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West Roxbury residents rally for police
By adamg on Tue, 12/23/2014 - 5:58pm
About 150 West Roxbury residents rallied on Centre Street this afternoon to support Boston Police.
Kids held signs along the street at the small plaza in front of the Starbucks at the Roche Bros. plaza. Some posed for photos with one of the small number of officers assigned to look over the demonstration:
Ralliers occasionally chanted "BPD! BPD! BPD!"
Passing motorists honked. A firefighter driving Engine 30 turned on his red lights and sirens in support.
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Comments
I love my neighborhood
Cops are citizens of the same city you live in. They're coaches, fathers, mentors, brother and friends. So if you have a problem with my buddies i have a problem with you.
PS.... Im not worried about cops because im not committing any crimes!
Some people get shot and
Some people get shot and murdered simply because they dig in their pockets for wallets. Cops are NOT saints. They are citizens who passed the civil service exam and some of them sadly do abuse their authority. Reality is reality. Not every person murdered by cops are committing crimes. Geesh brainwashing in America is the norm.
Do Yourself a Favor
Look up the word "murder" in a dictionary and tell us about all the police shootings it applies to.
You do yourself a favor...
... and ask yourself whether you think there is some magic in the blue hat that turns all cops into good people, or, if, on the other hand, cops are just like everyone else: most good, a few bad.
What's all the protesting about?
I think the police in our city do a good job. Talk to anybody who'd know about how the force has changed in the last 25 years and I think you'd agree, we've come a long way. We have every reason to be grateful for the hard work and the progress.
Professionals always look at the record and look for ways to improve. We have a professional police force and they look for ways to improve.
News of the killing of unarmed black men by law enforcement officers, all of whom were found not criminally responsible, in cases from all over the US, in places like Florida, Ferguson MO, Milwaukee WI, Oakland CA, Albuquerque NM, Cleveland OH, Staten Island NY, and on and on-- approximately one every 28 hours-- inspired citizens of Boston to come out to march for justice.
A series of cases where police officers were involved in lethal shootings of unarmed black men, (and in Michael Bell's case, an unarmed white man,) made people ask whether the training of officers encourages the use of lethal force in situations it should not, or if implicit racial bias stirs fear that cause officers to employ excessive lethal force, and if so, what could be done about it.
In Boston, we've had 8 officer-involved homicides in 10 years. All of them were determined to be justified by investigators. I don't know anything about those cases but I heard about them because Commissioner Evans, DA Dan Conley and Mayor Walsh held a meeting in Roxbury to talk about how these cases are investigated so people know. This is a great way to start the conversation Mayor Walsh has been asking for. Their leadership is an asset to our city. A state senator talked to the DA about profiling. Citizens spoke up about what they felt were nuisance traffic stops. The ACLU studied statistics about who gets stopped and questioned and who doesn't. They made recommendations on how to change that practice. There were parents who children were shot and killed by a policeman at the meeting, and they spoke.
In NY state, the AG asked the Governor for the authority to investigate police-involved shootings to obviate DA/police conflict of interest that has been a big concern in Ferguson MO and Milwaukee WI.
I 'm hopeful we'll make progress whereever it's needed and I'm certain we've have good people figuring it out.
Really?
Can't you just appreciate that people went out to show their support for the police? Do you really have to pull the, "Cops are usually good, but..." Seriously, enough already.
And neither
Are young black males!
Go away...
No one wants to hear your whiny, anti-cop bullshit. You're too much of a coward to go out and do what they do, so you have to sit and pout and cry about it. Go join a die-in someplace other than here.
Also, you said, "But everyone mutderdd by cops..." So what you're saying is that even if a cop kills a violent criminal, it's still murder? What is it when someone kills a cop, a righteous kill?
"You're too much of a coward
"You're too much of a coward to go out and do what they do, so you have to sit and pout and cry about it."
You know, they're not exactly going around begging people to be cops. You get paid a ton, have great job security, and it's not nearly as dangerous as many jobs that pay $10 an hour. Maybe if my daddy was a cop or I joined the Army when I was 17 to get out of jail I could be a cop too.
Only a scum bag...
...would say what you just said. So you think that people who serve in the military are criminals and that police officers are just fat mooches leeching off the system. Paid a ton... Yeah, ok.
Honestly yes some officers do
Honestly yes some officers do abuse their power but there are bad people everywhere. But when you have a problem who will you call? They're the true heroes. Fire fighters and Police officers and EMTs are all first responders. They put their lives in danger every time they go to work. Remember that next time you want to make an ignorant comment. Remember that next time you have a problem and go to dial 911. They have families too and they're risking their lives to save US.
Heart-warming to see this
Heart-warming to see this from the little kids. Awesome that Boston parents organized this show of support at what is a difficult time for police.
Half these...
Half these townie kids will be arrested for assaults or drugs in the next 10 to 15 years but will get off scot-free for obvious reasons.
Huh? How are these kids from
Huh? How are these kids from West Roxbury who ate supporting a good cause in their community townies and future criminals?
Adam, you're exposing these little kids' pictures shouldn't be tied to vile bigoted ridicule. I know that wasn't your intention, but given the aggressive nature of the comments here and the young ages of these kids, perhaps you might consider removing their pictures from your post. How would you feel if such hateful accusations were unfairly and wrongly spewed at your own kids for tens of thousands of online readers to see?
How do YOU know, SoBo-Yuppie?
This:
is really stupid assumption, not to mention a much-too-broad generalization of what half of these kids will become. Maybe some will turn out that way, but I'm sure most of them don't. Come to think of it, there are probably people in the neighborhood(s) where the vigils for support of the BPD take place who are far more open-minded than YOU seem to be.
In other news: children and
In other news: children and wives of cops like cops! Cops paid to stand there also like cops!
Black and Blue Lives Matter
The difference between Boston and other cities is we have adult leadership. Now if academia, out of town students and suburban street soldiers would let the leaders in the black and blue communities work together as problem solvers we will all be better off.
Hmmmm
Anyone feel weird when we're using kids to protest/support/critique systemic problems they can't understand?
Or is it ok because...monochromatic crowd?
Overanalyzing this a bit much?
Some of those kids had parents who are cops.
Without getting into the basics of the issue, how is this different than the photo I took a few days ago of kids (granted, a few grades above the kids tonight) protesting against police actions.
Kids aren't as unaware as some adults seem to think.
Fair. And it isn't. It just
Fair. And it isn't. It just seems disingenuous to use children to protest complex structural and institutional issues without them having some context.
Honestly, how many of these people and kids have followed and read the ferguson grand jury minutes, know what the 'I can't breathe' movement relates to, are willing and able to talk about disparate treatment in their own communities and others? And further, how many of them know about the individual who executed two officers, after he shot his girlfriend and exhibited signs of a psychotic episode?
Imma go ahead and guess...none. And maybe they shouldn't have to worry, because their parents are cops, because they live in a safe area, because they don't have to worry about racial profiling, because they have access to good education and social services. Or maybe this is a time to have those conversations with all communities and all our kids, so that we can change the problems that lead to such hate and violence.
This was a bit different kind of demonstration
I didn't see any signs or people referring to Ferguson, New York, etc., except for one kid holding a sign reading #copslivesmatter. There were no "Breathe Easy" signs, no signs accusing Black Lives Matters protesters of killing cops, etc. It was just people showing support for Boston cops specifically (a number of people held signs reading "Thank you, BPD"), by a crowd that was incredibly relaxed - no real steady chanting, no angry yelling, in fact, a lot of people were just chatting with their neighbors/friends as they or their kids held signs.
Obviously, there's a political context here - the rally didn't just spring out of thin air - but in general, it really seemed more like supporting a police department that has had nowhere near the issues of other police forces in the country than playing into the sort of hateful rhetoric we saw coming out of New York this week.
That doesn't mean parents shouldn't be talking to kids about the more serious issues elsewhere, or that West Roxbury isn't uniquely isolated from them.
But it also means I don't think the kids at this rally or the parents who brought them deserve to be knocked for not having read the Ferguson grand-jury transcripts (honestly, how many people anywhere have done that?).
THIS
That exact example (of the students protesting police action) came to mind as soon as I saw this post.
All the people who were hating on the fact that those teenage students were supposedly persuaded to protest unjust police action are most likely the SAME people loving this hot chocolate-sipping, Ann Taylor-wearing, GMC Yukon-driving, Parkway Little League-flossing, Golden Retriever-petting, BLS bumper-stickering, white privilege-dismissing, blind eye-turning, white people rally.
What exactly is the root source of this rally anyways? Because honestly, this "WE LOVE ALL COPS" rally comes off as a counter-protest to the NYC / Ferguson rallies. To me it says, "We support the status quo. There's nothing wrong with the way our current judicial system works. We think all cops and all their actions are just and fair and unbiased and you people are crazy asking for a brighter future for your black children."
(Let the record show that I was raised a white, privileged, BLS Westie brat.)
Is this your "those kind of people suck" critique?
Or are you mocking a critique premised on an absurd stereotype?
I bet it's the former.
Wow, Awkwardlytrue (not
Wow, Awkwardlytrue (not verified) on Tue, 12/23/2014 - 9:06pm, whipping yourself into a paranoid frenzy much? I for one am glad that Adam is showing that most of us Boston residents are in favor of our police officers and first responders.
Supporting civil services and
Supporting civil services and asking questions to make them better shouldn't be mutually exclusive.
People do bad things in all professions, but that doesn't mean we should ignore the bad things that happen. It should make us thankful for the good things, and want to make things better. I'm thankful for police officers who are under appreciated and consistently put themselves in danger, but I still can criticize systemic problems as well as the actions of individuals.
"Make them better"?
Are you a cop? Have you ever worked in law enforcement? Didn't think so. What do you do for a living? How would you like it if people showed up at your place of work and started barking at you about how to do you job better? You have no idea what you're talking about, and most people are getting fed up with the whining about police. Enough already.
Oh ok, so the FX guys rigging
Oh ok, so the FX guys rigging trades to screw over their clients and make millions should not be asked if what they were doing was wrong? Guessing you're not an FX trader and havent ever worked in FX trading. So you shouldnt tell them how to do their job.
This is part of the problem with this issue; if the people who police the police are the police, nothing will get changed. Same thing with the banking industry and outside regulators. The trick is getting the balance just right, which you could argue is a goldilocks situation, near impossible to get the perfect balance. But that doesnt mean there should be NO oversight.
If I am paying their salary
I have something to say about how they do their job.
Period.
Eh...no.
We all have to pay our taxes. Period. No choice about that.
Really??
We aren't allowed to have any say in what our tax dollars fund or how they are used?
That's unamerican! What kind of Tory are you?
Sure...
Go vote. But funding civil service is going to happen no matter what. Hey, I'm in the U.S Coat Guard and I pay federal income tax just like everyone else (who decides to be a productive member of society). So apparently I'm paying myself. I'm pretty sure cops pay taxes too.
bratty teenagers
Bratty teens use the same logic: "you have to give me money but don't tell me what to do and stay out of my life".
You must have failed US History and civics. How condescending and arrogant and ignorant can you be?
I'm sure you think that women got the vote by ... Voting!
Sorry...
...but you don't get to tell me what to do. Go put on a uniform and choose a life of sacrifice and service, and then we will be on equal footing.
Try to enjoy the holidays if
Try to enjoy the holidays if you celebrate, and otherwise, try to understand that not everyone in authority is out to get you.
"Most" might be a bit strong or premature or something
It might be true, but I'm not ready to jump to that conclusion based on 150 or so people standing in front of the West Roxbury Starbucks for an hour. I've seen much larger Black Lives Matter demonstrations in Boston - what does that say?
As Awkwardlytrue says, it's possible to appreciate the generally excellent job our first responders do while still recognizing possible issues with the system.
" I've seen much larger Black
" I've seen much larger Black Lives Matter demonstrations in Boston - what does that say?"
Fashionable radicalism is easy to get behind, especially for young people where posting a hashtag to facebook or twitter gets the gratification of the likes number going up.
Ha!
Well said. Absolutely 100% nail on the head. I think most of the "protesters" just want to be able I go back home this Christmas and brag about how they're an "activist" against the police (while their parents hang their heads and ask where they went wrong).
There ARE serious issues that exist in police departments
that definitely need changing, but I don't think that there's anything wrong with supporting the BPD, either. I also have to commend the ones who held a vigil in support of the BPD for not blocking traffic, or shutting down MBTA/bus stations, or standing in the middle of the MBTA tracks.
Glad I was able to have my say.
How do you know?
Are you a cop?
Huh?
A group of middle school kids protested against the police the other week. Same thing, or do you have some pseudo-intellectual observation on that, too?
That was a school sponsored
That was a school sponsored event requiring permission slips.
So?
These kids are showing support for their loved ones who risk their lives for them, and also for complete strangers. How anyone can even think of criticizing this show of support is beyond me. What happened to this country?
I'm talking about the protest
I'm talking about the protest event last week or whenever it was.
I got that...
Just not sure what you're angle is here.
Does it matter if the
Does it matter if the SUPPORTERS are related as wives, children, friends of Police Officers? Wouldn't they be the ones who know first hand what kind of support the police need during these times. Yes, they took a test, just as much as you interviewed for a job and got it. Difference is, and it's relevant, you are not putting your life on the line and willingly doing so. Is it so hard to just acknowledge it as a gesture of good faith, and getting the right message out of peace within your community. You can support the police department and still have an opinion on INDIVIDUALS and their overreach when given authority. There are thousands of really great officers that far outweigh the decision of one. And do you honestly think these parents dragged their kids to a sidewalk and used them as a prop for their own agenda? gimme a break.
Not an Either Or
I don't like how this situation is being set up overall as either you like cops, or you're protesting two grand jury decisions. Yes, we should support the police, while at the same time not ignoring any injustices carried out in the name of police work.
I'm not the first person so say this, but I find no contradiction at all in supporting the police--the vast majority of whom are good people--and at the same time seeking the appropriate consequences for those within their ranks who take things too far.
Of course I support the BPD
I'm a liberal, and a gay male. I have every reason to support the Boston Police. We can enjoy the freedoms that we have won because the police keep the streets safe for us.
Adorable!
adorable!
I teach some of those kids,
I teach some of those kids, in that very neighborhood. I've had my issues with cops and the BPD in particular over the years, I know they are far from perfect. However, I think of this one dad who often appears at the school in his uniform, rushing from this to that and looking the worse for wear. There's a little patch on his patch that explains a lot, it says "homicide". I can think of few people in this city who do more to make black lives matter than the guys who try to bring the killers to justice, and maybe save some live in the process.
Well I think they're genuine..
Because of course a bunch of white kids in Boston would have a positive opinion of the police.
I really hope the parents that got them involved in this action also take the time to show their kids the other side of policing and why other people in their city don't feel the same way.
The protestors are vastly
The protestors are vastly majority white kids too, and they obviously don't have a positive view of the police. Your comment is pointless but I'm sure it made you feel better to get it out there. Right on man!!
The protesters you see on TV are overwhelmingly white, yes
The hundreds of high-school and middle-school kids who held protest marches through Boston, not, not so white.
Totally agree. The hashtag
Totally agree. The hashtag warriors making feeble attempts to block traffic so they can convince themselves that they are making a difference and can someday tell their kids that they were battling the police for social justice back in '14. The young kids protesting in the inner city at least have real life perspective amd are a lot more credible.
No, they won't...
And that's that, ok. People are tired of listening to the "Yeah, but..." whining from the likes of you and your anti-police ilk. Enough, ok? Can we put it any clearer than that?
Shut up, you posters I (MatthewC) don't agree with!
You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law....
Any questions?
Nope!
They have a right to peaceably asemble. Just like you have the right to hate those who have sworn to protect you while you sleep.
irony, defined
in that everyone defending un-indicted police officers cry "but we don't know the whole story! there are TWO SIDES!" now say exactly what you say - "we don't want to hear the other side, it's not important, it doesn't exist"
like it or not, there are plenty of people who, through no fault of their own, have every reason to fear police, not cuddle up to them.
and by the way, I'm not anti-police, but thank you for projecting your rage onto my comment.
What comment?
Just another "anon". Move along.
Awesome!
It's great to see that there are still decent people in our communities who appreciate those who choose to serve.
Just don't get it...
The motives behind this rally are just so near-sighted and silver-spooned. OF COURSE upper-middle class white people of West Roxbury are 100% happy with their police. Has there even been ANY backlash against the E-5 district? How about the BPD in general? I feel like Boston's police support has been pretty unwavered in the light of recent events.
This whole thing comes off as nothing but an attempt to mock the protests of people in support of police accountability and judicial fairness. There was a sign at this West Roxbury rally that read "COPS LIVES MATTER" -- a DIRECT take on the "BlackLivesMatter" catch phrase and hashtag used in the Ferguson and NYC protests.
To sit here and say that this was a harmless and out-of-thin-air rally to support the BPD for no reason other than to "just show some love" ... is as bogus and sheltered and as closeted-racist as the these Parkway moms who wrote these signs for their kids to hold.
West Roxbury is upper middle
West Roxbury is upper middle class??? Since when? And Roslindale is the new Back Bay. Ha ha! Thanks for the laugh. Go start a new hashtag trend on twitter and get back to us when you enter reality. FYI, this is Boston. This is NOT Ferguson, and NOT New York.
Have you looked at West Roxbury housing prices recently?
At some point, the long-time residents who are now house rich are going to be pocketing those profits and moving to cheaper suburbs.
Roslindale, as always, lags behind West Roxbury in that regard, but don't underestimate the impact of people moving there who can't afford JP.
That is SOOO cute
It reminds me of Chris Nilan's autobiography. He was going on about being working class in Boston. His dad was a skilled craftsman at MIT. They vacationed on the Cape in the summer. That is not working class.
If West Roxbury is not upper middle class, then either it is upper class or you have no clue what upper middle class is. Not hating on West Roxbury, but it is the definition of upper middle class, as a whole. Maybe not Washington Street or the Grove, but that is a small portion of the neighborhood, which I am sure the rest of West Roxbury would like to disown.
Because...
Because anybody who vacations on the Cape is rich.
Right. Try getting out of the city sometime.
I'm solidly middle class
And I've never spent a summer's night on the Cape.
Perhaps your cohort is skewed, Murph, but most working class folk are can barely afford vacations, let alone the cost of a beach rental. I'm not faulting the Nilan's for taking the kids to the Cape. I'm not even saying they are rich. I'm just saying that I grew up middle class in Roslindale, and hung around Dorchester as a youth, and getting out of town was a BIG thing, not a given. My summers as a child had the high point of a day trip to Hampton Beach. And again, my memoirs will not call my family "working class."
Yes we are happy with the police
Should the residents of West Roxbury feel bad out being happy with the police because there isn't much crime here? Maybe I'll encourage my son to go down and rob Blanchards and toss a few store clerks around so I understand what it's like to have some negative interactions with the police. The vast majority of young black men are murdered by other young black men. If not for the crimes being committed in those neighborhoods, the police wouldn't even be there. Why are there no protests against the people who are selling drugs and ruining the neighborhoods for the honest hard working people who live there? The vast majority of police officers do not go to work thinking "I'll go to work today and shoot a unarmed black man". and Stomps, you are the one who appears to be the racist by making sweeping judgements about a group of "white people" gathered together trying to do a nice thing.
Not this again
Most crimes against whites are committed by other whites. Why no protests? Why no outraged calls on national TV for the white community to do something about the culture of hatred that ends with police assasinations?
Ahem, anyway, about the canard about blacks not doing anything about crime in black neighborhoods: Please do some research first before reciting that tired, empty-headed and, frankly, racist line.
I get why you don't know anything about what's going on in Roxbury or Dorchester, you're busy with your own life, they're soooo far away from West Roxbury, etc., etc., but seriously, there are people in high-crime neighborhoods who are doing something about/protesting over crime in their neighborhoods.
If, unlike most of the people who post this BS line here, you really do care, contact the office of City Councilor Ayanna Pressley (hey, she's at large, so she represents you, too), and I'm sure they'll be more than happy to fill you in. Heck, you could even try Councilor O'Malley - I'm sure he knows quite a bit about issues in the part of the district that people in West Roxbury never go to and have no idea what's going on in.
Out of Thin Air Rally?
I think this rally is a reaction to the "out of thin air" cold blooded murder of two NYPD officers.
Interesting...
Apparently cops aren't even supposed to use deadly force force when actually faced with deadly force.
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/new-protests-near-ferguson-after-officer-kil...
It's easy to do when your group isn't their main target.
The end.