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June 3, 2020

America’s emergency responders are under siege

By Andrea Widburg

I was a little girl, but the events of 1968, especially in Chicago at the Democrat National Convention, impressed me. I remember images of helmeted police officers facing off against rioters. I also remember generally from that year how the protesters referred to the police as “pigs,” so we kids always tried to offset that by waving at the police whenever they drove by.

Back then, you had the leftist protesters on one side, and the media and the political class on the other side, aligned with the forces of law and order. This year, things are very different. The violent protesters (whether BLM, Antifa, Chauvinistas, Anarchists, or opportunists) are being aided and abetted by the media and Democrat politicians. It’s the ordinary American citizen -- the small business owner, the retiree whose retirement fund includes shares in companies that are looted and burned, the truck driver caught on the freeway, the churchgoers, and many other people just trying to get by -- who are the targets of the whole Democrat establishment, from the looters to the mayors’ offices to Democrat politicians in D.C.

And what about the forces of law and order? Well, that’s where it gets interesting. Keep in mind that all of these protests are taking place in Democrat-controlled cities. When it comes to the guys and gals on the street, some are siding with the peaceful protesters, but all seem to be trying to stem the violence. Their problem is that their bosses, not the guys on the streets with them, but the Democrat police chiefs and mayors, are siding with the protesters.

This bizarre situation, one that sees the political class siding with violent revolutionaries, can be summed up in a letter from the leader of the Sergeants Benevolent Association to Sergeants in the New York City Police Department:

 

 

Dear Fellow Sergeant,

I am being inundated with calls, text messages and emails pleading for help. Please know that I am reading each and every correspondence I receive. I want each of you to know that I am very much aware of everything that is occurring in our city. I know we are losing the city. We have no leadership, no direction, and no plan. I know you are being held back and used as pawns. I understand. I am one of you! I am doing, and I will continue to do, everything I can to protect you and the people of this city. So I am asking you to please stay together and stay strong. Hold the line and protect each other. Stand shoulder to shoulder and DO NOT give up. NEVER GIVE UP! I hear you. I am aware and soon everyone is going to hear you. Help is coming and we will win this war on New York City. Remember, you work for a higher authority. It’s good against evil and good always wins.

The following are some of the messages I am receiving:

“Total nightmare last night. The executives of the NYPD are going to get a member of the service killed. They have no plan set in motion.”

“You have inspectors and Chiefs running around the city with no direction. Leave the police work to the frontline supervisors.”

“I’ve been at these riots since the beginning. I have been hit with eggs, bricks, rocks.”

“My officers are depleted, tired, beat up.”

“Our officers and supervisors are getting hurt every  night DOING THEIR JOBS without ANY support from our PC & Mayor.”

“I am so angry with how this has been handled its bringing me to tears with frustration to write it . . . for the 1st time in my 16yr career all ranks have been abandoned by our leadership.”

“We have pepperball guns, tear gas, and other anti criminal riot apparatus such as horses not being deployed!”

“We need to be able to use our tools that are available to us.”

“The leadership of the NYPD has to go.”

“Please what can be done?”

“We need help.”

Thank you for your support, continue to be vigilant, and stay safe.

As it happens, DeBlasio does have a plan, although it does not include either protecting the city from rioters or guiding and protecting his police force. Once again, he’s going after the Jews:

Democrat party operatives are signaling support for the violence all over the place. In Massachusetts, the state Attorney General, Maura Healey, thinks it’s great that America is burning. After the ritual obeisances about her shame at being white and the horrors systemic racism, she came out with this:

Healey made the case that the unrest over Floyd’s killing and the unequal impact of the pandemic give America an opportunity to create a more just society. “I won’t talk about rebuilding. Instead, I’ll talk about building anew in ways that rid us of the institutionalized racism that’s led to America burning today,” Healey said. If Americans do not seize that opportunity, she said, it will “extinguish the promise of this great country.”

After a Sunday night violent protest in Boston that resulted in property damage, arrests, and injury to civilians and police officers, Healey said she is calling for a “revolution,” but not a violent one. “I support calls for a revolution but not the revolution of violence in our streets,” Healey said. “Instead, I’m calling for a revolution in mindset. A fundamental change to our ingrained assumptions.”

And then she called for doubling down on the leftwing playbook. On the internet too, leftist politicos are all in for rioting. These two examples make the point:

While the Democrat political class sends out its virtue signals, emergency responders are suffering. In Oakland, rioters shot and 53-year-old Patrick Underwood, a federal law enforcement officer. In Las Vegas, rioters left 29-year-old Shay Mikalonis in critical condition. In St. Louis, a looter killed 77-year-old retired police Captain David Dorn, who was serving as Moline Acres’ police chief. He bled out on the sidewalk (warning: graphic image). In Jacksonville, Florida, rioters stabbed a police officer in the neck. And in Richmond, Virginia, rioters set fire to a house with a child inside and then refused to let firefighters in. Thankfully, the firefighters were able to force their way in and rescue the child, but it was a close thing.

And then there was this, in Chicago:

It’s to be hoped that, when Americans go to the polls in November, they’ll remember that, to a man (and woman), the Democrat party abandoned the police and ordinary Americans to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with people who tore communities apart. Our Democrat leaders have long lusted after a revolution and, now that they’ve got one, they’ve reveling in it, no matter who gets hurt.

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