If you’re interested in sharing your opinion on any cultural, political or personal topic, create an account here and check out our how-to post to learn more.
____
Throughout social media, there is a particular segment of retired and active law enforcement officers expressing a “war” being waged against them. Many believe that the politicians have been hijacked by ultra-liberal progressive, left-wingers that have been easily influenced by making unchastely judgment calls against police by asking for changes in policies, procedures and practices. Citing this is what the city and people deserve for not supporting the police. They are outraged.
However, where was the outrage for over centuries of police brutality and the double standard of policing in communities of color? The racism that exists within police departments or the pusillanimous racist police officers have always existed, showing a lack of courage to stand up against injustice or inequality in a profession where cowardice is punishable by particular discipline or fear of being ostracized.
I sit here and read a social media post from both retired and active police officers, as they mock the marring with red paint of a Black Lives Matter mural on Fifth Avenue in front of the Trump Tower. I am reading the comments and the descriptions of the destruction, tainted in vitriol, mockery and glee. A surge of pain came over me as I reflect on the memory of James Baldwin, of what it means to be Black and unwanted in America.
Flashbacks of that early ‘90s racially profiled teen standing outside of the walls of Manhattan College, being scolded by a red-headed police lieutenant shouting, “N****r, go home!" continue to haunt me. An event that will eventually lead me into a life of public service to make a change. I look back and I wonder if my Black life mattered? Or did it ever matter to many of the fellow officers that I served with and put my life on the line.
As I continue to scroll through the social media feed, I am reminded of a time before social media of the 1996 storming of City Hall. The public protest of the city's first Black Mayor David Dinkins was attended by over 6,000 police officers who blatantly expressed their frustrations against the Mayor. Back then, there were no video screens or keyboards to hide behind the racist placards, signs and rhetoric. Viral symbols of hate marred a place the Mayor himself once called a “gorgeous mosaic” deemed by his predecessor as “desperate and offensive.” Chants of "No Justice! No Police!" and disrespectful slogans like "The Mayor's on Crack."
As I read the feed of over 675 comments and more than 475 likes, it reminded me of the cheering and screaming of past years removed. Several believe by that random act of criminal mischief that their silent majority has awoken and that this is only the beginning.
They were posting comments that are divisive and racist, suggesting that someone should have poured red paint over the Black Lives Matter street mural to represent all the blood they have spilled, with the audacity to declare that the culprits are true American patriots in the awakening of a sleeping giant. This senseless and heartless commentary is from police groups, which consists of both active and retired officers.
I say, "Not now! Not never!" The marring of the mural on Fifth Avenue comes with the question of outrage that, for the first time, officers across this country may be held accountable for their actions. Imagine that? Accountability. Responsibility. Reform. How horrible would it be to no longer be able to go into communities of color to abuse, brutalize and kill unarmed men and women of color, as they hide behind the uniform fortified by a blue wall of silence?
The vast majority of the outraged officers are white, yet that comes to no surprise. It is predictable and hence one of the many reasons why police reforms have been long overdue and vitally needed. These same individuals will spew the mantra, "Just because I don't agree, it doesn't make me a racist." The reality is, if you're complacent about the racism that exists throughout this country, it then makes you an accessory to that racism, and that makes you a racist.
So, I ask the question, why would any racist give a damn about police brutality, racial profiling, racism within the department, racist police officers, and the killing of unarmed men and women of color? As these brilliant non-racist's individuals have been stating, these communities are getting what they deserve, their just deserts.
When you are first sworn into the department, you take an oath and honor a mission to work in partnership with the community to protect the constitutional rights of all by enforcing the laws, preserving the peace, reducing the fear and providing a safe environment. It’s a daily pledge to protect the lives and property of citizens and impartially enforce the law, fighting crime both by preventing it and by aggressively pursuing violators of the law. Most of all, you’re pledging to maintain a higher standard of integrity than is generally expected of others because so much is expected of you
With that said, is this truly New York's finest at its best?
____
TyRon Pope, aka Mlinzi wah Haki (Swahili for "The Defender of Rights") is a retired NYPD Sergeant, Adjunct Lecturer in Criminal Justice at Concordia College and Executive Leadership Ed. D. Candidate, St. John Fisher College.
