Staff Reports
In a world where headlines often read like plots from a bizarre sitcom, one Chicago woman found herself living an unfortunate episode of “Survivor: Urban Edition.” This story starts with a stroll to Union Station, but not your typical walk in the park. No, this one ended with a face full of fisticuffs, courtesy of a man named William Livingston. Now, before you jump to conclusions, let’s just say that if there was a trophy for recycling criminal behavior, this guy would be winning gold. At the tender age of 32, he’s already got a collection of mugshots that would make any aspiring artist proud—thirteen, to be exact. Talk about a colorful portfolio!
So, here’s the scene: our heroine, let’s call her Miles, was just minding her own business when Livingston decided to play the role of “not-so-friendly neighborhood attacker.” After a delightful chat with her coworker, who presumably has the heart of a lion to be there through thick and thin, she wakes up in a hospital room, greeted by the loving words, “You’re okay. You’ve been assaulted.” Now that’s the kind of wake-up call nobody needs, right?
But here’s where the plot thickens, like that sticky stuff you find at the bottom of a soda bottle. According to the authorities, this wasn’t Livingston’s first rodeo. Oh no, he has a long and illustrious history of violence against women. It’s like he’s not only familiar with the law but thinks it’s more of a suggestion—kind of like a really strong recommendation that he’s just too cool to follow. One might think a résumé full of random assaults would land a person at least as much time in jail as it takes to watch a full season of their favorite show. Instead, here we are discussing this lovely chaos, all thanks to some very liberal interpretations of accountability.
It’s not hard to see how this incident fits snugly into the larger narrative of liberal big city policies where the idea seems to be, “Let’s take it easy on the criminals, because hey, it must be tough out there!” But in this case, “tough” seems to be a euphemism for “punching people in the face and hoping for the best.” The excuses paint a sad picture, suggesting that ganging up against the law is somehow acceptable if your past resembles a never-ending episode of “America’s Most Wanted.” You have to wonder what it takes for some folks to realize that actions have consequences—like getting punched in the face generally leads to some serious repercussions.
One can’t help but feel a tad exasperated thinking about how this particular scenario plays out in liberal cities. It’s like watching a sitcom where the writers refuse to acknowledge the punchline—the idea that some criminals should probably stay in the pokey instead of being patted on the back and sent back on their way to “try again.” And while freedom is a wonderful thing, it’s hard to justify letting someone like Livingston roam the streets when it’s clear that he seems to see running amok as his personal hobby.
With urban areas struggling to figure out the balance between rehabilitation and public safety, one has to ask—what’s it going to take? Do they need to throw in some motivational posters? Maybe a community service project where these repeat offenders get to paint over the scars they leave on society? Until a better solution comes along though, it looks like events like these will continue to remind folks that some things are just too funny to be taken seriously, while others are simply tragic, like a once-bright future turned into a series of unfortunate bad decisions. Now, that’s the kind of humor we could all live without.
