What the Hell Is Charlotte’s Mayor, Vi Lyles, Talking About?

I am in utter shock at the reaction I have seen from Charlotte’s mayor, Vi Lyles, to the gruesome murder that took place in the city for which she is responsible. I simply do not understand it. Lyles sounds — quite literally — as if she is a hostage, who, whether as the result of political pressure or corrupt ideology, has been forced to utter sentences that focus on the wrong things, that make no sense on their own terms, and that, if taken seriously, will lead inexorably to the same thing happening again. Reading her comments, I was reminded of that moment in The Truman Show when Jim Carrey’s character looks around and asks, incredulously, “What the hell has that got to do with anything?” Who is Lyles talking to? Why is she saying what she is saying? And why is the press playing along, as if the important story here is the Americans who are horrified rather than the politicians who are not?

Lyles was keen to propose that “we will never arrest our way out [of] issues such homelessness and mental health.” That’s nonsense. The guy who committed this crime had been arrested over and over and over again — including for assault, breaking and entering, robbery with a dangerous weapon, and communicating threats. He had resisted arrest. He had failed to appear in court. He had been caught multiple times in possession of a firearm — which his status as a felon prohibited. If, instead of being out on the streets, he had been in prison, this would not have happened. Or, to put it another way: If the authorities had done their jobs, they could absolutely have “arrested their way out of” this murder.

About the Author

Charles C. W. Cooke

Charles C. W. Cooke is a senior editor at National Review and the host of The Charles C. W. Cooke Podcast.

Featured Tags

I am in utter shock at the reaction I have seen from Charlotte’s mayor, Vi Lyles, to the gruesome murder that took place in the city for which she is responsible. I simply do not understand it. Lyles sounds — quite literally — as if she is a hostage, who, whether as the result of political pressure or corrupt ideology, has been forced to utter sentences that focus on the wrong things, that make no sense on their own terms, and that, if taken seriously, will lead inexorably to the same thing happening again. Reading her comments, I was reminded of that moment in The Truman Show when Jim Carrey’s character looks around and asks, incredulously, “What the hell has that got to do with anything?” Who is Lyles talking to? Why is she saying what she is saying? And why is the press playing along, as if the important story here is the Americans who are horrified rather than the politicians who are not?

Lyles was keen to propose that “we will never arrest our way out [of] issues such homelessness and mental health.” That’s nonsense. The guy who committed this crime had been arrested over and over and over again — including for assault, breaking and entering, robbery with a dangerous weapon, and communicating threats. He had resisted arrest. He had failed to appear in court. He had been caught multiple times in possession of a firearm — which his status as a felon prohibited. If, instead of being out on the streets, he had been in prison, this would not have happened. Or, to put it another way: If the authorities had done their jobs, they could absolutely have “arrested their way out of” this murder.