Make no mistake about it: The war on the nation’s police is a war on all of us — on our values, our traditions and what the demonstrators would scornfully call “the American way of life.” Theirs is a planned and deliberate assault on our system of limited, representative government.
When communists, anarchists and other left-wing rabble-rousers march through the streets of New York City chanting, “What do we want? Dead cops,” and, “When do we want it? Right now,” they aren’t merely attacking that thin blue line that has sworn to defend us; they are, in fact, trying to topple our very form of government.
When they block our streets, disrupt our stores and hurl epithets (and worse) at those who have sworn to protect us, they aren’t merely trying to protest a grand jury decision they didn’t like; no, their real goal is to make clear their utter disdain for the country that grants them the freedom to flout our laws and traditions.
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And you know what? Most of us know this is true. We feel it in our gut. That’s why our instinct is to support the police, even when we know some of them have abused the power we have agreed to give them.
Three times in the past month, cops in New York City have turned their back when their mayor, Bill de Blasio, was speaking. The last time was just a few days ago, when the mayor was delivering a eulogy for Rafael Ramos, one of the two New York City policemen murdered by Ismaaiyl Brinsley, a deranged black gunman who had boasted that he was going to put “wings on pigs.”
I suspect that if I were a cop in New York City, I, too, would have turned my back on de Blasio, despite appeals from the commissioner of police not to. That gesture is about all that those police officers could do to show their utter disdain for the past words and deeds of their ultimate boss.
Well, there is actually something else they can do that isn’t as dramatic but can have an even bigger impact. That is to stop enforcing things like parking violations and other minor laws. This is no small matter: Fines from these less-significant violations bring in more than $10 million a week. But for the week that just ended, such ticket-writing in the city has dropped by more than 90 percent.
In other words, the police in New York City are hitting de Blasio where it might hurt the most: right in the pocketbook.
It’s not merely what they perceive as a lack of support that has these officers of the law so upset; they believe the mayor is on the side of their enemies. Judging by some of the things he’s said, including his very public support of racist agitator Al Sharpton, how could they not?
No wonder that Patrick Lynch, the head of the Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association in the city, says that de Blasio has blood on his hands. Yes, Lynch’s remarks were certainly impolitic. But given what has been happening in New York City, can you blame him?
There has been a lot of talk about what it will take to restore trust between the police and the mayor’s office. Seems to me it’s the same thing that will be necessary to restore trust between the nation’s police (and many of us) and an even higher official: the person sitting in the White House.
In both cases, the answer will be a new occupant.
Sadly, we could see a lot of mayhem before that happens.
Until next time, keep some powder dry.
Chip Wood was the first news editor of The Review of the News and also wrote for American Opinion, our two predecessor publications. He is now the geopolitical editor of Personal Liberty Digest. This article first appeared on PersonalLiberty.com and has been reprinted with permission.
