By Steve Pomper
While I’ve never liked that so many people take cops for granted, I’d exchange the antipathy of whatever this is that we have now for the apathy of being taken for granted. Here’s a current example of the antipathy. The extremely anti-police business owner of Molly Moon’s Homemade Ice Cream has posted a sign specifically banning police officers from her stores.
POLICE OFFICERS
Molly Moon’s is
a gun free zone
please do not come
inside if you are
wearing a firearm
Gives you a warm and fuzzy, doesn’t it?
I’m waiting for this hate-filled woman to sign or announce a pledge promising never to call 911 for police help. Incidentally, the store is located in what was the former Marxist nation of CHOP. She’s probably bummed her new homeland has been re-annexed by the city.
Reform the police, defund the police, abolish the police are all being considered to one degree or another by even some so-called mainstream folks. Corporations, community activists, and high-ranking politicians are actually supporting these preposterous notions.
But what is most distressing to me is when even police supporters concede the need for police “reform.” Improvement, sure; reform, not. And certainly not “re-imagining”—gag!
For an entire profession to be in need of reform, people must view it, objectively, as inept, corrupt, or otherwise broken. As a whole, America’s cops are not broken. In fact, the evidence shows cops in the U.S. are the best they’ve ever been. Still, some police and police-friendly groups, even some police unions, concede the police need to be reformed. Words matter, folks.
This is odd because when confronted with the reasons cop critics call for police reform, these same police and cop-supporting individuals and organizations also acknowledge the accusations cop-haters make as a basis for police reform are based on myths (once again, “hands up, don’t shoot,” never happened, and what happened to George Floyd was a tragic anomaly).
The only thing the police should concede is a continual need to improve. Any organization or individual can benefit from improvement, and everyone and every workplace should continually strive to improve. If you try to “reform” what works, it’s likely you’ll break it. We’re seeing evidence of this damage from “reform” all over the country every day in the media. Police “reform” is getting people killed.
But, in the midst of the ant-police antipathy, there is also some good news. Getting back to the public taking cops for granted, the dump-on-the-cops deluge has led to something positive. It has turned public apathy into something cops aren’t accustomed to. Public displays of affection—for law enforcement officers. Police supporters are holding Back the Blue rallies, marches, and events from coast to coast in many American communities large and small.
Thousands of police supporters attended a rally in Tampa, Florida. Springfield, Missouri, saw sizeable crowds show up to support their police officers. And there was a Back the Blue event held in Suffolk County, New York.
Breitbart.com recently reported pro-police events in Wantagh, NY, Mansfield, OH, Portland, OR (yes, Portland, Oregon), Omaha, NE, and Roanoke, VA. Longmeadow, MA and Enfield, CT also hosted large pro-police rallies. And there is a Facebook page titled, “Back the Blue” that has over 275,000 likes.
Most cops I know (myself included) don’t feel comfortable being praised publicly for their work. Most of us feel it’s our duty, and we just do it. We don’t expect a “thank you,” though, of course, it’s nice when we get one. And, despite the general apathy, we know how much people appreciate a cop when they really need a cop.
Still, during these antipathetic, toxic times where expressing hate toward law enforcement officers is not only acceptable but also expected in some segments of society, cops especially appreciate it when people take time to let them know they are valued members of their communities.