‘Thin blue line’ is all that separates us from anarchy

There was universal condemnation to the death of George Floyd, a black man, at the hands of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin May 25. It didn’t take long for Chauvin to be charged with third degree, and then second degree murder and manslaughter in Floyd’s death. Three of Chauvin’s fellow officers also face charges because they stood around and said or did nothing while Chauvin had his knee on Floyd’s neck for over eight minutes. The video of the terrible event said it all.

Most Americans were shocked at the ensuing protests in major cities all over the country that resulted in burning, looting and destruction of private and public property for nearly two weeks. “No peace, no justice!” was the cry of the protesters as they marched through the streets. But the wheels of justice were already turning at a fast pace with serious charges leveled at the police officers.

It’s difficult to comprehend how the stupid actions of one rogue cop in Minneapolis could have been the spark for the terrible carnage and destruction that took place in our major cities all over the nation. It was the perfect storm of the frustrations of so many Americans being locked down in their homes for so many months due to the coronavirus. When they saw what happened to Floyd, the fuse was lit and people let their feelings be known.

Documentary filmmaker Ami Horowitz reflected the feelings of so many of us at the wanton destruction of businesses in Minneapolis. “This is coming on the back of the coronavirus when they were already barely making it, on the verge of losing their businesses. It was really sad. It was heartbreaking,” he said.

Antifa activists were blamed for fanning the flames and turning protests into destructive riots. “Short for ‘anti-fascists,’ antifa has no hierarchical structure or universal set of tactics that makes its presence immediately recognizable, though members tend to espouse revolutionary and anti-authoritarian views,” said Mark Bray, a historian at Rutgers University and author of “Antifa: the Anti-Fascist Handbook.”

These revolutionaries were allowed to run wild during the first few nights of rioting, with police presence nowhere to be found in Minneapolis and other major cities like New York. Subsequently, these riots spread to other large cities around the country and police departments were overwhelmed. Many governors called up their National Guard units to help restore order. Others, like New York, refused to do so.

In the aftermath of all this turmoil, the Minneapolis city council voted 9-3 Sunday to disband the Minneapolis Police Department and invest in community-led public safety. This effort was led by council member Jeremiah Ellison, son of Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, a former U.S. representative. Council President Lisa Bender said, “Our efforts at incremental reform have failed.” We would say that the Minneapolis city council has failed to do its job to ensure its residents live in safety.

Black Lives Matter is another black-led organization involved in the protests and seeking to defund or disband police departments across the country. This is the group that in a former protest involving a police shooting was heard chanting, “Pigs in a blanket, fry ‘em like bacon,” and other similar inflamatory chants. This group is adamant about its name and comes unglued if they hear the obvious retort, “All Lives Matter,” and then call you racist.

America is not a racist country and the majority of cops are good cops and deserve our respect. There will always be racist people and there will always be a few bad cops, but we cannot tear apart the fabric of our society over a few bad actors. We must work to eliminate them.

Democrat-run cities and states in our country will be making a terrible, unimaginable mistake if they disband their police departments and replace them with social workers and psychologists. What we have seen in our streets the past two weeks will be the norm. The “thin blue line” is all that separates us from chaos and anarchy in our great country. We have seen what happens in the absence of law enforcement. We can’t have that.