Rebuttal to Mayor Bloomberg

Once again I find myself having to open a blog entry with this disclaimer: the opinions stated are solely those of Frank Borelli and do not in any way represent the opinions or thoughts of Cygnus Business Media, Officer.com, any of its employees, associates or representatives. Now let me dive into the meat of this blog: a rebuttal to Mayor Bloomberg and some stupid things he's said.

We've all seen in the news how James Holmes planned, schemed, purchased and prepared before he went into a movie theater in Aurora, CO and killed twelve people, shooting another 58. We've all seen how people from both sides of the 2nd Amendment aisle (pro and anti) have jumped on the event to further their own agenda. What we've JUST seen, Monday, July 23rd, was the first time a politician in the national limelight called on police officers, nationwide, to neglect their duty and endanger lives to serve that politician's anti-gun cause.

On the Piers Morgan Tonight show, NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg suggested that police officers across America go on strike and refuse to protect people until more gun control laws are enacted. The first time I read that my brain skipped a moment, I blinked and then I went back and read it again. NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg suggested that police officers across America go on strike and refuse to protect people until more gun control laws are enacted. Um, HUH?!

Mayor Bloomberg's statement was: I don't understand why the police officers across this country don't stand up collectively and say we're gonna go on strike, we're not gonna protect you unless you, the public, through your legislature, do what's required to keep us safe.

Well, Mayor Bloomberg, let me give you a few reasons why, and in the process hopefully explain how your suggestion is not only stupid, but it's insulting, AND it marks you as a politician who doesn't care in the least about his constituency.

First, we law enforcement professionals take an oath. That oath includes promising to fairly and impartially enforce the laws of our city, county and state. That oath includes obeying and/or protecting the Constitution of the United States (which contains that thing called the 2nd Amendment if you remember correctly). That oath usually says something about protecting the citizens of the community we serve. That oath isn't just a collection of words mashed together that we say so we can start collecting a paycheck. That oath has a deeper meaning: it comes from our heart. We speak it with our right hand in the air and (often) our left hand on The Bible.

The law enforcement professionals who take such an oath are quite often men and women who have taken a similar oath as they entered military service. They have family members who also serve in a public safety uniform. They are the kind of men and women who volunteer to run TOWARD the sound of shots instead of away from them. They are the kind of people who hold honor close in their hearts and they feel the weight of their duty; a duty they chose; a duty they take seriously; a duty contained in their oath; a duty they won't shirk simply to serve some politician's agenda.

How dare you, Mayor Bloomberg. How dare you in your arrogance assume that police officers are such lowly scoundrels that they would readily set their duties aside either to serve your interest OR to reduce the risk they face each day in a selfish attempt to force the public to support a given agenda. How dare you suggest that over 700,000 honorable, decent and brave men and women neglect their duty, forget their oath, and risk the public safety in the name of YOUR anti-gun agenda.

THAT is why I find your suggestion insulting. You suggest that I lay down my honor, forget my oath, and serve you. I have too much respect for this website to speak my mind freely and say what I'd like to in direct response.

Now, why is his suggestion stupid? Well, let's consider this a moment: New York City has some of the most restrictive gun laws in the nation, yet it continues to see gun violence. Without getting into the gun control debate, consider that NYC's finest, the NYPD and all other law enforcement professionals working within the borders of NYC, are the thin blue line that stands between the law-abiding and those who prey on them. As a matter of fact, I'm pretty sure Mayor Bloomberg has a protection detail that is comprised of some of the men and women from NYPD. If I understand Mayor Bloomberg's suggestion correctly, he thinks every cop in the nation, which would include NYC, should go on strike; take an unpaid vacation; stop fighting crime until such time as they laws HE believes in get passed, no matter how long that takes. Oh, Mr. Mayor - I think you've lost your mind.

To do so would mean every NYPD officer not coming to work and making it very public knowledge. Can you imagine the havoc that would reign in NYC in the first day? How about day two? three? five? ten? fifty? The citizens of NYC would start to leave in numbers never before seen. They'd have no choice. NYC would become a den of thieves and criminals the likes of which we've never before seen in this country, leaving the law-abiding citizens as nothing but unprotected targets, unable to defend themselves specifically because of Mayor Bloomberg's gun-control laws. Oh, yeah, Mr. Mayor: good suggestion. Way to recommend risking the lives and welfare of every law abiding citizen in your city; even the ones who voted for you. Maybe they'll rethink that?

As an experiment, I would suggest to Mayor Bloomberg that he forgo his protective detail and all police services within one block of city hall in NYC. Since the Mayor seems to feel that cops going on strike would be a good idea, maybe he should try it out. Just to test the veracity of his theories, maybe he should declare City Hall and one square block on each side off limits to the NYPD. I think he'd see the error of his ways pretty darn quick.

Mayor Bloomberg: your arrogance and ego are your undoing. We law enforcement professionals don't take the oath and perform our duty for any political purpose. We put on that uniform, pin on that badge, strap on that gun and go out into our communities to fight crime; to defend the meek; to enforce the law; to keep the peace and to fulfill the duty we chose. We fulfill the duty we embraced when we chose this career path. We back up our oath with a level of honor and dedication I don't think you'll ever understand.

But understand this: my honor and my duty are not things to be played with. They don't get conveniently set aside to serve your purpose. I will not compromise that which makes me a decent and moral human being to serve your cause.

Now... go thank the cops who protect you and stop insulting them with your stupidity.

Oh, and have a safe day!