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Last night two police officers were shot in the line of duty
in the Bronx. Their injuries are not life-threatening.
As Mayor Bill de Blasio and President Obama pay court to Al
Sharpton, the enmity between the minority community and the police department
grows.
Senior public officials have not only been stoking the
conflict. They have been trying to impose their narrative on the reality of
life in New York and other American cities. People who voted for Barack Obama and Bill de
Blasio should hang their heads in shame.
Among those who have spoken out against this state of
affairs is Bill O’Reilly. In his Talking Points Memo on last night’s The O’Reilly
Factor, the commentator laid it out:
Now for
those of you who do not live in New York City, there is a bigger picture here
and that is that the progressive left believes the American justice system is
unfair to black people.
There is no question that African Americans commit crimes way out of proportion to the general population. The question is, why?
According
to analysis done by a Wall Street Journal columnist today, blacks make up 14%
of the U.S. population but account for 47% of police killings.
Based
upon FBI statistics, blacks are almost six times as likely as non-blacks to
kill a police officer.
That's
why cops are more defensive around blacks, especially young black men.
The
police themselves feel threatened because the violent crime rate among young
African American men is so intense.
Thus,
policing in the inner city neighborhoods is far more difficult and confrontational
than policing in white neighborhoods.
The
fact that African Americans commit crimes way out of proportion to the general
population is the tipping point in the police controversy.
When government officials blame the police for the crimes
committed by minorities they are absolving criminals of blame. This, in
itself is promoting the conflict that is threatening New York City.
As if his embrace of Al Sharpton were not enough, Mayor de
Blasio recently found another way to show his hostility toward the police.
O’Reilly explains what happened:
Less
than 24 hours after Officers Liu and Ramos were murdered by Ismaaiyl Brinsley,
18-year old Devon Coley posted a picture on Facebook showing a man shooting
into an NYPD car.
Coley
was arrested; he is now facing a felony for making a terroristic threat.
The
Brooklyn DA asked for $250,000 dollars bail because Coley has a long arrest
record and is an alleged gang member.
But
Judge Laura Johnson ruled there should be no bail at all, nothing.
Despite
the fact that Coley is facing charges including assault and criminal possession
of a weapon in a previous case, before the terroristic threat.
The
NYPD is furious, as it should be.
Judge
Johnson had to be re-appointed to the bench by New Year's Eve.
Most of
us felt she had no chance after that outrageous decision.
But
Mayor de Blasio did re-appoint her, symbolically spitting in the face of his
own police department.
And de
Blasio wonders why these men and women are turning their backs on him, why they
despise him?
You
re-appoint a judge that grants a thug no bail after the man posts a violent
threat against cops in the wake of two assassinations?
Some have suggested that Mayor de Blasio should resign his
office. In their view, having lost the confidence of his police department he
should admit to failure and open the door for a mayor who might bring the city
together, not tear it apart.
One suspects that this is not going to happen.
In my view the man who should resign his office is Police
Commissioner Bill Bratton. The more Bratton runs cover for the mayor the more
he will lose the confidence of the men and women he is supped to be leading.
Were he to resign he would be sending a powerful message of
solidarity with the police force.
Aided and abetted by The New York Times, de Blasio is
desperately trying to steer the narrative away from his own dereliction—and that
of the president and attorney general—toward the police.
Sympathizing with the protesters who riot and sow mayhem in
the streets the mayor and his enablers take grievous offense when police
officers offer a silent gesture of disrespect for a man who has put a target on
their backs.
I disagree with O’Reilly on only one point: the left in
question is radical, not progressive.
3 comments:
This is happening all across the country - feckless administrators of school districts, municipalities, and corporations who have very different interests from the people on the front line (teachers, police, employees). For them it's about popularity, avoiding controversy, and keeping the target off themselves. They set policy which makes it impossible the people under them to teach, enforce the law, and work with some dignity. School administrator are telling teachers not to discipline minority students because they fear charges of "disparate treatment." Police are being told essentially not to enforce the law so much. Corporate employees are being sacrificed for appearances sake if they do the right thing. All this is leading to misery and more social decay, and making good people throw in the towel.
John @January 6, 2015 at 9:01 AM:
Well said... Those you mention on the "front lines" -- teachers, police, employees -- have all the responsibility and none of the authority. Micromanagement, surveillance, and legally-imposed behavior controls have limited those who have to interact with people. It"s mind-numbing.
I've been impressed with the NYPD's back-turmimg protest. I would be more impressed if they did it while continuing to do their jobs to the best of their ability, as I understand ticket-writing is way down. But why put yourself out on the line when the NYC mayor is beating his chest, cautioning his son that the police are out to get him?
Ultimately, the people of NYC elected De Blasio with over 73% of the vote. Elections have consequences, and De Blasio is running Gotham the way he said he would... as an unabashed liberal.
This is what you get from government by lawyers and activists... a theoretical, non-parallel universe of fantasy, advocating the great lie: that there are no consequences.
"People who voted for Barack Obama and Bill de Blasio should hang their heads in shame." Now, Stuart, you know (KNOW beyond the merest hint of shadow of doubt) that those people are shameless. Or have no self-awareness.
"I disagree with O’Reilly on only one point: the left in question is radical, not progressive." They call themselves progressive; the left always lies about what they are.
Although I have never seen it, the movie "Escape From New York" somehow seems prescient.
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