At 05:20 PM 08/08/2002 -0500, Walt Cygan wrote:
>Craig Miller wrote:
>> ...We have a cop get murdered...
>
>Thanks for your post.
>
>It seems to me that CM Johnson Lee's message was not worded well, though
>her heart was in the mostly-right place.
>
>The Police Federation people (and not a few cops on the street, I'll
>wager) probably thought that this was finally one bad situation where
>people could muster a little empathy for the cops, only to have a CM
>seem to lump the 2 deaths together ("...we pause to reflect on the
>untimely deaths of two fellow citizens -- two fellow human beings...").
>So they overreacted ("...the most heinous of all crimes...Timothy
>McVeigh...should resign immediately...").
My problem with the Police Federations letter is I got the impression that
they were deliberately demogoging the situation to try to use the murder of
Melissa Schmidt to their own political advantage. I would think they would
know better, because there are other demogogs who try to use any deadly
force incident with the police to drum up the "no justice, no peace"
sentiments. I have not called the Federation yet, but I do intend to call
them to tell them this personally.
>My opinion is that this discussion has erred too much on the side of
>moral relativism. Someone kills a cop, so she probably was mentally ill
>(though I've not heard any reports that this was so) and so was probably
>not responsible for her actions. I don't see where that comes from in
>this situation.
Actually, my guess is that Donald did have a problem with mental illness.
It is not because I think anyone who would shoot a cop is mentally ill.
That doesn't mean Donald has no responsibility for her actions.
>I can certainly respect the grief of those who lost a friend and/or
>family member, but it seems clear that Ms. Donald would not be dead and
>neither would Melissa Schmidt if it weren't for Ms. Donald's own
>actions. That gives me plenty of reason to feel more empathy for the
>feelings of the folks in blue.
I agree with the police federation that lumping the two deaths together the
way Johnson Lee did was offensive. However as others pointed out on this
list, the same was done at the Horn Towers National Night Out event. Why
didn't the Police Federation issue a letter of outrage about that. At the
same time, I feel that the leadership in the Police Federation poured
gasoline on the wounds by issuing the letter they did in the way that it
was written. They ought to know better.
Eva
Eva Young
Near North
Minneapolis
"You do not have the right to never be offended. This country is based on
freedom, and that means freedom for everyone - not just you! You may leave
the room, turn the channel, express a different opinion, etc., but the
world is full of idiots, and probably always will be." --Article II of the
Bill of Non-Rights.
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