Page 17 - FOP JUNE Newsletter

What matters most
Black lives matter. Agreed, as do the lives of white, brown, purple, red etc. While there is no dispute that black lives matter, it seems as though in reality black lives matter more when they are killed by white police officers.
If you stopped 100 people on the streets of Chicago and asked them about the case in which a Chicago police officer was captured on video shooting a black man armed with a
knife, I would suspect that at least 99 of them would
be able to recite the name of Laquan McDonald. However, if you asked those same people to iden-
tify the name of the 9-year-old boy, who was lured
into an alley by adult gang members whose in-
tent was to torture and kill the innocent child, how
many people would know the child’s name? I would
be surprised if more than 10 people would know the vic- tim was Tyshawn Lee. How about the 15-year-old girl who was stabbed to death in broad daylight, witnessed by doz- ens of people, by a 13-year-old girl with a knife given to her by her mother? How many would know her name, De’Kayla Danisberry? My guess would be one or two. How tragic!
Was the murder of Tyshawn Lee somehow less signifi- cant because he was killed by black gang members rather than a white police officer? Unfortunately it appears so.
The outrage expressed by various politicians and com- munity leaders over the McDonald shooting reeks of hy- pocrisy. These same critics are silent when it comes to the countless homicide victims who have been killed on our streets. The reason for this is simple: The critics are con- cerned about themselves and advancing their personal agendas. The victims’ worth is meaningless other than to provide a platform for these officials to pontificate. The
DANIEL HERBERT
FOP
of their self-proclaimed leaders.
According to its website, Black Lives Matter
Legal Rep t
injustice experienced by the homicide victims and their families extends beyond death. Instead they are further victimized by exploitation at the hands
(BLM) is an “ideological and political intervention in a world where Black lives are systematically and intentionally targeted for demise. It is an affirmation of Black folks’ contributions to this society, our humanity and our resilience in the face of deadly oppression.” I am certain there are many sincere and well-meaning people behind BLM; however I question the reach of their ap-
proach thus far.
Focusing the majority of its attention and resources on
police misconduct does little to further the interests of the myriad of other victims in the community. I recognize
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