Tended vs untended behavior
The Atlantic article had been about tended, versus untended behavior. It had argued for the necessity of tending neighborhoods and the consequences of untended behavior. The article recommended replacing broken glass and improving neighborhoods.
ZERO TOLERANCE = Racism
Unfortunately Rudy Giuliani and others, interpreted "broken glass theory" to mean the proposition that unless you arrest people breaking windows and lock them up a long time, they commit worse crimes. It led to zero tolerance, 3 strikes and other laws that punished minor crimes. These policies targetted low status neighborhoods. People were arrested and murdered by police for selling cigarettes, one at a time. But no windows were fixed.
Tended behavior as antidote
Anyone who has raised children, been in a loving relation or grown a garden, knows that creating happiness takes work. A garden has to be tended. It has to be worked, sewn, weeded, trimmed, taken care of. Same with children and relationship. An untended garden quickly gets overgrown with weeds and the crops infected.
The analogy is so powerful its one of the first allegories in the bible. Tending others, neighborhoods, laws, whole countries, gives joy. Untended people kill their brother and carry around the mark of Cain.
My Sermon for the day.....
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