In an unusual move, Joe Scarborough began Monday's Morning Joe by delivering a prepared commentary blasting the hate speech which led to the execution shootings of two NY city cops on Saturday. Without specifically naming it, the target of his ire included his own network, as he intoned, "Those marches in New York showed just how much hatred against police officers has been stirred up over the past four months of constant anti-police propaganda online, and newspapers and, yes, on cable news."
Scarborough accused the marchers of exaggerating the police violence against African-America men: "To listen to protesters, editors and left-wing talking heads go on and on since the shooting of Michael Brown, you would be led to believe that white police officers were randomly driving through black neighborhoods searching for young black males to shoot down." He continued:
Well, you know, Mika, sadly this tragedy -- these assassinations were too predictable. You know, we have seen many protesting the deaths of Michael Brown and Eric Garner. We've heard them chanting black lives matter. And of course they do. And this weekend we heard supporters of the NYPD responding to these assassinations with a hashtag "cops lives matter." And they, of course, do to all of us. But the tragic consequence of these recent months should remind all sides that in the end, words matter the most. And I say that because the cop killer’s hatred was fueled by an avalanche of hate speech that was directed at law enforcement officers in general over the past four months. To listen to protesters, editors and left-wing talking heads go on and on since the shooting of Michael Brown, you would be led to believe that white police officers were randomly driving through black neighborhoods searching for young black males to shoot down.
And despite my own views that America's criminal justice system is too unfair to young black males and I have said it repeatedly for decades, I was blasted on social media as a racist for calling out the St. Louis Rams players and United States Congressmen for recklessly promoting the phrase, “hands up don't shoot."
I was worried in real-time for good reason that using those inflammatory words told anybody listening to them that Michael Brown was gunned down by a white cop while his hands were raised in surrender. I was angered at the inflammatory phrase and warned repeating a phrase that the grand jury itself concluded was never used slandered St. Louis cops and would make a bad situation worse for police officers around America. And it did. Why? Because words matter. Words matter. And I was worried after the tragic shooting and it was such a tragic shooting in Cleveland that the New York Times putting up a caption that read, "Police Killed Child With Toy" again painted police officers as beasts and it also conveniently ignored 911 calls that those cops got from frightened residents saying a suspect was waving a gun around pointing it at park visitors and quote "scaring the hell out of them." Why was I worried in real time, because words matter?
The looting and rioting in Ferguson were so bad that many of us, many of us congratulated New York protesters for remaining mostly peaceful while overlooking ugly words. Ugly elements of those marches. Those marches in New York showed just how much hatred against police officers has been stirred up over the past four months of constant anti-police propaganda online, and newspapers and, yes, on cable news. One clip from those protests says it all.
"What we want?" The protesters in New York chant. "Dead cops. When do we want them? Now." Other hate-filled words have spread through those same crowds. Well, they were chanting, “NYPD-KKK, how many kids have you killed today? And how do you spell racist? NYPD.”
More hateful words, more hate speech, more reasons to fear for the lives of all police officers who are the only people standing between you and anarchy. It led me to say this ... The NYPD's police commissioner last month about what I wanted to have police officers tell us. I wanted to hear them say on our show and I should have called them on our show to say this and I said quote, “you don't hear about the fear that I have every night when I go out on my patrol. That I might not get home to my kids. I may not be able to walk my daughter down the aisle when she's married. I may not be able to see my son graduate from high school. “
Saturday night, those fears were realized. And they were realized in part because of the hate-filled speech aimed at cops over the past four months. St. Louis's finest deserve better. New York City's finest deserve better. So do police officers all across America. Maybe now they will get it. Maybe now we'll reset the conversation. And maybe now we'll have an honest discussion about how we balance the right of all Americans.
