Ohio politicians use Cincinnati fight for their agenda, ignoring tougher issues

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2 days ago

Don't be fooled by politicians outraged about the ugly, viral brawl that left Cincinnati with a shiner so big the entire nation noticed.
Vice President JD Vance, Ohio gubernatorial candidate Viviek Ramasamy, and U.S. senators Bernie Moreno and Jon Husted of Ohio aren't upset about the incident that also drew criticism to Columbus and other large American cities.
The July 26 downtown Cincinnati fight that sent two to the hospital with non-life-threatening but shocking injuries was awful, but it was far from an example of the worst crime problems communities here or around the nation face.
You wouldn't know that listening to Vance and the rest. That is by design and follows a very old playbook.
The Cincinnati victims are White. The suspects are Black.
Our Republican leaders' and possible future governor's collective outrage against it is "smart" but divisive politics that builds on a long tradition of freaking White people out about the scary Black uprising overtaking larger American cities.
Hell, it traces back beyond slavery, it is so old.
The rhetoric is shameful, but there are more substantial consequences.
The political games played by Vance, Ramaswamy, Moreno and Husted distract from the real conversations about violence that should happen in Cincinnati, Columbus and elsewhere in Ohio.
Ohio politicians rather finger-wag than put forth real policy
Why push for policies that improve the lives of Ohioans when you can race-bait and shake your finger at political opponents at the same time?
Crime is an easy target against Democratic mayors of Ohio's large cities, but it isn't the problem of only Democratic mayors of large Ohio cities.
Ohio's representatives in Washington — Vance included — should be working for solutions.
Ohio Gov.. Mike DeWine, a Republican, gets that complaining about an issue is no solution.
Cincinnati Mayor Aftab Pureval has accepted help from the governor's that includes traffic enforcement to free up police, data analysis of where crime happens and the use of a helicopter for criminal suspect searches, and vehicle pursuit mitigation from the Ohio State Highway Patrol.
It would be too much like work to push for policies that address the bevy of real problems that impact Ohio communities, big and small.
Take gun violence and domestic violence, for instance.
As bad as the Cincinnati fight was, no soul was lost.
Gun violence is a real issue in Ohio
According to Johns Hopkins University, guns were the leading cause of death among children and teens in 2022. There were 1,831 deaths that year, including 102 children. According to the report, 1,046 of those gun deaths were suicides and 738 were homicides.
The prior year, there were 155 domestic violence-related homicides in Ohio. Nearly 70% were by firearm.
In a press release, Moreno announced that the U.S. attorney general has launched an FBI investigation into the Cincinnati brawl, even though it was already being prosecuted in the Queen City.
Wouldn't it be nice if he were as passionate about advocating for gun violence victims?
For instance, where was the outrage when 17-year-old Cameron Moore was killed and five others were wounded in a mass shooting at a July 4 house party on Columbus' Southeast Side?
So much more could be done to keep guns out of the wrong hands, and people want those in power to do something.
Opinion: Are thugs ruining date nights in Columbus? JD Vance says so. What do you say?
Poll after poll shows that Ohioans from all political persuasions overwhelmingly support gun policies like mandatory background checks, red flag laws, safe storage laws and training for concealed carry.
There are solutions to gun violence but our leaders on the state and national levels do not have the will to push for them.
It is easier and smarter to stoke fear.
Through their statements and social media posts, they conjure images of "lawless thugs" enabled by Democratic city leaders like Cincinnati Mayor Aftab Pureval, who, according to them, lean so far to the left that they are barely upright.
Pureval is considered one of the few stars in Ohio's politically weak Democratic Party. Of course, he's a target.
Pureval should have jumped ahead of the scandal. Part of a mayor's responsibility is to create safe environments for people in their cities.
People were hurt, and the city's reputation — at least in the short term — was damaged.
That doesn't change the fact that Vance, Moreno and the rest are using it to feed fear and score points with online trolls.
What's not happening in Columbus
Asked about the fight during a press conference in Canton, Vance's memory has to be jogged to remember that Moreno sent him a clip of a video.
He then launched into a baseless rant about lawless thugs in great American cities, ignoring the fact that violent crime is down in most Ohio cities.
"How many of you all have wanted to go to downtown Akron or downtown Canton or downtown Columbus for a meal, but you're worried because the local authorities in these big cities have allowed lawlessness to run wild? We have got to make great American cities safe again for families and children," Vance said.
The Cincinnati resident might as well have said, Black city thugs beat up White people trying to enjoy a night on the town. "They are ruining date night in Columbus."
His assertions do not match facts.
Opinion: Asking kids about guns in their homes helps save lives
Murder and non-negligent manslaughter decreased by 11.6% nationally in 2023 compared to the previous year, according to the FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting Program. Aggravated assaults were down nearly 3%.
There have been 45 homicides recorded in Columbus this year as of July 28, the city's lowest homicide rate in at least 12 years.
Felony assault cases were half of what they were two years ago on the same date — 454 reports.
One case does not make a trend
The facts of the fight are far less divisive than the notion that cities are infested with criminals.
During the July 26 incident in downtown Cincinnati captured on multiple cameras, a White man was pummeled by multiple Black people after an apparent verbal argument escalated. A White woman seemingly lost consciousness after being punched in the head by a Black male.
Cincinnati officials should have addressed the public concerns sooner, but the crime hasn't been swept under the rug.
At the writing of this column, five people have been charged in connection with the viral brawl that pushed Cincinnati into the national limelight. Two victims were treated at a hospital and released, according to Cincinnati police.
Two victims treated and released won't get you reelected. Stoking the flames is sexier than simply saying "police are investigating."
In a video posted to his Instagram page, Husted said the victims were beaten to nearly the "point of death" and decried efforts to defund the police.
"Not only did people not intervene and help, but they actually participated in the beating of these victims," Husted said. "I called all three of them — and there may have been more. In conversations with them, they didn't understand why. I know maybe more facts will come out in this situation, but this is the point that's true: This is happening in America, across our cities, like it did in Cincinnati. It's not tolerable."
It shouldn't be tolerated, but it is flatly inflammatory to claim it is a common occurrence. There is no mass outbreak of people being beaten up on the streets of America.
There are real problems and real solutions.
It saddens me that officials with the ability to do good won't do anything but make things worse.
It is an outrage that they'd rather divide us with racist tropes than bring us together.
Amelia Robinson is The Columbus Dispatch opinion editor.
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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Cincinnati fight makes good race-bait for Ohio politicians | Opinion
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