In the two-plus years since the George Floyd protests, conservative pundits and politicians have accused progressives, racial justice activists, and police reformers of deploying divisive anti-law enforcement rhetoric. They've also roundly ridiculed calls from some quarters of the left to "defund" the police.
They have a point. There has been a dangerous increase in anti-police rhetoric lately, and it has only escalated in recent months.
Several prominent left-wing commentators1, for example, absurdly accused law enforcement officers of planting bombs to frame Antifa and Black Lives Matter protesters.2 Other left-wingers, including Democratic Rep. Zoe Lofgren, have baselessly accused police of engaging in false flag operations.3
One high-profile progressive pundit even went on the most-watched progressive news program in the country4-- and then on several other MSNBC shows5 -- to claim that the police officers injured during the George Floyd protests weren't cops at all, but "crisis actors."6 Other left-wing pundits not only refused to denounce her, they praised her and cheered her on.7
After the highly volatile no-knock raid8 that resulted in police officers shooting and killing Amir Locke,9 left-leaning law professor Eddie Glaude, Jr. had the temerity to second-guess the officer's tactics, calling them "excessive" and "gratuitous," only to later discover that he'd been wrong about key details of the raid.10
Even as racial justice protesters attacked federal courthouses, progressive pundits derisively dismissed protesters' attacks on police with the laughable claim that because the protesters didn't have guns, they were “mostly peaceful."11 Other liberals then blamed police officers themselves for "riling up" the violent protesters.12
And the rhetoric has only grown uglier:
-- A former deputy advisor to President Biden recently called police officers "cowards."13
-- Biden himself at one point preposterously criticized the law enforcement officers who conducted the violent raid that took Breonna Taylor’s life for not taking off their shoes before entering her home.14
-- MSNBC prime time host Chris Hayes actually snickered after playing a clip of a police officer describing how he suffered a heart attack and psychological trauma after George Floyd protesters beat him, electrocuted him, and threatened to kill him.15
— Incredibly, according to reports, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez had the gall to lie to the widow of a dead police officer, just to protect Joe Biden from criticism.16
-- After another police officer described how protesters called him derogatory names, progressive pundit Joyce Vance accused that officer of harboring "right-wing" politics.17
-- Black Lives Matter activist Deray McKesson tweeted that officers who were attacked and injured during the George Floyd protests should be fired because they "whined," "sniveled," and "cried like babies."18
-- Lefty pundit Charlies Pierce childishly called police officers "pussies."19
-- Another liberal activist, who co-hosts a podcast with a former top Biden advisor, mocked police officers for, as he put it, "crying about hurty words."20
-- Yet another "de-fund the police" activist tweeted that police officers who complain about getting attacked by protesters are "little bitches."21
-- One police officer who was injured during the Jacob Blake protests recently said that when he was on Capitol Hill to testify at a congressional hearing, Democratic congresswoman and "squad" member Rashida Tlaib refused to shake his hand.22
-- On his MSNBC show, Rev. Al Sharpton accused police of murdering a protester for purely political reasons, while overlooking the fact that at the time she was shot, the protester and her comrades were attempting to commandeer a police department in the name of racial justice.23
-- After several police officers publicly described the horrors they faced during the George Floyd protests in D.C., MSNBC's Rachel Maddow mocked their gripping, excruciating accounts as "exaggeration," and "third-rate theatrics."24
Attorneys for many of these officers have said these attacks from pundits and cable hosts have resulted in insults, harassment and threats.
Given that so many these law enforcement critics are fans and supporters of President Biden, it’s somewhat surprising that according to recent reports, Biden himself has also referred to police officers as “pussies.”25
The George Floyd protests are now more than two years old. But not only have progressive calls to "defund the police" not died down, the slogan has now spread like a nasty virus from activists to elected officials and candidates for office.26 Left-wing Rep. Ilhan Omar is now selling merch demanding the abolition of a major law enforcement agency,27 a sentiment echoed by other progressives, including Democratic Rep. Karen Bass,28 and at least two Biden-endorsed candidates for Congress.29 Lefty Rep. Jamie Raskin has even compared law enforcement officers to Hitler's notorious brownshirts.30
This sort of disrespect for law enforcement ought to be outside the realm of civilized debate. The next time one of these politicians or pundits gets mugged, they should try calling a social worker. Or perhaps a Republican.
CORRECTIONS:
* Instead of “left-wing,” this headline should should read “right-wing.” Also, this entire post is satire.
Please see a long list of additional corrections below.
I regret nothing.
Instead of “left-wing,” this should say “right-wing”
Instead of “Antifa and Black Lives Matter protesters,” this should say “January 6th protesters”
“Democratic Rep. Zoe Lofgren” should read “Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz”
“progressive” should say “conservative”
“MSNBC” should read “Fox News”
“George Floyd protests” should read “January 6th protests”
“Left-wing” should read “ring-wing”
“Highly volatile no-knock raid” should read “comparatively mild knock-and-announce search”
“police shooting and killing Amir Locke” should read, “police searching Paul Manafort's apartment, after which Manafort was permitted to turn himself in voluntarily”
“left-leaning law professor Eddie Glaude, Jr.” should read “right-leaning law professor Jonathan Turley”
“Federal courthouses” should read “the U.S. Capitol,” and “progressive” should read “conservative”
“Liberals” should read “conservatives”
“former deputy advisor to President Biden” should read “former deputy advisor to President Trump”
“Biden himself at one point preposterously suggested that the law enforcement officers who conducted the violent raid that took Breonna Taylor’s life should have taken off their shoes before entering her home” should read: “Trump himself at one point preposterously suggested that FBI agents who conducted the nonviolent raid on his home, intentionally carried out while he was out of town and only after notifying his security detail, should have taken off their shoes before entering his bedroom.”
“George Floyd protesters” should read “January 6th protesters,” and "MSNBC prime time host Chris Hayes" should read “Fox News prime time host Tucker Carlson”
“Incredibly, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez had the gall to lie to the widow of a dead police officer in order to protect Joe Biden” should read: “Incredibly, Rep. Kevin McCarthy had the gall to lie to the widow of a dead police officer in order to protect Donald Trump.”
“Progressive pundit Joyce Vance” should read “conservative pundit Sean Davis,” and “right-wing politics” should read “left-wing politics”
“Black Lives Matter activist Deray McKesson” should read “former NYPD commissioner Bernard Kerik,” and “George Floyd protests” should read “January 6th riot”
“Lefty pundit Charles Pierce” should read "far-right activist Dinesh D'Souza”
“Liberal” should read “conservative,” and “former advisor to President Biden” should read, “former advisor to President Trump”
“De-fund the police activist” should read “former NYPD officer and conservative activist John Cardillo”
“Jacob Blake protests” should read “January 6th riots,” and “Democratic congresswoman and 'squad' member Rashida Tlaib” should read “Republican congressman Andrew Clyde”
“On his MSNBC show, Al Sharpton” should read “On his Fox News show, Tucker Carlton,” “a police department” should read “the United States Capitol,” and “in the name of racial justice,” should read, “in an attempt to subvert American democracy”
“George Floyd protests in D.C.” should read “January 6th insurrection,” and "MSNBC's Rachel Maddow" should read "Fox News' Laura Ingraham"
Both references to “Biden” in this sentence should actually read “Trump”
Progressives should read “conservatives”
“Left-wing Rep. Ilhan Omar” should read “right-wing Rep. Marjorie Taylor-Greene”
“Democratic Rep. Karen Bass” should read “Republican Rep. Lauren Boebert”
“Biden-endorsed candidates for Congress” should read “Trump-endorsed candidates for Congress”
“Lefty Rep. Jamie Raskin” should read, “far-right Rep. Paul Gosar”
luckily i'm a big dork and love footnotes
Jaysus, you scared me! I thought something had happened to you.