April 2024. Blues Vol 40 No. 4

a good example for this

a good example for this young man and who also did not care enough to make sure that he was not running the streets with a gun? If we are going to assign blame - it seems dishonest to put the majority of the fault on the police officer who was forced into a dynamic and violent situation - through no fault of his own - while simultaneously not blaming the other adults who allowed this situation to deteriorate to the point that Mr. McMillian was out and about with a group of criminals terrorizing random citizens. THE DOUBLE STANDARD There is a double standard at gofundme. gofundme routinely shuts down fundraiser accounts established for police officers when they are charged with crimes and trying to raise money for a legal defense. However, during the 2020 riots, thousands of people who were arrested for vandalism, theft, and arson were allowed to establish gofundme accounts and raised funds for their various criminal defenses. Mr. McMillian’s family has been allowed to establish such a fundraiser on this platform - despite the fact that he committed multiple crimes (felonies) before he was shot by a police officer - including Aggravated Assault against a Police Officer. gofundme is a private company and can/should be allowed to set their own standards. As customers we should request that they apply the same standards to every fundraiser. That is not an unreasonable request. FINAL THOUGHTS If provided any reason (whether plausible or not) anti-police activists will exploit every situation to the maximum to promote their dishonest narrative. There are strategies and practices that can be employed to limit the damage that can be inflicted upon communities. There are misguided individuals who believe that it is their destiny to destroy and dismantle communities - while the rest of us are responsible for maintaining the thin blue line between order and chaos. For example, the reason that the Ma’Khia Bryant OIS in Columbus, OH is not associated with ‘police violence’ is because politicians made the good decision to release the police body cam footage almost immediately. The release of this footage depicted literally one of the most justifiable and reasonable OIS incidents ever captured on police body camera. There were no riots, no dishonest narratives, and no police officers received serious threats. (Listen to Officer Nate discuss this incident on the incredible podcast On Being a Police Officer). This is an honest playbook that politicians and police leaders in other communities should employ. The quick release of the footage in Mr. McMillian’s case could have stopped much of the chaos fueled by anti-police activists who only possess the goals to divide and destroy communities. The only way that we can fight against dishonesty is with the willingness to promote truth. We should all be allowed and encouraged to express, discuss, and debate opinions. We should do that in a reasonable and respectful manner. But, we should be more aggressive when it comes to objective truth. The time for silence is over. 22 The Blues - April ‘24

The Blues - April ‘24 23