Are cops on the front line of American racism? [View all]
Yesterday, many, many cops turned their backs on NY Mayor de Blasio at the funeral for slain NYPD Officer Wenjian Liu. (And many other cops didn’t.) The police were specifically asked to respect the day as a funeral, not an opportunity to protest. Yet the answer of far too many of them was a gigantic “Fuck You.”
It seems that their complaint is that they’re “not being supported.” And those who supposedly are “not supporting” them include NY Mayor de Blasio who has a black son, Erik Holder, the head of the DOJ, President Obama, and Rev. Al Sharpton, to name a few. Hmmm, seems to be a common thread there.
And what is it that’s “not being supported?” I guess it’s a series of killings of black people that are being publicly protested by blacks, whites and many others, countrywide. The protests are due to no apparent police accountability, and the fact that no grand jury has seen fit to bring forward indictments.
As an aside, down here in Palm Beach County, FL, a crowd of retired cops came together the other day in the town of Wellington to “Support the police.” It was covered in The Palm Beach Post and although they didn’t say exactly what it was they were "supporting,” you can draw your own conclusion.
IMO, the underlying theme of this entire police “moment of discontent” is blatant, thinly disguised racism. They may not be members of the KKK, but it sure as hell seems to me that they want the general public, and the powers that be, to condone the practice of killing people who are guilty of breathing while black. And yes, they do have a dangerous job. But no one’s forcing them to keep it and most would rather be cops than anything else. (It should also be noted that many cops turned their backs because of peer pressure. It takes real courage to stand alone amid a tsunami of bigotry.)
So what do you think? Police racism, or just a police union tactic to get “support” (whatever the hell “support” means)?
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