“Progressive” Liberals Remain Silent on Homan Square

By GRANT PHILLIPS

For over a decade, government enforcers kidnapped people deemed invalid and held them at a black-site location without due process or civil rights. Over 7,000 people came through the facility and less than 1% ever saw an attorney.

Does that sound like a story from a communist dictatorship? Nope. Chicago PD “disappears” people at a military-style compound known as Homan Square. A transparency lawsuit filed by The Guardian reveal the details that should abhor anyone concerned with human rights. Homan Square is a “secretive facility that Chicago police have described as little more than a low-level narcotics crime outpost where the mayor has said police ‘follow all the rules’”. Located between poor urban neighborhoods, a disproportionate number of detainees are black – 82%. Of the detainees, less than 1% see their attorney.

The Guardian’s report even indicates that minorities are targeted because they’re not educated on their civil rights. Whatever your philosophy, this should be considered a violation of human rights.

That got me thinking… where does the morally atoned “progressive” left stand on the matter? After all, black lives matter. I searched numerous liberal websites and found either weak reporting or nothing at all. Don’t worry, there are a million articles blaming capitalism for exploiting minorities.

President Barack Obama remains silent. So far, no speeches lamenting “if I had a son”. Mr. President, if you had a son, there’s a good chance Rahm Emanuel would have caged him for months without telling you about it. I don’t see any “politicizing” of Homan Square – unlike gun control. Minorities are kidnapped by the thousands and we “politicize” gun control. Turns out we should politicize government control. The selective outrage is a blatant political game.

So why the silence? Based on The Guardian’s report, Mayor Rahm Emanuel clearly knew about Homan Square. Could it be that a Democrat and former Obama advisor avoids scrutiny because of political connections? After all, we wouldn’t want a liberal mayor held responsible for kidnapping and caging minorities by the thousands.

I once criticized liberal’s narrow focus on “black lives matter” because of the political opportunities that retain party support. If I was suspicious then, I am certain now. A rogue city government now unjustly detains minorities by the thousands, yet liberals keep their mouths shut. As I said before, to liberals, black lives only matters when it fits a political narrative. It’s more important to retain the minority vote than criticize authoritarian leftists like Emanuel. Party image matters more than principled convictions.

When George Bush did the same thing to Islamists abroad, liberals were furious about human rights violations. But a Democrat mayor does it on US soil to US citizens? Deafening silence, and frankly the blind party loyalty is abhorrent. The party of “minority rights” doesn’t lift a finger in fear of criticizing one of their own. I wonder what would happen if Houston, TX were found to have their own Homan Square. Undoubtedly, the leftist social justice warriors would come out in droves.

Homan Square also makes clear the consequence of state-enforced morality, or anything else for that matter. Drug prohibition started as a noble endeavor, but now requires violent, gestapo tactics. Despite these tactics, it’s still fails any meaningful cost-benefit analysis. What should be a public health issue became a criminal justice issue. As a result, society manages drug use with threats of violence instead of medical care. That means arresting poor minorities who do not have legal resources.

Liberals should be calling for Rahm Emanuel’s indictment. Although we may disagree politically, I am disturbed to see such indifference from those who claim to protect minorities. Unhinged kidnapping happens on our own soil and liberals have nothing to say. As libertarians, Homan Square strengthens our message, especially to minorities, that we should always be wary of state-enforcement.