From KIRO radio personality Dori Monson:
Dori Monson: I'm finished with downtown Seattle
My heart is a little heavy because the city that I love, the city in which I grew up, the city where I've chosen to raise a family and make my livelihood, it's just done. I'm finished with Seattle.
Two weeks ago, we were talking to Seattle police about the area around Westlake Center. It's an area that has gotten completely out of control. There is rampant open weed smoking everywhere you look between Westlake and Pike Place. There's open drug dealing going on down there. There is all kinds of crime.
Considering recent events, I told Seattle police spokesman Sean Whitcom, "My wife and daughters and I, every single year, used to ride the carousel at Westlake and go see the Teddy Bear Suite at the Four Seasons. It was just part of our Christmas season every single year.
"We go to the one at Bellevue Square now because we will not go into downtown Seattle around Westlake. I don't think we're enforcing the laws against the criminals who are doing drugs and the like."
Whitcomb told me they were deploying more resources to the area to keep things under control during the busy holiday season and challenged me to give downtown Seattle another try.
"I want to challenge you to go downtown, give it a try at Westlake," Whitcomb said.
That was two weeks ago and then this weekend's big holiday shopping and tree lighting events were disrupted by protesters. Westlake Center had to shut down early on Black Friday. Five people were arrested. Seattle police couldn't handle it.
There is no way I would bring a family into downtown Seattle right now. The criminals have won. The gangs have won. The protesters are out of control.
Seattle police, Seattle Mayor Ed Murray, Kshama Sawant, they've all lost. But they refuse to do anything about it because it's the rabble-rousers that comprise their base. They don't dare stand up to the criminals and protesters who have taken over downtown Seattle because that is the element that got our politicians elected.
I'm reluctant to even call the people downtown protesters. They aren't protesters. These are losers. They don't have a core of fundamental beliefs in their lives. They just saw this as a way to vent their anger at the world, an anger inspired by the fact that they're losers to begin with.
Sad but true - Seattle was a wonderful town even ten years ago. The neighborhoods are still vibrant but there is rampant gentrification so the areas that were so much fun are now overpriced and all the interesting little stores have been priced out of business.
The 430+ comments echo his sentiments (with a few obligatory trolls)
