12 JULY 16, 2020 RIDGEWOOD TIMES WWW.QNS.COM
Stop division and embrace change
Here are two opinions that we believe
every New Yorker should
embrace.
First, we need reform at the NYPD
and other police departments across
the country to end inequality and
police brutality.
Second, we need to support the men
and women at the NYPD who bear the
responsibility of keeping us safe.
These are not contradictory
thoughts, nor are they mutually exclusive.
In fact, one can’t work without
the other in order to establish a safer,
more just New York.
And yet, that seemed to be completely
lost upon demonstrators who
took to the streets this weekend in
Queens.
The “Back the Blue” movement
claimed that they marched in support
of the NYPD. They were met by
counter-protesters from the Black
Lives Matter movement, and that’s
when the ugliness surfaced.
Peaceful protest devolved into a
childish spectacle fi lled with protesters
trying to shout each other down,
with some on the “Back the Blue” side
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CThe scene in Bayside, where Black Lives Matter protesters clashed with pro-police demonstrators.
Photo by Dean Moses
resorting to racist epithets to make
their point. Ironically, the cops present
at the protests did their best to
keep the aff airs from turning into
something worse.
And what was gained from this nonsense?
Did either side really advance
their respective cause? No. If anything,
there was just more bad blood, more
embitterment, more entrenchment —
none of the things this city can aff ord
at the moment.
Aft er weeks of protests across New
York, the Black Lives Matter movement
has made clear just how many New
Yorkers are hurting from decades of
injustice and police brutality. They
want a better city, and we can’t ignore
that.
While the Back the Blue movement
wants the city to support those who
risk their lives to protect others every
day, they seem more keen on asserting
their opinion rather than acknowledging
the grim reality of police brutality
and racial injustice in the city and
country.
We should support the NYPD. And
because we should support the NYPD,
we should also want them to be the best
they can be. That means embracing
the call for reform that puts an end to
injustice, improves law enforcement
eff orts, keeps our city safe and avoids
the wanton brutality that has gone on
for decades.
New Yorkers should put aside their
diff erences and rally behind a cause
for peace, justice and equality — and
in support of an NYPD that better
serves this city “with liberty and
justice for all.”
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