stolen on the north side of the city. It happens all the time. The police found it a few days later and towed the thoroughly wrecked vehicle to a parking lot and I was told to pick it up.
I entered the main building and found myself in line with over 30 other people, all black and Hispanic except for me.
President Biden and former President Trump (Getty Images)
Being the friendly guy that I am, I struck up a conversation. Most of them told me it was their second or third time being here that week. When they first got to the front of the line, they were told they’d filled out the wrong form or gone to the wrong office and were directed to a different location. But eventually, they were put back in storage.
As Trump surges in polls, black voters rate Biden’s performance: ‘I’ll vote for Trump’
I found the story hard to believe, but after waiting an hour, the attendant told me that I had what the police told me I had, but I didn’t have the proper documents. He told me to go to my house to get the documents, which I did, and returned to the parking lot a few hours later.
The attendant told me to come to the front of the line when I returned, but when I got to the front, she yelled at me to wait my turn. The rest of the room — again filled with about 50 black and Hispanic people — erupted in laughter. But it was sympathetic laughter, not cruel. They knew I wasn’t trying to trick them. Many people quickly told me they’d experienced a similar 180-degree turn.
I dutifully got to the back of the line, sympathizing with those around me.
This whole thing took up most of my time on Monday. I think I spoke to at least half the people in the room. Recounting the struggle to get their belongings back, most of them said the same thing: “It’s a mess,” though in less family-friendly terms.
CNN analyst astonished by Trump’s surge in support among black voters: ‘It’s truly historic’
“It’s awful. This government-run facility treated its users with contempt. It was designed with the best of intentions, but it demoralized and dehumanized people. It’s a microcosm of so many public services, especially in predominantly black and Hispanic urban areas.”
While I struggled to get a car for my daughter, kids in inner-city public schools struggled to read, write, or do basic math. Just as it prevented me from having a productive day, the welfare system has prevented millions of people from finding productive work.
And just as many of the people I met that day were unable to earn a day’s wages because of waiting in line, politicians have prevented many low-income and low-skilled workers from earning a wage at all because of ever-higher minimum wage laws that eliminate entry-level jobs.
Pastor says Black voters flocking to Trump can no longer ‘afford’ to vote for Biden in 2024
The list goes on and on.
These failures are largely the fault of Democrats, who for decades have promised to help minorities advance.
The Left has created an alphabet soup of institutions, hiring armies of bureaucrats to administer new and expanded programs, while more and more people are left behind. Marriage rates are plummeting and single mothers are on the rise. Drug and financial addiction are rampant. Without access to a good education, many children turn to drugs and crime.
Minority communities are not the only victims, but they tend to be the hardest hit, and there are millions of minorities who thrive for a variety of reasons, not the least of which is America’s promise of limitless opportunity.
Click here to read more FOX News Opinion
But there’s no denying that, with government support and control, millions of blacks and Hispanics on Chicago’s South Side and far beyond still live in a near-dystopian world.
Everyone we spoke to in the queue at the depot was aware of the injustice of their situation. We asked some who was in charge, but most just raised their hands as if they couldn’t do anything. A few, however, expressed anger toward politicians, whom we generally avoided naming.
Their desire for better is palpable, and if history proves anything, it’s that the human heart craves achievement and excellence. History also proves that those who have been oppressed inevitably come to recognize who is oppressing them.
Click here to get the FOX News app
In retrospect, I wish I had tweaked the typical election-year question just a little bit — asked them if their lives had gotten better in the last 40 years instead of the last four — and they might have given me the same answer I’ve heard so many times: “It’s a mess.”
It’s no wonder blacks and Hispanics are turning to the Republican Party instead of the Democrats, who claim to help them but continue to hurt them.
To read more articles by John Tillman click here
