Anyone who has lived in a city knows it comes with trade-offs.

There's the crowdedness, high cost, the close proximity to so many strangers,

alongside the energy, novelty, and opportunity of living with so many people drawn to the bustle of activity.

Terrible things happen in cities. So do wonderful things.

But some of the loudest voices on the Internet and in real life have been highlighting the challenges in cities and twisting and distorting them to make them seem worse.

Cities, I will say this, the top 25, almost all are run by Democrats, but you can't walk

across the street to get a loaf of bread, you get shot, you get mugged, you get raped,

you get whatever it may be. But let's look at the data.

In New York City, for instance, in the first five months of this year,

the NYPD touted the lowest number of shootings and murders in recorded history.

This is notable, particularly after the number of murders jumped in 2020 and 2021 during the pandemic, after what had been a remarkable decline since the late 80s and early 90s.

Still, even when violent crime rates are declining, single horrific crimes can capture public attention, like a random fatal

stabbing on a Brooklyn sidewalk in 2023. Police are now reviewing this surveillance video that shows

32-year-old Ryan Carson waiting at a bus stop with his girlfriend after attending a wedding.

That surveillance video shows two people sitting on a bench in dressy clothes.

A man walks by them.

He looks angry about something, kicks over things, and then he turns.

There's a confrontation.

Carson steps in front of his girlfriend and tries de-escalating the situation.

Backing away, he trips over the bus stop bench,

the suspect, then stabbing him multiple times. Ryan Carson's girlfriend, Claudia Morales, called

911. She tried to resuscitate Ryan, but his wounds were too severe. Ryan was gone. It was a sudden, tragic loss.

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