Terrible, terrible tragedy. The only person who has blood on their hands is the shooter. I realize the police emotions are very raw but to characterize this as the fault of politician's "inciting" anything is extremely flawed judgment. First off, this nut job does not represent the movement. At all. Secondly, this notion that protestors worldwide need "inciting" is ridiculuous. The irony is, while peole claim that Obama and Holder are "inciting" protestors, the actual protestors feel that Obama and Holder have offered nothing more than hollow statements that do nothing to advance the conversation. These people don't need any elected person or celebrity to incite or speak for them. That's why folks like the Garner family have asked Sharpton to stay away. They don't need inciting period. DeBlasio is about the only one of that ilk who offered anything resembling passionate words. The NYPD didn't like it but oh well. If anyone is inciting protestors it's them. Because rather than simply saying...we stand united with our brothers in blue, but we are not perfect and sometimes we get it wrong, but we will do better...they'd rather poke the bear with a stick. They'd rather criticize the protestors. They'd rather ridicule the movement. They'd rather say they CAN breathe. There's something humbling and humane about admitting that you can do better. That you don't have to choke the life out of someone or kill a guy in a stairwell you're not supposed to be in because he startled you. There is a much better way to handle this conversation and being bigger dicks than you already were isn't the way. With that said, those cops didn't deserve that. No person deserves to be executed in that manner. That exhibits the worst of us and it's saddening. The shooter deserves the hell he's putting these families through. BUT, if you feel anyone besides the shooter has blood on their hands...like the Mayor, the President, the Attorney General, etc...how can you leave the NYPD themselves blood free?
Well said. It is time for everyone to go home now though. Nothing but bad things can come out of these emotions spilling over in NYC. Calm down and then begin dialogue.
Ponder this a moment. A 16-year-old high school student was fatally shot in front of a North Durham convenience store Monday. He was not the intended target, but he is dead, nonetheless. His life is gone, he can no longer breathe. http://www.newsobserver.com/2014/12/19/4417385/slain-durham-teen-was-not-the.html?sp=/99/100/&ihp=1#storylink=cpy This young man matters as much as the “Gentle Giant.” Doesn’t he. He matters as much as the guy in NYC who “could not breathe,” doesn’t he? Or not? Where is the President on this one? Where is the Attorney General? Where are the media whores Jackson and Sharpton? Where is the “burn this bitch down crowd?” No where to be found, and you all know why as much as I do. It is because this "life that matters" is not an opportunity to attack the police and the law enforcement community. It is not a gig where politicians and so called "activists," can incite people (races) against one another, and most importantly, incite people against law enforcement. The selective rage is not becoming to anyone. It just seems to this old observer that if the "usual suspects" can intervene and attack law enforcement or people of a different color, they show up, if law enforcement cannot be condemned, then the lives really don't matter that much. It is one reason, “Hands up, don’t shoot” has morphed into “Pants up, don’t loot.” Lack of credibility under the least amount of scrutiny. When you start chanting, "Black Lives Matter" (and of course they do) you better be "in for a dollar, not just a dime." Have a Merry Christmas, HWR
Exactly Red, take Rudy Guliani for a minute, he takes an opportunity to say to the media "we've had 4 months of propaganda, starting with the President, that everyone should hate the police" How is that not incendiary and careless? It's so far from the truth it's pathetic. Deblasio gets hammered for the truth, but this asshole gets a free ride? Are people just supposed to not care that the police have become a quasi military, and they go to work everyday fearing for their lives, when statistics show it isn't even in the top 10 most dangerous jobs in the country? If you are scared, you probably shouldn't be a cop, I would say get a construction job but those are more dangerous.
Giuliani is not the mayor. He is currently a talking head. His commentary is no different on one side than Sharpton is on the other. His opinion mirrors what plenty of police officers and their families have been feeling since Ferguson. Did the President ever once mention the officer in the Michael Brown case? Did he ever suggest compassion for what has happened to him or his family? Deblasio is the mayor. He is the mayor. He currently holds the office of mayor. Giuliani is NOT the mayor. He is a public speaker, a cable news talking head. Police are not quasi-military, that is nonsense and just you spewing your hatred of cops for whatever reasons you may have. Police officer is still near the top 10 most dangerous in terms of death rate and in the top 10 for highest stress and certainly near the top in terms of divorce rate. But what a silly thing to compare. Does it matter whether it's at or near the top 10? Would it matter if it were #1? I mean seriously, of all the thousands of different types of jobs, being a cop is still within the most dangerous you can have. They are the thin blue line that prevents anarchy. Would you just prefer not to have police at all or just an unarmed force?
My best friend is a Fort Worth cop. I have hatred for murderers, badge or not. It doesn't matter that Deblasio is the mayor and Guliani isn't. One spoke the truth, one spat hatred and baseless vitriol, they both have platforms. And again, you can't take the stress that comes with the job, don't do it. You don't want a divorce, become a lawyer, borrow some money from your parents and go to college as Mitt Romney would say. No one is forcing people to become cops. And if you don't think we are militarizing the police you may wanna wake up and take a better look. Nice little montage brutality video for the perfect police who never do wrong. What's sad is that people still see no problem with any of that. Those are the people who tarnish the shield. Not the President, not Deblasio, not the protesters.
Nice little montage to remind people that police go to work everyday and put their lives on the line. https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=10152597492942901
Police officer is the number one occupation likely to be murdered on the job http://www.vox.com/2014/12/2/7313827/workplace-homicide-murder-violent
