Crime is down in Memphis, but at what cost?
My colleague Sam Michaels asks the question after President Trump visited the city on Monday to cheer on the surge in federal law enforcement there, an operation he says has made Memphis safer.
But is that true? The people Sam spoke with shared a very different view, one where police ride around harassing people of color for proof of citizenship. One where immigrants are afraid to shop for basic needs or bring their kids to school. Sam saw this up close when she visited Memphis in November:
I hid in a dark apartment with terrified immigrant parents and their citizen children, who told me they didn’t go outside much anymore because they were scared of police. I also drove around town and talked to activists, business owners, cops, local politicians, teachers, volunteers, and ordinary people. One resident compared the vibe to 1930s Germany—helicopters circling overhead, National Guard patrolling downtown, unmarked law enforcement vehicles roaming the streets, and immigrant citizens carrying their US passports, lest they be detained.
That sure as hell doesn't match Trump's praise to me.
Meanwhile, I want to pivot to a different topic: The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives, the Hulu reality show I've raved about in previous newsletters. (Do I hear grumbling? Are those eyerolls? Hear me out!) Even if you haven't followed the domestic violence allegations now at the center of the show and ABC's The Bachelorette, I'd like to invite you into a rumination on how our culture handles such disturbing claims, when we look away, and why we keep watching.
—Inae Oh
