43....

ETA: The original OP asked “where’s the outrage” for the 43 police officers shot in the line of duty and mentioned in the video. I did not quote the post, so now that she has edited it, you cannot see what I am responding to. I hope this puts my post below in perspective.

***********************************
Honest question: what do you want me to protest?

Of course it makes me sad when LEOs are harmed while performing their duties. But what makes you think that my "outrage" would do any good?

Would it convince the criminals not to commit crime? Of course not--they are criminals and will continue to do wrong. If they are not afraid of the law, why do you think I have any influence over them?

Is my outrage necessary to see justice done? Of course not--there is no doubt that these crimes will be investigated fully, and if there is even the slightest bit of evidence against a person accused of one of these crimes, he or she will undoubtedly be convicted. In many cases, they will be executed. The probability that the authorities will choose not to investigate these crimes and do all they can to bring the perpetrators to justice is zero.

Is my outrage necessary to change the laws so that these criminals can be brought to justice? No. The laws are already on the books, and it is quite easy to convict a person of murder or attempted murder when LEOs are the victims. The felony murder rule has resulted in life without parole for persons who didn't even pull the trigger.

On the other hand, there is plenty that protesting can accomplish (and has accomplished) regarding unjustified police shootings.

1. Video of wrongful deaths like George Floyd finally provide irrefutable proof of the abuse that POC have suffered at the hands of law enforcement since the dawn of law enforcement but was ignored or believed to be non-existent until everyone had a camera in their hands. When those videos become public, protesting can force authorities to take action.

2. Unlike common criminals, government entities DO answer to the public. When laws do not provide justice for those who have been victimized, protest can get those laws changed. When Breonna Taylor's death was ignored and her killer allowed to walk free, protest led to his dismissal and criminal charges.

3. Protesters are hoping to change the qualified immunity laws that allow LEOs to escape consequences for brutal, unjustified behavior. They hope to break the power that police unions hold over cities that prevents the dismissal of an LEO who kills an unarmed suspect, no matter how egregious the act, unless there is a conviction. Qualified immunity makes it almost impossible to convict an LEO, resulting in escalating conflict between those "bad cops" and the people they encounter.

Protesting only works if you have power to get what you want. Protesting a company via boycott to encourage them to act in a way you want them to act can work. Protesting government policies can work when the officials who make/enforce the policies figure out there are enough votes behind the protest to vote them out of office.

Protesting against criminals does what?

Look, I get it. You are a LEO wife, and you love your husband. You want to protect him. Are you out there organizing protests against the criminals? I'm guessing not, because you know as well as I do there is no point. I am sure you let off steam on this message board and other social media, but you also have to know that it will get you nowhere.

So again, I ask: what do you want us to do? Participate in a candlelight vigil? Post "Blue Lives Matter" memes? Protest companies who don't make a "Blue Lives Matter" statement?

It's terrible when a police officer is shot, and that ambush earlier this week was terrible. But those crimes were not committed "on my behalf" by someone employed by the government that I fund for the purpose of protecting and serving.

I hear you. IMO the actions of some 'bad' cops (Like here in Rochester NY) is taking away from the fact that our officers are being killed, harmed and attacked on a daily basis. I am not sure how to change that.

A good friend's daughter went to one of the protests downtown Rochester last week and then proceeded to WHINE about the fact that she was teargassed etc. Well WTF did she expect when the protestors she was among threw firecrackers at the LEO??

I will continue to support our local LEO be it through a verbal thanks or keeping my blue light on. 

I do feel for the LEO's and their families. They are humans as well, and have human emotions. I think we have a very complex issue that doesn't just have one answer. I also don't think that less funding is the answer, but I also believe that most people don't understand what "defund the police" really means.

Some of the things that would help are in depth trainings on racism where the police examine their own biases and how they may affect their interactions with people (and that isn't a one and done training, it needs to be ongoing and repeated); repeated and more in depth training on mental health issues and how to de-escalate situations; stricter gun laws--it seems that police are (rightfully) on guard all of the time because everyone and their dog could have a gun, so they often act out of that fear even if it isn't warranted. The attitude about guns is hurting the country in more ways that one, and this is a big one. That won't be an easy fix, but I think if police would speak out about gun laws, people would listen (especially their "blue lives matter" folks).There are many other actions that could reduce crime, but those are the ones that come to my mind first when I think about police interactions and their outcomes.

I agree with the others. I also want to add that when you hear calls to defund the police, what most of us mean is to take the burden of being social workers, crisis counselors, and so many other things,
off the shoulders of people whose primary job is to keep the peace.

Changing the expectations of what we expect of police personnel, and making sure everyone has they training they need to handle every situation, will save lives (both police and civilian) in the long run.

I do not believe that all cops are bad. I'm grateful for the service of the good and decent people who wear the badge.

There is room for reform and I support sensible changes that will make life safer for people of color.

All I have to say is there are no blue lives. Police officers can take their blue uniform off. POC don't get that option.

<hugs> Leowife, you truly have a treasure in him. 

Gabriel Fernandez comes to mind. 

And this is inherently the problem.  You can't get past the statement that there are no blue lives.  I read your original OP last night but didn't respond because I was on my phone.  Like someone else pointed out, you were angry in that post.  You dared people to come at you "with it".  You were pushing buttons on purpose.  Until that kind of thing can stop, no one is going to get anywhere.  It turns into a "us" against "them" situation.  You stated in another post in this thread that it wasn't political.  But in your original OP you flat out stated that you and your entire family are Trump Supporters and you wouldn't defend that.  So, it is political.  You said so yourself.

It's very clear that no one is saying that LEO lives don't matter, just like no one says all lives don't matter.  But the bottom line is, they have made a choice.  They chose to become a LEO.  POC don't get that choice.  Period.  Ever.  And their lives don't seem to matter near as much in some circles.

You named the thread 43 for the # of cops killed this year.  How about 168?  The number of black people killed by police in 2020.   Black people make up 13.4% of the US population, but account for 20% of people killed by police in 2020.  Chances are pretty good that the murderers of those 43 cops are going to end up in jail and prosecuted for their crimes (or killed, let's be honest).  Breonna Taylors family was just paid $12 million for their daughter being murdered and yet no charges have been filed against the cops who killed her.  The discrepancy is real.

There is a problem in law enforcement.  Are all cops bad?  Of course not.  Are a majority of cops bad, most likely not.  But there is a problem, and those few bad apples do create the problem.  It needs to be fixed.   Body cam requirements I'm fully behind.  With consequences for turning them off.  We put a lot of trust in LEOs.  Unfortunately, there's not a lot of that to go around right now.  I don't know what all the answers are, but going forward with the status quo is only going to end up with more dead people on both sides.  

I'm going to start reporting every one of your posts where you use extreme profanity and/or call other members names.  Kind of had it.  This kind of behavior should be considered unacceptable here.  Either discuss with clarity and integrity, or don't participate.  That you immediately go to name calling shows your lack of ability, and frankly, couth.  



Sorry, not sorry.