by H.P. Smith
The “Back the Blue” slogan has been a regular part of our lexicon for the last few years, in particular as we’ve seen the rise of violent protests from the likes of Black Lives Matter and Antifa, with much of their hate and vitriol being hurled at our men and women in law enforcement. When you add to that the amount of betrayal these same law enforcement officers have endured from their own superior officers and their cities’ leaders, then the idea of decent, patriotic, and commonsense people standing up for them is not at all a stretch.
Many of us have close friends and family that are in law enforcement, so this is very much a personal and up-close issue. I have an uncle, two good friends, a brother-in-law, and a nephew who are all police officers, and my own father spent a few years on our local small-town police force when I was a kid. So the idea of “backing the blue” is indeed very personal to me and something I take seriously. Generally, when a controversy arises regarding an officer-involved incident, my tendency is towards believing the story of the police versus the alleged perpetrator until more is known.
However, my thoughts on this issue have taken a sharp turn in recent months, directly relating to behavior I’ve witnessed from law enforcement, particularly during the time of COVID lockdowns and restrictions. This is not to say I no longer “back the blue.” Rather, it is to say that I no longer do so in a nearly unconditional way. Similar to how President Reagan had a “Trust but Verify” policy regarding the Soviets during the Cold War, I think along the same lines toward law enforcement now.
In many cases, we have seen very troubling behavior by our police officers. We’ve seen them forcefully keep citizens out of public town meetings and the police stand by while Antifa thugs attacked people in the street. We’ve seen people arrested for not falling into line with mandates that are very questionable legally. We’ve seen businesses shut down and livelihoods destroyed by lousy public health policies. And who was there enforcing these lousy policies? The police. Of course, I understand that they are only doing their jobs and that they are in the really difficult position of having to follow orders or risk suspension or termination, which will often mean the loss of the all-too-valuable pension, which is a very real concern for which I sympathize.
It’s not just in the United States. There have been highly visible cases, like the one in Canada where a church was raided and shut down because it wouldn’t comply with COVID rules, and who was there doing the raiding? Our friends in Law Enforcement. Two hundred of them.
There have been anti-lockdown and anti-mandate protests in many European cities that have been aggressively broken up by police; protests that were not at all the violent riots by BLM that were allowed to go on unabated throughout our country and elsewhere for months.
Finally, probably the most high-profile situation to date is what is going on in Australia right now regarding their truly Orwellian mandates and lockdowns. The police are behaving in an incredibly disturbing manner. This video was recently posted on a story on the Gateway Pundit and shows exactly what is going on Down Under. The video makes it pretty damn clear that these aren’t reluctant officers forced to do their duty but doing so in a caring and responsible way. No, this is a case where these people appear to have been given carte blanche to brutally quash any dissent and go out and crack some skulls. And they appear to be enjoying it.
One cannot help but see Nazi storm troopers in these images, as these officers aggressively and even gleefully strangle and beat unarmed protesters in the street. Their riot gear, in fact, makes me think of the stormtroopers in the Star Wars movies. It’s truly shocking. Women being dragged out of their cars. Men, defenseless on the ground, being kicked in the head. Horrifying.
What I often hear, and used to believe, is that this couldn’t happen here. This is America! We are too evolved and enlightened for this kind of thing. And we have the 2nd Amendment to protect us from tyranny of this sort. Really? Go to New York City and ask them about their 2nd Amendment rights. Do you think Bill DeBlasio is incapable of this sort of thing? Do you really believe most Democrat leaders are above the sort of thing we’re witnessing in Australia? If you do, you might want to start seeking your news and information elsewhere.
If the likes of Chuck Schumer, Nancy Pelosi, and Dianne Feinstein have their way, our COVID and vaccine-related rules and restrictions will duplicate those of Australia. Feinstein recently introduced a bill that would require proof of vaccine or negative test to board a domestic flight. There have been similar proposals to require this of interstate travel of any kind. From there, it’s not too hard to make the leap to another total lockdown. And as with the Aussies, a people who I would have never thought would stand for these kinds of shenanigans, Americans will say “Enough is enough,” and we will have massive protests here.
The question is, Will our policemen and women respond in the same way as those in Melbourne and stand against us? Or will they stand with us and say “No”?
Image: Pixabay
