New York Subway Killing and 'Toxic Empathy'

Rhamell Burke, a repeat criminal, attacked and later stalked two women on the New York City subway last April.

Though police stopped Burke from harassing the women any further, the victims ultimately decided not to cooperate with prosecutors, with one woman telling the New York Post later, “maybe a part of me was just like, I don’t want to put another black man in jail.” It was a decision she ultimately regretted after Burke, about one month later, allegedly pushed a retired school teacher onto the subway tracks, leading to the 76-year-old’s death.

“ Well, I mean, it's toxic empathy, isn't it—that it gets people killed. It serves the ego of the so-called enlightened, but the consequences fall on people that can't defend themselves,” argues Victor Davis Hanson on today’s edition of Victor Davis Hanson: In His Own Words.

ALSO:

Victor Davis Hanson and Jack Fowler reflect on California’s decline, highlighting Los Angeles mayoral debate fallout as Karen Bass withdraws and Nithya Raman reverses on defunding police while Spencer Pratt gains traction. 

Hanson ties LA’s disorder, wildfire failures, DEI-driven omissions, and Gavin Newsom’s long record in office to outmigration and fiscal strain, noting California’s $503B adjusted gross income loss and a projected $15–$20B deficit amid fraud and welfare concerns. 

They discuss New York’s subway killing by a repeat offender, arguing “toxic empathy” and lax enforcement endanger the public. Hanson predicts communities will form local “cocoons,” rebukes AOC’s claims about billionaires and America’s founding, and assesses Trump’s China trip and leverage amid the Iran war and shifting geopolitics.

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