Posted on 08/24/2026 12:45:03 PM PDT by Red Badger
If you are over the age of fifty, you might hear the words "Gary, Indiana" and instantly think of The Music Man.
Gary, Indiana, shall we say, has changed.
The Chicagoland suburb has been struck by an electricity blackout that lasted over 12 days.
Things have gotten so bad that the dire situation even made the CBS Evening News.
The usual suspects took to social media to blame a familiar scapegoat for the blackout: racism.
In a now-deleted post, an X user going by the handle @BlvckJxsus wrote (uncensored here): "gary indiana has been w/o power for 11 days. gary indiana is 75% Black. yet another example of environmental racism, it is so f***ing disgusting."
Now, it is quite fitting that the man complaining about the frustrating situation refers to "environmental racism." Much like environmentalism, racism has become a shibboleth: It explains everything, and therefore, nothing at all.
So, when the man got the real cause of the power-restoration delay, his narrative was in shambles.
The community note is glorious.
The power outage was caused by severe storms on August 11, 2026, affecting Northwest Indiana and Northeast Illinois. Restoration in Gary was further delayed after utility crews were shot at on August 14, temporarily pausing work.
Oh.
An NBC 5 report gave further context on what happened.
A NIPSCO vehicle was struck by gunfire on Friday night while utility crews worked to restore power in Gary, Indiana, prompting restoration efforts in the city to be temporarily paused, officials said.
Authorities didn't immediately share information on where the gunshots were fired. In a statement following the incident, Gary Mayor Eddie Melton the Gary Police Department and the Indiana State Police were working with NIPSCO to provide protection for crews as restoration efforts continue.
"Let me be clear: this type of violence is absolutely unacceptable and will not be tolerated in the City of Gary," the mayor said. "These crews are here for one reason-to help our residents and restore electricity to families who have already endured days without power."
The political establishment in Gary, Indiana, certainly raises questions.
Conservative podcaster (and RedState alum) Kira Davis gave a fantastic bit of insight into what has gone wrong in the city.
Here is what Davis wrote:
Gary is our former home town. Let me tell you why they are still without power: -People keep shooting at the NIPSCO (their power company) trucks -roving gangs of thieves and home invaders and limited police presence -infrastructure is poorly maintained; untrimmed trees are making access to power lines difficult; damaged streets and sidewalks; abandoned buildings everywhere -city leadership has been hopelessly lazy and corrupt for decades; many like the new mayor but he has clearly not prepared the city for emergency [.]
Our senior citizen uncle is there and refuses to leave his home because he knows if he leaves there will be nothing to come back to. Everyone there is at the mercy of the criminals, the weather and a chronically incompetent local government. It may also interest you to know that Gary is considered the bluest city in America with nearly total Democrat support [.]
I’m not one to defend the power companies. NIPSCO has their own issues. But the reason Gary is still offline is because most of the people there keep voting for more of the same at every turn. The city has everything it needs to be a great city. It’s on Lake Michigan, has incredible architecture and is just 30 miles from Chicago. It lost a lot of revenue when the steel mills closed but there has never been a good reason for its failure decade after decade. It’s poor leadership and a disengaged population. It’s not racism. It’s apathy and thievery [.]
Gary is no longer the "one place that can light my face"; it's the "one place that will get you shot in the face."
"Environmental racism" is not causing utility workers to be shot at. Gary, Indiana residents need to hold the Democrats who run the city accountable.
That is the only way they are going to see their poverty reduced, their crime rates drop, and their power turned back on without delays caused by gang violence.
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Just curious is there a percentage threshold of black population where a place becomes an urban ghetto? I think in this case 75% might qualify.
“By far the worst city I have driven through.” If my route planner showed my route to take me through Gary, I would drive a huge circle out-of-the-way if need be to avoid it. I wouldn’t care how much in extra gasoline I had to purchase to avoid that cesspool.
I was born in Gary. It’s changed alot over the years!
Shoot at the lineman restoring power....
are y’all really the stupid
Those trucks don’t just “show up.” They’re there under contractual agreements to provide mutual aid. No agreement, no trucks.
In the fine print you found out that you had to be able to show you had $75,000 upfront money per adult to buy.
Needless to say not many people bought.
I think of G. Gordon Liddy. He used to tell stories of Gary when he was stationed there as an FBI agent..............
13%....................
You shoot at workers, when you have no power, your problem is your actions have consequences.
Some folks just plain don't get cause and effect, let alone moral responsibility.
I take it you’ve never been to East St Louis IL.
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