December 16, 2014 6:14 AM

Dear Cleveland Police: If you want to be treated with respect, stop shooting children

THE WORST PERSON IN THE WORLD

(apologies to Keith Olbermann)

Jeff Follmer

The Cleveland Police Union is demanding an apology from the Browns for the shirt WR Andrew Hawkins wore on Sunday….”It’s pretty pathetic when athletes think they know the law. They should stick to what they know best on the field. The Cleveland Police protect and serve the Browns stadium and the Browns organization owes us an apology.” - Jeff Follmer Police Patrolman Union President.

As in St. Louis, a police union is all butthurt over a football playing wearing a t-shirt, this time in Cleveland. In their feigned outrage, they’ve managed to blow by the reason for the protest: one of their officers shot a child in circumstances that are at best suspicious and at worst cold-blooded murder.

Perhaps instead of voicing outrage over a t-shirt, Follmer might consider an expression of concern for the fact that one of his officers shot and killed a child. Perhaps he could show some concern for the plight of a family whose son will never grow into a man and have children of his own. Perhaps Follmer could display a modicum of compassion instead of taking offense over an African-American football player wearing a t-shirt. Perhaps Follmer might consider walking a mile in the shoes of Andrew Hawkins, for whom, as a young, African-American male, the shooting of Tamir Rice probably hits very close to home.

Most of all, perhaps Follmer could give some thought to how one of his officers could have opened fire so quickly on a 12-year-old boy? Maybe he could spare a few moments to ponder a racially biased system in which African-American males are uniformly considered to be “thugs” until proven otherwise and parents train their children in how to survive encounters with the police? Instead of voicing outrage over, and demanding an apology for, a t-shirt, maybe Follmer could productively wonder why Hawkins felt the need to wear it in the first place?

Of course, faux outrage and deflecting blame onto a protestor is ALWAYS a great way to avoid tackling the really tough questions. I’d say that Follmer should be ashamed of himself for his childish, clueless outburst…but that would presume he’s capable of feeling and- more importantly- expressing shame.

We can admire police for the work they do and the risks they take in the day to day performance of their job while also demanding they be held to a high standard. And we should. It’s time people like Jeff Follmer understood who they work for.

If you want to understand why Andrew Hawkins staged his personal protest, you can real his thoughtful and heartfelt statement here. It makes Jeff Follmer look pretty small. Hawkins doesn’t believe athletes to be “above the law,” as Follmer cynically states; he just wants the police to be bound by the rule of law in the same way civilians are. That doesn’t seem like it should be too much to ask.

blog comments powered by Disqus

Technorati

Technorati search

» Blogs that link here

About this Entry

This page contains a single entry by Jack Cluth published on December 16, 2014 6:14 AM.

An album of musical treasures for people you hate was the previous entry in this blog.

Black Friday...Cyber Monday...welcome to Total Tuesday, the Day of Reckoning is the next entry in this blog.

Find recent content on the main index or look in the archives to find all content.

Contact Me

Powered by Movable Type 6.0.2