Local Trouble

A policeman in our town has gotten in trouble for something he posted on Facebook about the riots and demonstrations going on around the country.  He is of course guilty of  first degree foolishness.  No one whose career depends on the whims of politicians, bureaucrats, or corporate weasels should post anything on Facebook   that can be interpreted as being about a black person or some black people  (or Muslims  and usually homosexuals and sometimes Hispanics) other than “They are  the kindest, bravest, warmest, most wonderful human beings  I’ve ever known in my life”, or the equivalent.

However, if the version of his post printed on the local newspaper’s website is accurate,  that seems to be all he is guilty of. He wrote that demonstrations across the country begin peacefully and lawfully and then are over run by trash “trying to start crap.”  The wording may be crude, but  rioters, looters, and arsonists have moved in with the demonstrations in many cities, and “trash” is a mild enough term for such vandals.  He then wrote that something similar happened at a local demonstration – saying that after a while “east side rabble” showed up, displaced some of the peaceful demonstrators,  and began chanting  “fuck the police”.   Well, a mob of people shouting such things can properly be called a  rabble, and if they came from the east side of town,  one could see how he could call them  what he did without intending any disparagement based on race. In fact he never mentioned any race or ethnic group in the post.

He’ll probably be fired anyway. Then he can  sue and get to share a big payoff with his lawyer. The citizens will foot the bill, but our sensitive, inclusive civil masters will have been able to signal all sorts of virtue, which should make us all feel better.