I was watching C-Span this morning, and a lady named Tracey Meares was giving a speech to an attentive audience while the TV crawl identified her as former member of President's Task Force on 21st Century Policing.
She set the tone by quoting James Comer's recent remarks about the "Ferguson effect," then she went on to dispute that theory. And what this did was highlight the difference between most Americans' view of the police and Obama's.
America is a nation of laws which we hope will protect people and their property. However, the honor system alone won't make it work. There has to be a way to enforce the law. And that's what the police do. Most Americans see the police as keepers of the peace. However, Obama and his people see the police as an occupying force bent on inflicting pain on suffering victims. There are undoubtedly some individuals who have suffered at the hands of police. But those instances are actually quite rare.
What the police do is provide a presence that conveys a message to would-be law breakers that there is a good chance they will be caught. What prevents crime is the knowledge that punishment would be swift and certain.
Unfortunately, we are living through a period in which many among us want to be seen as victims of police. And too often an easy way to accomplish that is to goad police into reacting to a perceived threat.
I was just remarking recently how rapidly we swung from the almost-too-idolizing sentimentality of post-9/11 to the polar extreme that seems to be the prevailing mentality now. I'm sickened by the way many - especially Gen Y & Z folks - have developed such a nasty bias against the police.
I had not made the Obama association tho until I read your post and I do think you've got a valid argument. I think the anti-police view started more than 8 years ago, but I do believe it was really ratcheted up under Obama.
Posted by: Rob O. | December 30, 2015 at 09:29 PM