Some headlines from this past weekend (Hat tip: Drudge Report):

In Myrtle Beach: Myrtle Beach police inundated with crime during 8-hour window.

In Boston: Fights break out at Carson Beach.

In Miami Beach: “War Zone” during city’s “Urban Weekend”.

In Rochester: Fights break out at local beach fest.

And similar stories from across the nation in Charlotte, on Long Island, Chicago, and Nashville.

While the media is deathly afraid of reporting as such lest they be accused of being racist, this kind of hooliganism is primarily minority-related in its nature (although, to be fair, there have also been incidents of mob violence on college campuses by inebriated lily-white drunk crowds), and its increase over the past year seems to have been ignored completely by Attorney General Eric Holder’s Department of Justice. It’s not my place to go into the reasons why this kind of violence is exploding across the nation – I’ll let the so-called “experts” handle that, as the reasons are many and complex. Suffice to say, however, that were kind of thug violence being caused primarily by whites, you can be assured Holder would be screaming at Congress to provide more funding for local police.

Given the nature of this kind of thing, one would think this would be a real good time for President Obama to speak to the nation about the overall increase in this kind of behavior and provide some sort of assurance that this kind of thing will: a) no longer be tolerated, and b) be the focus of law enforcement efforts. I don’t expect this to occur any time soon, however, because, frankly, I don’t think this President cares enough about it or is up to it. He’s just a former street organizer from the rough-and-tumble of Chicago thug politics, not a leader of people. Most certainly, he’s not a uniter but a divider of the worst kind. And it’s too bad – this guy had such an opportunity to truly change Washington and this nation and he’s not up to it. He loves all the perks about being “in charge” but hates to do any of the heavy lifting.

Everyone knows that no one listens to The Great White Shank, but mark my words: as much as the 2012 presidential election will be about the economy, I can also see the issue of law and order also becoming a major issue, and the GOP candidate who has the courage to raise the issue and express the need for more police on the streets and a tougher crack-down on crime and gang behavior in the inner cities and the suburbs will garner a lot of attention – not to mention votes.

This story has been percolating under the radar for some time, but this summer promises to be violent in a way this country hasn’t seen since the late ’60s. There’s discontent, anger, and a sense of foreboding and hopelessness in the air – a far cry from the “Hope And Change” candidate of 2008. People are truly afraid out there – the economy is in danger of slipping back into recession, home prices are still falling, consumer confidence is flagging, and this kind of breakdown in general civility and law and order seems to be on the increase.

Maybe I’m just being an alarmist and/or a pessimist. But I don’t think so. And I’m not sure the real hard times have even hit yet.

What people are most afraid of, I think, is the prospect of this ship going down, and going down hard and fast, and a sense that no one in Washington either cares or has a clue as to what to do about it.