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Gay cop booted as Boston Pride parade marshal due to Facebook posts
By adamg on Mon, 04/04/2016 - 1:32pm
Boston Pride reports it's rescinded an offer to Anthony Imperioso to be a marshal of the June 11 parade after it turned out he'd posted stuff on Facebook that some might consider racist and classist.
Imperioso, a Woburn police officer and president of the Gay Officers Action League of New England, was recently voted a marshal of the parade. But then people began to protest because of comments he made on his Facebook page about Black Lives Matter protesters - no longer visible on his page because he's made it private.
Boston Pride cannot condone those comments. After a discussion between Mr. Imperioso and Boston Pride, his marshalship has been withdrawn, and Mr. Imperioso will not be a marshal in the 2016 parade.
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Comments
FWIW...
That seems like pretty typical cop-talk, in that it's harsh disparagement of people who are seen to be disrespecting the police. While the protestors were protesting under the banner of "#BlackLivesMatter", none of the protesters were themselves black, so calling his comments 'racist' may be a little much. Perhaps he didn't know the race of the protestors, and his language sounds a little dog-whistle-y, but as he was a cop in Boston at the time of the story he may have indeed intended to call Rob Zombie Jr. there the names that he did.
EDIT: cybah's reply led me to take a closer look at his FB posts and the replies; based on his sharing of the "masshole" video as well as the reply commenting on one of the barrel girls, it seems pretty clear that he knew the races and his comments had no racial component.
I know that guy
I know Anthony P.. not directly, but indirectly (he used to date one of my best friends) and funny I know many of the commentators that were under the pics as said on Twitter (I saw this yesterday). Funny most were fellow gay cop friends of his..
Not the only one
I know another member of this group. Unfortunately there are some gay cops and other members (they're not all cops) who are right wing reactionaries, blaming blacks, welfare recipients, and Obama for all bad things in the world.
Being gay doesn't magically make you an intelligent progressive individual, unfortunately.
So, regardless of what his posts said
It seems like this group was against a police officer being honored regardless.
"To honor a police officer as part of Pride is an affront to the many LGBTQ people, particularly people of color, poor people, transgender people, and homeless people, who continue to be targets of police violence."
Typical. We're biased against a group of people based on the actions of a few...because few are biased against a group (or groups) of people.
They must not want young black men being honored either...
You could switch around some words and it would still be true.
Those poor cops.
Not a friend in the world to defend them against the cruel barrage of assault they receive from the LGBTQ community when one of them stumbles over the concept of intersectionality. Truly I pity them for the unrelenting firehose of petitions from small groups, and occasional exclusions of members from festive parades, that they must endure. If only they had a voice with which to speak.
Also, the letter from the actual public statement of the organization does not contain any of the language you're quoting; the internet petition does, but as soon as it made it past the "manifesto on Action Network" stage, it was changed to what you see here. But don't let that interrupt the pity party.
How neutral would YOU be?
How neutral would YOU be, if you'd ever been bashed by a cop?
I have a friend who was on the receiving end of a beatdown from a cop, merely for being in the wrong place at the wrong time. I have heard him tell the story, and it's nauseating and frightening. I would not ever expect this guy to think well of a cop. I do not argue with him about this: it would be pointless and cruel. If you want to regard his feeling about cops as a failure on his part, I'm not going to argue with you, except to say that it is a human failing and that most of us would probably "fail" in exactly the same way, had we been in his position. It seems like the parade organizers, far from being "biased against a group of people based on the actions of a few", recognize that cops per se are not what this parade is all about, and that the feelings of others are more important at this event.
But then your just like the person on the other page....
who hates black people because his father allegedly got paralyzed by a group of black youths.
We don't seem to validate his feelings do we?
Uh...
Just to be clear, I didn't note anything that guy posted that indicated that he (or she) "hates black people" only that their father's death went ignored or underreported because of the political anxieties of the day. From the barrage of skeptical comments, you might think that though.
I think from his tone it was pretty clear the point he was
trying to make.
A lot of passive aggressive posturing, but it seemed clear to me.
I disagree.
Go back and read his posts. At one point he says that black people have been more understanding. I'm really not seeing a deep-seated resentment or anger towards black people, only the atmosphere of the time.
Remember--it was the nice, liberal Globe (the paper I read, btw) that missed the ball on Charles Stuart. The folks at the Herald smelled a rat.
So by that logic...
As long as you've suffered a beating at the hands of a cop/a man/a black man/a white man/a gay white man/a Muslim/ a random homeless guy/a nun, you just get a pass to hate everyone in that particular category forever? Glad we could clear that up.
Honestly...come on. I've encountered some cops who were real assholes and I've also met some who were total princes and who helped me during some times when I was in fear for my life. Your approach does nothing but allow people to justify their sweeping judgments against entire groups of people because of personal/anecdotal reasons.
I'm not allowing anything.
Do you allow it? Are you justifying animosity towards a group if you are harmed by someone in that group? (blacks, cops, muslims, CM kids, latinos, Brookline turkeys)?
My point is that you can't have it both ways. If you justify these gripes, don't you have to justify the anon from the other thread?
Was replying to LBB
not you--think we posted at the same time. And no, I don't believe that you can hold the sins of an individual against a group, no matter whether they're cops, math teachers, or even lawyers.
ah ok sorry
nt
I agree with you here, Sally.
Generalizing and reducing all members of any group to the very lowest common denominator (if one gets the drift.) can also be quite dangerous, as well.
p. s. I meant to reply to the post two posts above this, but it ended up right below another poster's reply, for some reason.
Not if you can read
No, Sally, but I'm glad to see you're so concerned about the welfare of the unfortunate. Now would you please put in your earplugs so you won't stop barking at the dog whistles, and I'll try to explain again, OK?
You seem to suffer from a confusion that we're all still in Romper Room and Miss Connie is there telling us what we "get to" say and think and what attitudes we get to have. You'll be glad to hear that this is not the case, and that you, and my friend, and everyone else "get to" have whatever feels you want about anything under the sun. No matter what other people think of it, no matter if it's rational or not, you get to feel about things however you want. It is not just a right, it's a fact of nature.
Now, after you've run around the block a few times in sheer euphoria over your liberation from the tyranny of Miss Connie, maybe we can talk about this seriously. Let's start with a fairly simple concept, the difference between a reason and a justification. Things happen for reasons; whether or not they're justified is another matter, and many things happen that are not only not justified, but that aren't even in the category of things that CAN be "justified". It's just a matter of consequences. Thus, you may think it's "justified" for someone to not like cops after being beaten by a cop, but talk about "justification" is irrelevant. If you ever get the shit beat out of you by a cop, for no reason at all, and nothing happens to the cop, not one thing, and you know he is perfectly free to do it again if he chooses to? As a CONSEQUENCE of that, you may indeed never like cops - no "justification" needed.
Now, I really hope that you never have a friend who's been through that and who feels like my friend does, because frankly, if your behavior here is any indicator, you'd be a real insufferable jerk to them. Me? I'm no saint, but I'm capable of understanding my friend and how he feels, and I do not pester him with a lot of self-serving preachy bullshit about "As long as you've suffered a beating at the hands of a cop/a man/a black man/a white man/a gay white man/a Muslim/ a random homeless guy/a nun, you just get a pass to hate everyone in that particular category forever? Glad we could clear that up. Do you think you just get a pass to hate everyone in that particular category forever?" As a result, I have a friend that you would not have.
Glad we could clear that up.
Sorry...
You're right. I can't read your long, incoherent, and yes, hopelessly preachy rants, not without risk of a migraine. Carry on.
Awwww
You know what, you're really lucky, being located in the Boston area, where there are many fine hospitals that can deal with never-before-seen medical conditions, such as migraines induced by exposure to challenging concepts. I hope you find a remedy soon, but I caution you, avoidance of challenging concepts and different opinions is not it.
Great post, Sally!
Thanks.
Never stop hearing about how
Never stop hearing about how this activist generation are eating their own.
Pride parade
Has this parade route been shortened for security reasons or has that been rescinded after the ruling by the Federal Court on the St Patrick's Patade?
Another Parade Controversy
Will the other members of GOAL and Police Honor Guards who march in the parade support Mr. Imperioso by boycotting the parade or will they sell him out? Will straight officers be punished and outed for comments made in Facebook about Black Lives Matter ?
Will Boston Pride allow Black Lives Matter Protesters who spit on and screamed racial slurs at police a coveted spot to march in the Pride Parade?
Just look at individual who wrote the linked letter
He self-identifies as an Anarchist, Unitarian Universalist, Ultra-Progressive, Professional Social Justice Activist working to shut-down prisons.
Something tells me he just doesn't like cops, and is maybe not the most rational individual. Just a hunch!
Well, your ad hominem
Well, your ad hominem response definitely makes it seem that way.
"Everything you say can and will be used against you"
.
I'm bothered
That the linked petition is against police as a general class, as opposed to being against one particular police guy who seems to have displayed some degree of bigoted assholery. This doesn't get us anywhere, and makes it all too easy to dismiss it out of hand.