PAX Centurion - May / June 2015

Page 46 • PAX CENTURION • June/July 2015 617-989-BPPA (2772) finally been open to improvement for all ranks in the Boston Police Department. So today all our Police Officers can thank the founding officers that made our union the one that every department copied. When Cleveland was looking to establish a Police Union they reached out to the leaders that brought about change. Today you can thank these men, most who are no longer with us, with the gratitude and thanks for making The Boston Police Patrolmen’s Association the leader in Police Unions. Gone are the days of working 12 hour shifts, getting called back into work without pay, and the benefits each of us received today. “Unity and Strength,” is the motto that the BPPA stands for. Stay safe! The Founding of the Boston Police Patrolmen’s Association… From BPPA Founders on page 41 B oston cops don’t have to perform breathtaking acts of derring- do to be seen as heroic figures. All they have to do to establish their valor is don their uniforms, pin on their badges, then step into the belly of the beast we call society, not only aware that unprovoked savages are anxiously lurking to take them down, but also that every move they make will be picked apart, second- guessed and analyzed by whores with law degrees who’ve made a lucrative cottage industry out of bashing law enforcement. To expose yourself to such a menacing climate is, by definition, bravery. And to do it on behalf of people like you and me, whommost of themwill never meet, is the stuff of gallantry. This is what cops do. Yet we’ve watched them become punching bags for every tinhorn community leader who feels empowered by stirring up marauding We can’t repay police bravery with bias By Joe Fitzgerald, Boston Herald mobs, persuading them it’s the cops who are the bad guys. What is the matter with us?We’re watching this as if it’s just another reality show, bending over backwards to take buffoons seriously, lest we find ourselves accused of insensitivity or, worse, virulent prejudice. It’s emotional extor- tion, and shame on us for submitting to it. The battle is not between black and white; it’s between wrong and right. What’s so compli- cated about that? Evil has no color; inhumanity comes in every hue. So does ignorance, lawless- ness, thoughtlessness and foolishness. And there’s the cop in the middle of it all, trying to make sense of it, trying to protect us while he or she may be in the biggest danger of all. It’s bad enough having to deal with homegrown crackpots, but now comes word that terrorists may also be setting their sights on Boston’s Finest. If so, in protecting themselves they’ll be protecting us, too. The night Ferguson, Mo., went up in flames, CNN interviewed a fu- rious business owner who demanded to know, “Where are the police?” The answer, of course, was that they were a block away, ducking rocks and bottles while being spit upon, perhaps by his customers. With the predictable exception of a few yahoos, at least we have leaders who understand that cops are the good guys.Yes, there are ex- ceptions there, too, as there are if you’re talking about coaches, nannies, teachers or clergymen. But as a force for good in a town where things occasionally go bad, a Boston cop ought to be appreciated because anyone aiming at him or her is aiming at us as well. It’s that simple. Darnell Williams, head of the urban League of Eastern Massachusetts, speaks about the shooting of Usaamah Rahim. Photo: Nancy Lane, Boston Herald Boston Sport Fishing and Beyond Striped Bass • Flounder • Tuna • Shark Boston, MA www.relentlesscharters.com (617) 462-7885 Discounts for members of Boston Police and EMS