Police officers are designed to be suspicious. They are trained to be cynical. Often times, the devil is in what you DON’T see as opposed to what you’re looking at. This is because criminals and those who support them are opportunists.
America’s political division has become a virtual buffet for the self serving criminal. The anti-government anarchists who have long lingered in the background, are busy pitting one side against the other. All these politicians and social elites who live behind gated walls and armed security are all too happy to play their part and pander for votes and fame. Meanwhile, the rest of us are left wondering if we’re all watching the same game.
In the latest affront to our senses, earlier this week, while speaking at the “We the People” conference in Washington DC which served as a political rally to highlight some up and coming 2020 Presidential hopefuls, Jamal Watkins, who is the Vice President of Civic Engagement at the NAACP, opened his presentation by encouraging the attendees to join him in chanting quotes from Assata Shakur.
For those who are unaware, Assata Shakur, aka Joanne Chesimard, was convicted of murder for her part in the disarming and executing of New Jersey State Trooper Werner Foerster. In 1979, she escaped from prison and was ultimately granted political asylum in Cuba. She remains one of the FBI’s most wanted terrorists.
Sadly, this is not the first time Chesimard has been lauded as a ‘hero’ or ‘leader’. Recently, as part of an art exhibit displayed in airports around the country meant to celebrate Black History Month, a poster of her photo was included, listing one of her first contributions as: “Became the first woman to be placed on the FBI’s Most Wanted list after escaping to Cuba from prison where she was serving a life sentence for the 1973 murder of a police officer.”
In late December, convicted cop-killer Mumia Abu Jamal was granted the right to appeal his previous conviction. Abu-Jamal, aka Wesley Cook, as part of the Black Panther Party and in coordination with his brother William, plotted on, attacked and murdered Philadelphia Police Officer Daniel Faulkner. Abu-Jamal instructed his brother to commit a traffic offense that would draw the attention of a police officer; in this case, driving his vehicle the wrong way down a one way street. As Faulkner stopped and engaged his brother in a struggle, Abu-Jamal ran to the scene only to shoot Faulkner four times…..in the back…..and then once again in the face as he stood over him.
Since his conviction and subsequent imprisonment, Abu-Jamal has been lauded as a political activist. He has even been published beginning in 1995 with his book, ‘Live from Death Row’. Forgetting for a moment that making cute ice cream flavors doesn’t exactly translate into immediate enlightenment, in 1995, Ben Cohen, who is the ‘Ben’ of Ben & Jerry’s, signed an open letter asking for a new trial for Abu-Jamal, which was then printed in The New York Times. This is not the first time that the glorified ice cream men have used their brand and subsequent platform to stir hate, only to then retreat and claim those opinions were done “as private citizens” in order to shield their money-maker from boycott.
There seems to be this trend of softening as it pertains to those who wish to do harm to police officers. What was once one of the most egregious crimes a person could commit, suddenly appears to be no more serious than a city ordinance violation nowadays. When you have hate groups like Black Lives Matters marching in the streets calling for “dead cops now’, only to have one of their co-founders, Alicia Garza, be invited to the State of Union Address as an honored guest, who could possibly expect a different outcome?
The NYPD has been virtually bombarded with cop-killers being paroled. In April of 2018, Herman Bell was freed from prison, granted parole on his murder charge for the 1971 ambush killings of NYPD Police Officers Joseph Piagentini and Waverly Jones. Just a few short months later, the same parole board freed cop-killer Robert Hayes who, in 1973, shot and killed Police Officer Sidney Thompson, who simply attempted to stop Hayes for jumping a turnstile.
In December of 2017, New York City resident Justin Murrell, was found ‘not guilty’ of the charge of attempted murder, instead being convicted of first degree assault, making him eligible to face a maximum of 4 years in prison. In 2017, after being stopped by NYPD Detective Dalsh Veve who was investigating reports of gunfire, Murrell took off in his vehicle, dragging Detective Veve for several city blocks ultimately leaving him with a severe brain injury and confined to a wheelchair.
It’s not a stretch to say that, as a society, we have lost our moral compass. The opportunistic criminal element that walks among us is keenly aware of this; and they are using it to their advantage. Individuals and groups that are biased against law enforcement are essentially praising those who wish to do harm. They are legitimizing their criminal action. Suddenly, they are no longer perps. They are now social justice warriors taking up arms against a tyrannical political force.
Ladies and gentlemen, take it from the people who deal with these perps day in/day out. They are opportunists of the highest order and care about no one other than themselves. They don’t value you, your rights, your well-being or even your worth. You are a means to an end to them. Consider this: if someone is willing to attack a police officer, what do you think they’d be willing to do to YOU?
Podium thumpers will try to tell you that what you are seeing is a race issue. They will do this as an attempt to steer your eyes away from the truth: that this is an anti-government/anti-law enforcement bias. Doubt me? Go to the Officer Down Memorial Page see for yourself. At an average of 150 police officers killed per year, you will find among them both men and women of all races and religions; killed by men and women of all races and religions.
While the latest slap in the face will barely be a blip on the radar screen of most Americans, what Jamal Watkins did was a direct slap in the face to the Foerster family, the New Jersey State Police and all those who wear/have worn a shield. More importantly, it was intentional. When you look at how educated and brilliant some of the aforementioned people are, claiming ignorance as an excuse no longer applies. These acts and insults are intentional and directed; which makes them so much more egregious.
As a society, when we lose the ability to recognize right from wrong or, more specifically, REFUSE to rationally recognize bad as bad, then any argument that follows loses all credibility. The American police officer is essentially a soldier who is always at war. There is never a ‘peace time’ when it comes to crime prevention. As such, they deserve so much better than this. Allowing and accommodating this kind of flagrant disrespect and disregard for our police officers and the families that support them is as much of a ‘crisis’ as either side of the isle can rant about; and it’s high time that all of the law-abiding citizens of this great country get on the same goddamned page.