The Truth About What’s Happening In Miami Beach

To us locals, the month of March is known as “March Madness.” It’s the busiest month in Miami with many large gatherings and events taking place around South Beach. Spring break is one of those large gatherings in the month of March, and it’s always busy and chaotic. At times it can get out of hand, but what’s happening this year has left most of us locals speechless and afraid. 

This spring break has been full of fights, violence, and crowds that are completely out of control. So much so that the city of Miami Beach had to issue an 8pm curfew in the entertainment district and only residents can enter the area after a certain time. Local businesses located within the entertainment district, such as the famous Clevelander, have decided to close their doors citing “concerns of safety for their employees and patrons.” 

Spring Break 2021 Features Violence, Crime, and Twerking 

The truth is this spring break has been like no other, and I don’t say that in a positive way. The hip-hop culture has infiltrated and damaged the minds of the youth, and it’s evident based on their behavior on South Beach. More than once, I have witnessed young black girls twerking like Cardi B at stoplights and on top of moving vehicles. They don’t care if there are children and families around. In fact, last Friday I was on my way to Publix on Biscayne and 18th Street when a group of four women decided to start twerking while we waited on the light to turn green. 

Two weekends ago, I was rollerblading down the boardwalk near 10th Street and Ocean Drive, when a fight broke out. The fights are constant, extremely violent, and many times they involve shootings. Watch these women beat each other up while people around them just watch and take selfies here. 

More than once, I have witnessed young black girls twerking like Cardi B at stoplights.

A video went viral on social media when some men ran out on their tab and a waiter chased them down, while young black women twerked in front of a bus in the background of the video. This is not just “young people having fun.” This is a cultural emergency that needs national attention.

Why are these young people so angry on vacation? Why do they resort to violence and chaos during a time when they should be having fun? Where are they learning this behavior and why? These are all questions that leaders within their communities at the local, state, and national level should be asking themselves, but instead, the NAACP leaders have said that it’s the local police that’s hostile and racist towards a predominantly black crowd.

In addition, the Florida Bail Fund has requested a list of the arrestees from the Miami Beach Police to bail them out. It’s almost as if they’re rewarding people for bad behavior.

Most of the Crime Was Committed by Out of State Perpetrators 

Miami Beach Police stated that in the past six weeks there have been over 1,000 arrests. 398 of those crimes were felonies, 52% of arrestees reside outside of Florida, 102 firearms were seized, and 11,279 traffic citations have been issued. 

However, these patterns of poor behavior have been happening since May 2020 or around Memorial Day weekend, which is also known as “hip-hop weekend.” Out of state folks are taking advantage of the stimulus and unemployment money, buying cheap flights to Miami, and staying at low-cost Airbnbs and/or hotels, and causing issues in our city. 

In the past six weeks, there have been over 1,000 arrests, and 52% of arrestees reside outside of Florida.

Last year, a building called The Opera Tower right by my apartment experienced an influx of tourists who caused violence and mayhem. Residents complained about parties going on all night long since bars and clubs were closed, liquor bottles smashed in the elevators, physical fights, and hostile altercations, and there was even a porn video shot outside on a balcony, which has over 1.3 million views online. Police dispatch logs show more than 100 calls to Opera Tower between March and the end of July. 

Unfortunately, city officials have been very quiet about the current environment in the city because the demographics of most of these tourists coming down here are black Americans. The woke local leaders don’t want to talk about it because they don’t want it to look like they’re “targeting” a specific race, especially after the George Floyd protests took place across the country and the current state of racial tensions.

A White Woman Was Drugged and Raped by Two Black Men

Christine Englehardt, from Bucks County, Pennsylvania, was a young white woman who came down for spring break, but her life ended after two young black men drugged and raped her. Camera footage shows Christine entering the Albion Hotel on Miami Beach with two South Carolina men, and according to the footage, she was in no condition to consent. The men are seen leaving the hotel 30 minutes later without her. They took her credit card and continued to party around South Beach. 

The media doesn’t mention the race of the perpetrators like they do when a white man commits a crime.

The irony is that the mainstream media doesn’t mention the race of the perpetrators like they always do whenever a white man commits a crime. Headlines on the Washington Post and Miami Herald read: “Two spring breakers allegedly drugged, raped woman in Miami Beach. She was found dead in a hotel room.” A different tone is used by the media for people of color while they perpetuate the conspiracy theory that white supremacy and extremism are the #1 threat to the country.

Shootings, Robberies, and Stabbings Have Spiked during the Pandemic

The lockdowns and shutdown of the local economy have increased crime in Miami. A 27-year-old man was shot and killed in Miami Beach on March 15, 2021. The murder is still under investigation. Last year, there was a fatal stabbing in Miami Beach when a criminal stole a gold chain from a blind man and stabbed him to death. Officials recorded 272 homicides by Dec. 24, 2020 across Miami-Dade County, up 31 cases from all of 2019, records show. 

Some attribute the rise in violent crimes to the pandemic, increase in gun purchases, and tensions between police and the public, but the reality is that forcing people to be locked up for months while taking their livelihood away is the perfect recipe for a disaster.

Our local police force is mostly composed of minority officers who are either Latino or black. 

Social justice protests and the defund the police movement are putting our police officers in a tough situation because all it takes is one viral video to ruin their entire career and portray them as “pigs” committing “police brutality.” Our local police force is mostly composed of minority officers who are either Latino or black. It’s a rare sight to see a white police officer in any of our police departments here. 

Closing Thoughts

Over the past few years, spring break and Memorial Day weekend have brought crime and violence to our city. The media makes it seem like the police, city officials, and residents are just racists who don’t want black tourists here. The reality is that we don’t want crime and violence in our city no matter the race of the perpetrators. We’re seeing a pattern here, and my belief is that many of these young people have been emboldened by the media. They believe they can do whatever they want without any consequences, and anyone who calls them out will be quickly turned into an evil racist villain. 

So, they come here and do whatever they want with backup from black leaders from the NAACP, the media, and celebrities like Uncle Luke (who threatened the black city officials if they agreed to more policing during Memorial Day weekend 2021). It’s a regime where citizens and city officials are pressured to be silent while hostile tourists take over our city, trash it, and leave. 

I believe it’s time to have a serious conversation around rap culture and how it’s enabling this type of behavior in our city.