Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick joined a handful of other Texas Republican officials Friday in blaming former Black Lives Matter protests for the shooting in Dallas Thursday night that left at least five police officers dead. “I do blame people on social media with their hatred towards police,” Patrick said during an interview on Fox News on Friday. He added that, despite the “peaceful” nature of last nights protests, he blames former Black Lives Matter events for the incident. He also blames protesters at the event critical of law enforcement for expecting protection from them when shots were fired…. “All those protesters last night, they ran the other way, expecting the men and women in blue to turn around and protect them,” Patrick said. “What hypocrites!”
Say what you will about Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick (and Lord knows I’ve said plenty), but there’s never been a tragedy or controversy he’s not willing to wade into and cast blame hither and yon. More often than not, he’s prone to lecturing minorities and/or those who don’t pray to his version of spiteful, vindictive, and homophobic God.
The tragic events in Dallas (five policemen killed by a sniper, several more wounded) should have been something best addressed calmly and with a sober air of gravitas. Instead, Patrick waded in, guns blazing and casting blame as he went. That he immediately blamed Black Lives Matters (BLM) only serves to demonstrate just how thoroughly ill-informed and racist he is and how insensitive and thoughtless he can be when he’s running off at the mouth. That the protest was peaceful (Dallas police and protesters were mingling before the shooting began), and police are now saying the sniper acted alone. To blame this tragedy on Black Lives Matter is as racist and ignorant as it is inaccurate and insensitive.
Patrick could have taken the approach that the situation might be best served by someone seeing what they could do to help. Of course, Dan Patrick’s primary allegiance and devotion are to Dan Patrick and his political prospects. Never one to allow an opportunity to jump in front of a camera and hold forth pass him by, Patrick’s sympathy and concern begins and ends with calculating how he might exploit a situation for maximum political mileage.
Organizers of the Black Lives Matter movement quickly condemned the Dallas shooting and took issue with efforts to blame the movement on it.
“Black activists have raised the call for an end to violence, not an escalation of it,” the group wrote in a statement Friday. “Yesterday’s attack was the result of the actions of a lone gunman. To assign the actions of one person to an entire movement is dangerous and irresponsible.”
BLM, despite what Patrick and other Texas Republicans may think, isn’t the modern-day reincarnation of the Black Panthers. BLM neither incited the shooter nor sought to benefit from it…something Patrick chose to blithely ignore.
Before he goes off half-cocked and accuses anyone of hypocrisy, he’d be well-advised to take a good, long look in the mirror. Were he to do so, he’d see what a hypocrite truly looks like.
I’d suggest that Patrick really should be ashamed of himself for his shoddy conduct and thinly camouflaged racism…but that presupposes he actually possesses the capacity for experiencing shame.
