Bill de Blasio said that he understood and sympathized with protesters who were outraged at the decision to not indict Daniel Pantaleo, the officer who has been accused of using a department banned choke hold in his attempt to subdue Eric Garner. This set off a series of events that led to police officers literally turning their backs on the mayor three separate times in their own act of protest, the last two times coming during funerals for the slain officers. Many police union officials and officers have said that they feel like the mayor does not support the police. Several law enforcement officials, former and current political figures and ordinary citizens have said that de Blasio's statement has created an 'anti-police' rhetoric that paved the way for the killings of Ramos and Liu and for future acts of violence against police. On December 16th, an employee at a Brooklyn Heights Chipotle raised his hands in the "Hands Up! Don't Shoot!" gesture (in regards to the Michael Brown shooting in Ferguson, MO.) as a group of officers entered the restaurant, prompting those officers to leave and set off another wave of conversation, reporting and rumor spinning about how police officers aren't being shown the proper respect as individuals who are in place to protect the public.
Let me say this, and I say this with all sincerity. It's about damn time people openly and outwardly peacefully protested in any way they feel is appropriate to them when it comes to the injustices that happens around us, especially with the NYPD. The mayor was right to say that he understood and sympathized with protesters because he knows it was a farce to not indict Pantaleo. As a person in an interracial relationship (his wife, Chirlane McCray, is Black) with bi-racial children, he knows how easily people who look like his wife and kids can become victims of police brutality and harassment. He ran a campaign on police reform during his election bid, knowing the dark history of the department, in an effort to prevent incidents like the one involving Eric Garner. His comments weren't an indictment of the entire NYPD but it was the mayor recognizing that there is a serious problem within the department and those who felt the same way have credible reasons for those feelings. Those officers decided to turn their backs on the mayor, in their own form of protest. The respect level of that action is debatable, but turning your back to someone usually is done to show a lack of respect. Yes, the chants that could be heard during some of the protest rallies about dead cops were inappropriate; that should have never taken place or been promoted. But if Pantaleo never choked the life out of Garner on a city sidewalk, if the Staten Island prosecutor had really done his job and pushed for an indictment from the grand jury, then we wouldn't even be having this conversation. Officers lives are in danger not because de Blasio, President Obama and Eric Holder have spoken out against the practices of police when it comes to Black citizens, but because the actions of a few police officers and individuals in places of judicial authority have led to public outrage. When you have such a toxic situation like the relationship between inner city residents and abusive police officers and practices, and a system that refuses to hold these officers accountable, then you will have unfortunate, violent occurrences and tragic deaths on both sides of the issue.
I recently read this article ( http://nypost.com/2014/12/30/nypd-and-the-military-our-angels-in-a-time-of-danger-and-cynicism/) by Michael Goodwin, a contributor to the New York Post. If you get a chance, take a look at the first portion this article, as the other portions address different topics. It's basically an Mr. Goodwin's take on why he feels the NYPD and our military are going so unappreciated these days. He mentioned the cynicism of the American public and "a political class too craven" or cowardly "to care." He mentioned this in an effort to figure out where "the majesty" of America had gone, calling our country's political culture "wrecked", taking a few subtle and obvious jabs at our president, New York City's mayor and others who have expressed views not to his particular liking. He brought up the incident that occurred on Obama's latest vacation to Hawaii, where an Army couple wedding ceremony had to be moved to another location on the course where the president was scheduled to play golf, as a prime example of the root cause of the "problem". And he also said this:
"Instead of hiring a political class that inspires our better angels, we increasingly elect people devoted to stoking resentment and grievance. Too many of our so-called “honorables” talk the country down and convince people they are victims. Some even preach that America is “broken,” a code word that gives them license to sweep away all the good with the bad."
None of this has anything to do with any perceived disrespect for the NYPD or the military for that matter. As far as I can tell, many Americans hold our military in very high regard, especially the soldiers with their boots on the ground. While I can somewhat agree on Goodwin's sentiments regarding the wedding incident, the problem I see with his rhetoric is that Goodwin's perception of the NYPD is skewed. He feels that the NYPD along with our military are the only American institutions that still serve with devotion to duty and honor. While individual officers in the NYPD may absolutely serve with that devotion, it is no secret that the organization has a history of throwing duty and honor to the wind, aided by those who are put in place to make sure they follow the highest of standards. The fact that people are openly expressing their feelings about the practices that Blacks and other minorities are often subject to isn't disrespectful, it's eye opening and commendable from my point of view. A lot has been made of Obama's apologies to other countries for some of our nations practices in the past. Some say that makes this country look weak. Goodwin says that type of talk convinces people that they are victims. Others say that Obama's rhetoric makes people, Black people especially, feel entitled, like someone owes them something. Well, I say, there are thousands of people who this country does owe a whole lot to, the least of all an explanation on why justice evades those who are truly victims of violent crimes, of economic and social injustice, of access to decent public educations, economic equality, etc.. The idea that when a person, especially the President of the United State, acknowledges the wrongdoings of a country to it's citizens and others abroad is somehow showing weakness shows me that these wrongs were calculated and intentional, done to show strength of those who are truly in charge. Sounds similar to the response to the wrongful deaths of many Black and Hispanic men, women and children by the hands of law enforcement officers around the country.
There was a time in this country when policemen, politicians, community leaders and other public servants were held in very high regard by most. Policemen were admired for the courage they displayed in faithfully carrying out their duties to protect the innocent and uphold the law. But as the times go on, we see more and more of those in positions of authority use that authority to advance their own agendas, hungry for more power and driven by selfish incentives. Sure, de Blasio could be driven by his own agenda by "siding" with protesters, as his detractors would say he is. So could the president and Eric Holder. But so is Mr. Goodwin, Rudy Giuliani and others who have used the deaths of officers Ramos and Liu to divide a city already on the verge. This is not about disrespecting police officers. It's about those police officers having more respect for the very important job they decided that they wanted to do. It's about them doing it right and being held accountable, without bias in any way, when they do it wrong.
