The murderer in question came from Baltimore to do his dirty work. On the way to New York City, he also shot an ex-girlfriend. Before he left, he wrote on Facebook that he intended to kill some "pigs" in retaliation for Michael Brown and Eric Garner... people he wouldn't even have known about if the left hadn't turned them into their latest grievance.
Naturally, the left jumped up and immediately tried to disassociate themselves from this double murder, but that's just evidence that they know they are at fault. Indeed, within hours, de Blasio, Eric Holder, Al Sharpton and the families of Garner and Brown all issued statements that tried to shift the blame away from themselves. None of them actually condemned the murders. Indeed, de Blasio issued a statement that avoided any sort of condemnation. He spoke theoretically about how the police protect us from the "forces of criminality and evil" and how "it is an attack on the very concept of decency" when they are attacked. Notice that he never connects his theoretical opining with what happened to these two officers, he never mentions the event, and he never expressed outrage.
Holder was just as bad. Check out this non-committal statement: "Our nation must always honor the valor — and the sacrifices — of all law enforcement officers with a steadfast commitment to keeping them safe. This means forging closer bonds between officers and the communities they serve." Gee, did something happen? Is there something we should honor? Was there a sacrifice? Or does he just mean generically? Notice there is no mention of murder, outrage, families without fathers... all the things he would have raised if a cop had assassinated two drug dealers. Notice there is no promise of an investigation. There is no demand to find out what caused this thug to decide to murder two cops and to implement reforms accordingly.
The Brooklyn NAACP went even further in trying to make this sound like it was just a random event with no particular cause: "Gun violence continues to plague our city and we remain committed to working with both members of the community and law enforcement to address it in a nonviolent, peaceful, and productive way." Oh, so it was "gun violence"? It wasn't some thug who stated that he was coming to kill cops in retaliation for something the NAACP has been pounding away about. Do you think they would be as generic if it was a KKK member who wrote on Facebook that he was coming to NYC to kill two blacks in retaliation for the murder of some white woman by a local black thug? Doubt it.
Then you have Al Sharpton. Holder and de Blasio want to keep this event as far away from them as possible. That's why they are speaking in terms of theory and hypothetical sacrifices. Sharpton, however, knows he can't get away with that because he got in much deeper. Indeed, while Holder and de Blasio have encouraged the murder of these two cops only at a distance by not condemning the attitudes that lead people like Brinsley to do this and by pushing the idea that blacks are helpless victims of a murderous system, Al is actively stoking those flames in rally after rally by pushing the idea that white's don't value black lives and white cops are racists who will always be protected by the system. Hence, Al must work harder to separate himself from the atmosphere he has created. Consequently, he states: "We have stressed at every rally and march that anyone engaged in any violence is an enemy to the pursuit of justice for Eric Garner and Michael Brown." Funny, I don't recall that. All I recall is the constant claims that blacks can't get justice, that cops are racists, that the system thinks blacks don't matter, that whites don't value black lives, and that every black is in danger of rogue cops hunting them down.
Look, the left caused this just as sure as Hitler caused anti-Jewish pogroms in Germany in the 1930s. These people are stoking up the black community, telling them that they are victims of a system that is designed to allow racist cops to murder black males, and they lie and distort the facts in every instance they can find to prove it. You simply can't beat that drum, a drum which tells people that the reasons their lives stink is that some powerful group has victimized them, without the weaker-minded members of that group deciding to avenge themselves.
This is nothing new for the left. The left works by agitating people to violence. Then it quasi-condemns the violence to assuage their collective consciences while simultaneously actively condoning the causes and justifications that drove those people to violence. If any of these people who claim to want to stop violence actually were opposed to violence rather than just violence "against their own," then Sunday would have been a day of mass rallies at which people like Al Sharpton and de Blasio call Brinsley a murderer, condemn his violence, and make it crystal clear that they will never endorse, support or encourage violence to achieve their cause. That didn't happen.
And let me add this: these people are much worse than the cops they are condemning. Brinsley and anyone who spurred him on are cold-blooded killers. They encouraged a stupid, unstable, evil young man to murder two innocent people at random. By comparison, the cops accused of killing Brown and Garner at worst acted negligently or recklessly and ended up killing those young men by accident or as a result of a situation that spun out of control. Neither cop set out to kill anyone, but Sharpton, Holder and de Blasio's drone did. And if they can't see the fundamental difference, then they are morally vacant, worthless human beings. Equally to blame are all those smug leftists who have been attending marches, whining into microphones or even posting asinine thoughts on Facebook or twitter are to blame. You people got two minority police officers killed, two families left without fathers, all because you childishly express your selective outrage in ways that encourage others to kill. By the way, smuggies, to add the cherry to this crap cake, you also will be to blame the next time some young cop remembers this assassination and overreacts out of fear for his life. Nice work.
Thoughts?
37 comments:
BTW, Since I wrote this, these same leftists have decided that their best strategy is to attack the people accusing them of causing this. That's the left for you -- never admit fault, always attack.
Here's an article outlining some of their latest attacks: LINK
Andrew, they are trying really hard to hide (Diblasio, Sharpton et al.), but this clip makes it hard...
http://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/Eric-Garner-Manhattan-Dead-Cops-Video-Millions-March-Protest-285805731.html#
And the cops know they have no support from Diblasio. When he came to the hospital to make his tepid "why can't we all just get along", every cop turned their backs on him as he walked throught the crowd. But you are wrong, Diblasio did get outraged...by the way the cops treated him, not by the murder of two cops.
The only things I can say coherently (w/o a plethora of f-bombs) is that though I was rather uncomfortable w/ the police walking out on de Blasio, that mayor is so bad he has me more or less siding with an organization whose very existence I philosophically oppose (the police union).
Bev, Sadly, this is where having the MSM in their pocket will help. People will only hear their "condemnations" of the violence and the journalists' charge that right wingers are trying to politicize this "tragedy."
Kit, What infuriates me is that people will continue to look up to these sick f***ks despite their encouragement of this. Basically, they will get a free ride to continue their vile behavior... and more innocent people will die.
Andrew,
So your argument is that misconduct should be ignored lest some nutjob start murdering innocents? We're gonna have to agree to disagree on this one.
As I've said before, I think the Brown shooting was perfectly clean (guy crazy enough to attack a cop is too crazy to live) but that the cop choking Gardner to death for raising his hands past the reach of the officers in front of him used undue force (without a physical threat, no need to go to lethal force).
Generally speaking, widespread outrage/protests are generated not by deaths, but by a refusal to investigate or prosecute (I think the Brown shoot was clean, but in light of recent evidence, the investigation certainly could have been handled better) so it would be odd if there were widespread protest right after a shooting (before the system had time to do anything).
Since the killer in this case is dead, lack of prosecution (generally speaking, not a problem in cop killer cases) won't be an issue, though I suspect the gang of criminals some news reports are tying him to (Black Guerilla Family or some such) is going to be very high up on 'to-do' lists for while.
Anthony, No, that is absolutely NOT my point!
My point is that you can't spin whatever misconduct there has been into a false conspiracy of victimization and then escape blame for the violence that ensues. We are talking, at most, about a couple questionable incidents each year in a nation of 310 million people. Yet, people like Al and de Blasio and Holder are selling this paranoid fantasy that somehow there is a vast system in place that lets cops hunt blacks and get away with it because racist juries let them off and that there is nothing blacks can do except be victims. This is like waving a bloody shirt. Then they act shocked when someone buys into their fantasy and decides to seek revenge against innocent people.
I am all for investigating these incidents and punishing the guilty. And if the guilty walk, then I fully understand the outrage that something has gone wrong and that someone bad has escaped justice. And I understand the desire to see those people punished and to reform the system to not let it happen again.
What I will never condone, however, is inventing this paranoid fantasy of an all-powerful conspiracy of racists/Jews/etc. who are victimizing people who aren't at all victimized. Nor will I shy away from pointing out the fact that when people do this, they know they are inciting violence... be it Hitler or Arab dictators scapegoating Jews, Arabs dictators scapegoating America, Chinese leaders scapegoating intellectuals, race baiters scapegoating cops, etc. These people are inciting murder when they turn one group against another based on a false narrative.
I realize working in "threes" is a more effective writing technique, AP, but if you'd gone to a fourth in your "leftists and race baiters" (but we repeat ourselves) examples you would have listed our President, yes?
BTW, Let me point out a couple facts that the likes of Al Sharpton never get to.
In 2014, NYC police shot and killed around 8 people. That's less than one a month. Is that an epidemic? And keep in mind, there are 30,000 cops in NYC, meaning that less than 0.027% of cops shot someone. Again, does this suggest an "epidemic" or a systematic problem with the police? Hardly. To the contrary, it shows a department that is very well restrained.
Meanwhile, around 350 blacks were killed in NYC by criminals last year. Of those, around 83% were killed by other blacks... so around 280. That means that for every police shooting, 35 blacks were killed by criminals. Again, does this suggest a systematic problem with the police? Given these numbers, is it at all reasonable to claim that the police are the real danger to blacks in NYC? Hardly, yet that is what these protestors are selling.
Further, black cops apparently account for around 10% of all fatal police shootings. Yet, 78% of those they shoot are black. So are we to believe that they become racists just because they put on the uniform? If not, doesn't logic tell us that this suggests that any racial disparity in terms of police shooting victims is not the result of police racism, but is instead the result of something the victims are doing themselves which leads the cops to shoot them? In other words, blacks aren't being killed because cops are racist, but because something they are doing is causing police to be more likely to shoot them.
Further still, it is irresponsible to suggest that juries are racists. While the left likes to assert that blacks are being locked away by all white juries, that is simply not true. First, almost 99% of criminals are in jail on plea deals and never even saw a jury. That means they agreed to the sentence. Secondly, it is reversible error to try a minority defendant for anything beyond a misdemeanor without minority jurors on the jury. In other words, every single black defendant sent to prison by a jury since the 1980s was sent there by at least one minority juror... typically more. In cities like DC, most juries are entirely black or almost entirely black, yet they convict black defendants at the same rate as everywhere else. Again, it is simply wrong to assert that racism is playing a role here.
Yet, people like Al scream racism because it works up his audience and keeps them dependent on him. And in the process, he is selling them a completely false view of the system, which they then internalize and arrange their lives accordingly. If he were honest, the system could be tweaked to fix the handful of injustices and maybe people could then focus on the cause of violence in the black community, rather than falsely scapegoating cops and jurors.
Eric, Yes. Obama is more subtle about it, but he has slowly adopted all the race baiting issues that he seemed to be free of in 2008.
In fact, his biggest failing in my book, was that he seemed prepared to be an honest broker on the issue of race in 2008 and I think people would have accepted it and the country could have moved on ideologically on this issue. Instead, he started saying the same old garbage the left always pushes. He got especially bad in 2012, when he needed to excite blacks to turn out for him. Suddenly, even criticizing him was called "racism." And with that, he wiped out any chance of the legacy that was made to order for him.
From Andrew's link:
"Irene Sundiata Myers, a black woman who was selling roses and inspirational words Sunday on Harlem's Malcolm X Boulevard, said that because of Saturday's ambush, some officers might think twice about pulling the trigger on black men.
"It will change the attitude of police across the country in terms of how they go about killing black men, if they begin to think that there's a possibility that there will be a retribution," she said."
She better hope it doesn't, because that will mean cops will wait for back-up before they do anything, which will result in more deaths that those officers might prevent, primarily black deaths.
You are right, Andrew. These fools have blood on their hands. And they have the gall to worry about this hurting their cause. What "cause" would that be?
The cause of trying to convince Americans that racist, murderous cops are an "epidemic?"
These racist race baiters, from Obama to DeBlahsio to Sharpton to the protesters who chanted for death to cops to everyone in between better pray there isn't a blue flu going around the next time they need the cops!
BTW, these same idiots want every cop to wear a video camera. Fine, but every politician must wear one as well, and that include anyone who consults with those politicians such as Sharpton, and political appointees such as Holder, and Mayors such as De Blahsio.
"what did they want? .......dead cops!" Looks like they got it. Maybe the key is nto simply not send police into high crime areas." Other than that, I also wondered why you let POTUS off the hook. He is the guy who has strode to the microphone every time a white on black crime was politically convenient.
Some writers on the left are saying that us white folk have no right to bring up the black on black crime in this country when they are mad about a cop/white person shooting a black person...uh, excuse me, but it's a free country, last I looked, and I can comment on anything I want to.
A slew of random comments, if you'll indulge me:
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First of all, the killer royally screwed up. He couldn't even manage to find two white cops. Not even one.
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I had the same reaction to the mealy-mouthed, so-called condemnations that I've happened to hear. "Gee, did something happen?"
*****
Gotta love the reporting on the Brooklyn Bridge protests. Aside from vandalism to a police cruiser, construction materials and garbage cans being hurdled at police, and two officers being beaten to the ground, it was a peaceful protest.
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Maybe I'm being overly optimistic, but I see some of the present effort directed at ginning up tensions, be they racial, gender, or whatever, as a gambit to seal a particular narrative into the collective consciousness before the media landscape becomes too fractured to maintain a single, ongoing narrative.
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So are we to believe that [black cops] become racists just because they put on the uniform?
If I've paid proper attention, I believe the answer is, "Yes."
And one long comment:
One of the most outlandish, outraging statements that the race-baiters keep repeating is that black males need to be more acquiescent to cops than anyone else in order to stay alive. The passing down of this notion has come to be known as the black version of "The Talk." My issue with it is that it is patently false on all levels.
My white father gave me, his white son, the very same talk, including the warnings of lethal consequences but minus the racial tinge. I read in an article about De Blasio and his son their particular version of the talk, which included not reaching for a cell phone while stopped by a cop. Being early in the cell phone era, keep your hands visible, don't reach for anything was how I received the same advice. To be sure, my father didn't warn me of arrests or beatings. He warned me of death. I posit that one white kid getting "the talk" negates its status as a "black thing."
For a single community to claim this universally applicable advice as solely their own and thus evidence of racism is akin to claiming that gravity is racist because white people can jump from heights with impunity. The only thing more absurd than the claim is that so many believe it.
Though the ramifications are far less dire, I'm put in mind of a college friend who was surprised to learn that I, too, had submitted a FAFSA. He was under the impression that he had to fill his out because he was black. I'm not claiming that black people never get singled out over race, but the black community has turned that possibility into a baseline assumption regarding every perturbance and inconvenience.
Exacerbating that is the dual insistence the Sharptons of the world have about regarding skin color. A true chicken-and-egg conundrum, it's impossible to say which comes first. On one hand, they insist that skin color be seen and acknowledged because colorblindness is naïve and ignorant. Meanwhile, they also laments that they and theirs are seen only by skin color, and this is the root of all their ills. It's a perfect setup to maintain perpetual grievance.
Ben, The cameras are an idea that is long overdue. They will end Sharpton's game because they will show that all those "innocent young angels who are just minding their own business when the evil racist cops shot them" did in reality attack the cop.
Jed, Isn't it funny how the MSM never reports on a group of "peaceful" leftists chanting "What do we want? Dead cops," yet they report endlessly on one invented claim of a racial slur allegedly coming from a conservative crowd.
Critch, I've seen that and it's an evasion. It's an attempt to duck the real issue. Sure, we have rammed the ship into an ice berg and it is sinking, but how dare you criticize our captain skills... we want to talk about something we allege is your fault!
"So are we to believe that [black cops] become racists just because they put on the uniform?"
The answer is that in America there are privileges to being white which impact, even in subtle ways, every interaction between whites and blacks.
The idea that 'that's the left for you--never admit fault, always attack' is not only absurd, but ignorant and hypocritical. What exactly are you doing, Mr. "Right?" You're attacking. EVERYONE attacks. That's human, not left-wing or right-wing. And Hitler? You're comparing the left to Hitler? Why do right-wingers not understand Hitler was RIGHT-WING??
Regarding your commentary, I agree Sharpton is a pathetic instigator. I don't give a damn that a black man was shot. He was a black criminal. Shoot black criminals, shoot white criminals, shoot them all. Don't care. I'd execute them all without any hesitation or remorse. The killing of these two officers is despicable, and I not only blame Brinsley, but the whole black-crusade as well. They are all at fault here. But that's not the 'left.' I would (arguably and with hesitation) claim myself more liberal than conservative, but I do not blame police officers, white people, nor the law for thug criminals. I blame thug criminals. Though I do place blame on society as the black protesters do. This society is criminal. We allow it. We thrive on it. We eat it up. It's our own damn fault until we start holding people accountable, and eradicating them from society. That, however, is not political. That is simply what should be done.
Yet it won't be.
tryanmax, I agree with your random thoughts. On the becoming racists thing, I've actually heard a black professor say that black cops need to become racists to fit in. Bull.
On "the talk," that pisses me off too. Every white kid I know has gotten the same talk either in one sitting or over time. You are warned that when a cop stops you, you better behave. You be respectful. You answer their questions. You don't make any sudden moves. You don't reach into a pocket without warning. And if you happen to be carrying a weapon, you tell them right at the beginning. And you are told that failure to do this can lead to arrest, a beating or even death. No racial element is ever mentioned because it's not about race, it's about confronting someone in authority with the power to hurt you and a job that puts them on edge.
And it's asinine that blacks are told this is something unique to them and then gets used as evidence of racism. At best, it's evidence of the lack of information that underlies the belief in racism.
Kit, That is the theory advanced by Critical Legal Studies types.
It is pervasive on large college campuses. Why do you think they have a binge-drinking problem?
Anon, It is not human nature, it is a tactic the left uses. It is not something the middle uses and it's not something most on the right do either. And your claim that this is an attack is semantics.
In terms of the rest of your comment, the problem is not just "thugs," it is that elements of society are politicizing these things... most typically the left. Hence, they inject issues like race and gender and use those as weapons to excuse certain misconduct and to hamstring the policing and societal reform efforts that could put an end to this.
Take a look at education, for example. Black kids do horribly in school as a group. But rather than solve why and create a solution to help them, the left insists that no one may mention the disparity. It's the same thing with crime. The cause of crime is simple: bad parenting. Yet, trying to fix that results in howls of anger on the left about being judgmental, being racist, etc.
The obvious answer is that the left isn't interested in solving the problem because they don't like the answer. Instead, they offer up fake theories of oppression, which they then parlay into demands for political power..
Kit, Colleges are bastions of ignorance and delusion. Those same people will snap out of it once they leave the nursery and experience the real world.
Andrew,
Most police killings are completely justified and most of those that aren't spring from misunderstandings or accidents rather than malice.
Of course its also worth keeping in mind that police shootings aren't the sum total of interaction. For example, in NYC, until Gardner, the big issue seemed to be overuse of stop and frisk (which happened a lot) rather than police killings (which doesn't happen much).
As for the justice system, racial disparities in convictions exist because of disparities in conduct (disproportionately more blacks are criminals). There are studies which indicate racial disparities in sentencing, but a criminal getting the harder end of the range of possible sentences isn't something that keeps me up at night (the black community does and should have bigger fish to fry).
Last but not least, I doubt the system has much of a role to play in ending black violence since it can't protect people (or their kids) from their own poor choices. If irresponsible or even just overwhelmed parent(s) don't raise their kids properly, they will likely wind up dead or in jail. That's just the way of it.
Ben,
Anyone that thinks that a couple of cops getting shot in the back is going to make cops slower on the draw rather than faster has a really poor understanding of human nature.
Anthony, I agree. Of all the police shootings, which are much fewer than people realize, only a handful are questionable each year. Of those, some are the result of lack of training. Some are the result of bad hires. Possibly a couple are the result of something more sinister. These events should be investigated to see if there is a way to reduce them further or if punishment is needed. And for the most part, such investigations are undertaken. That's why it's outrageous when people paint this as an epidemic and use it to scare people.
In terms of the system playing a role, I don't know that the criminal system can help. But it would help if people stopped scapegoating the system for the failure of individual choice and for bad parenting. That's like blaming McDonalds because your family eats too much and has become fat... it distracts from the real solution and it deprives people of the sense of control and responsibility they need to fix their own lives.
Anthony, I agree with your statement to Ben. Human nature tells us that the response will be that cops will be faster to draw.
I think in the short run, cops will be quicker on the draw. They are all on heightened alert everywhere for potential assassins. However in the long run, I think that "community policing" will be required. Which is really the antithesis of 'stop and frisk/broken windows' policing. No prevention, but lots of hugs with thugs, and ignoring all of those "quality of life" crimes that make so many young ones more advance criminals. Because without actual low level crimes, there can be no low-level criminals and couple that with the push to decriminalize pot, so even less "crime".
This will cause a huge drop in low level crime statistically and everyone will shout "See, we told you crime would go down!" But I bet money that the more serious crimes will rise at the same rate. The whole point of "stop and frisk" and "broken windows" was to try and catch young low level offenders before they could grow into felons...and in NYC it has worked brilliantly. The change since I moved here 25 years ago to today is miraculous. Neighborhoods in Manhattan that one would/should/couldn't go after dark are now bustling with night life - restaurants, shops, street vendors.
But then, the unintended consequence was a rapid rise in property values and gentrification of what were once very dangerous places to live all over the 5 boroughs of NYC including Harlem. Crime moves out and rich people move in...and the middle class is pushed out.
Thus has it always been, and thus shall it ever be...
Andrew, I'm not saying that cameras on cops is a necessarily a bad idea, I'm saying that politicians, their appointees and consultants should also have cameras because, per capita, there are far, far more corrupt, lying and to use a leftistphrase, "out of control" politicians than there are cops,
Anthony, if cops keep getting punished by the feds, media, and social injustice warriors for foing their job, eventually, they'll be told to wait for back-up before doing their jobs, which has already happened.
Also, it is human nature whenever PC BS becomes the rule of law rather than THE rule of law, to second guess everything they do, particularly when alone, which would slow them down.
It's also human nature to protect oneself. Cops ain't gonna sacrifice themselves for PC BS, or atleast most won't.
This will adversely affect non-black cops patroling predominantly black neighborhoods.
This is what will happen if he left keeps pushing the racist, murderous cop meme, and if mayors or other politicians pursue PC BS policies,
If a cop knows he or she will likely be punished for doing their jobs (and being the wrong color) this will make them less efficient unless they have a death wish or don't care about their careers, or the media publishing where they live.
"...If a cop knows he or she will likely be punished for doing their jobs..."
In NYC at least, cops are punished for doing their job and NOT doing their job. And since Diblasio has been mayor and dropped several key pending lawsuits, individual police persons can now be personally sued for "doing their job or not doing their job. It just depends on what the alleged aggrieved party gripe is. It was possibly the stupidest thing that Diblasio has done, but not unexpected. He really has made a point to alienate the rank & file police. I find it very hard to believe that there would be any cop who would want to take a bullet for him.
I always find it fascinating that lefties believe that the National SOCIALIST party is not a collectivist/socialist organization. Hitler's only agenda was that GERMANY be the be all and end all of any collectivist effort. They hated the communists because they were not German/Aryan and therefor perfect. Anonymous has reason to deflect the Leftist blame.
No surprise to hear this morning that de Blasio is blaming the press for stirring up racial animosity as if his rhetoric had nothing to do with it. I'm glad those cops turned their backs on him.
I concur, TJ. DeBlasio brought this upon himself and now has the distinction of being the first mayor of NYC to lose virtually all support of the NYPD.
They disrespect DeBlasio and rightly so, because DeBlasio is a dishonorable, craven leftist loon and is a divider, not a untiter.
DeBlasio also cannot lead he can only dictate. At least there's no chance he'll be reelected. Unfortunately though, he will probably do a lot of damage to NYC before his term is over and crime will go up because of his policies.
It will be like the 70's again.
I sincerely hope I'm wrong but I cannot come up with any other conclusion, unless the people of NYC toss this turd out of office.
I've got no problem with peaceful protests against what could be reasonably construed as excessive force but the latest trend seems to be idiots whining about cops shooting back at armed black thugs trying to kill them.
It has happened in muliple places and probably spells the end of the protests as anything but a sideshow (they may continue for months, but their hopes of achieving anything vanished with their sanity).
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