13 Mar 2007 cinamod   » (Master)

My brother Andrew graduated from the Philadelphia Police Academy yesterday. Ruth and I drove down from Boston to see the ceremony. We're both very proud of him and hope that he's found his calling in life, stays safe, and protects and serves the community to the best of his ability.

Mostly, the presenters/officials talked about how the graduates faced almost-certain death and how 2/3 of them were being sent to Philadelphia's worst neighborhood. About how some officers recently got mangled underneath a car. And how they'd be understaffed and probably wouldn't have backup when they needed it most. Or if they did, it would be at the expense of protecting another neighborhood. It really reminded me of RoboCop. There was a local college representative present, urging the graduates to continue their education so that they could "ride a desk" instead of being killed in the line of duty.

Perhaps it's a realistic assessment of what faces these young men and women. And maybe it's what the graduates needed to hear. I know that I couldn't do the job. But I didn't find the speeches particularly upbeat (eg. "Congratulations. You're starting a new fulfilling career in serving the public."). They were more somber - perhaps even morose. If I were in my brother's shoes, I probably would've crapped myself, gotten up, and left. But then there's a good reason that I didn't apply to be on the force and I'm glad that people like my brother have the courage to do those jobs that I can't do. We owe them a debt of gratitude and the highest respect for putting their lives on the line each and every day they don a uniform.

What follows is a post-game recap of the day's irony, double-speak, hypocrisy, and pandering. At the end of the ceremony, I wanted to laugh, cry, and vomit. It is in no way is a condemnation of the police, the very important jobs that they do, or the day's graduates. Instead, it should be read as a criticism of the city's leadership and perhaps their speech writers' collective ignorance and ineptitude.

---------------

Mayor John Street:

"I've been all around the country and around the world, and the only place our police department doesn't get the respect it deserves is in Philadelphia itself." <thunderous applause>

(30 seconds pass)

"There's no place in the world that respects and appreciates its police force as much as we do in Philadelphia." <thunderous applause>

---------------

Mayor John Street:

"No one here today is here because of nepotism, favors, or because they have family on the force. They've all made it here on their own merits." <deafening applause>

This comes from the man who is the self-proclaimed king of nepotism. Amongst other things, he put his brother in charge of Philadelphia's international airport, and has tried to anoint his brother as Philadelphia's next mayor. Neither worked out too well.

(30 seconds pass)

"Will everyone graduating who has a family member in the force, please raise your hand?" [75% raise their hand] ...

(30 seconds pass)

"We have in our audience the previous chief of police. His grandson is graduating today." <applause> ...

(5 minutes pass)

Police commissioner:

"Everyone on this stage today (i.e. the heads of the police department) has been promoted or appointed by John Street. Let's give him a hand." <applause> Err, what's that about political nepotism? Bueller? Bueller?

---------------

Mayor John Street:

"Everyone who has lived in this city all their life, raise your hands." (90% of the grads raise their hands) "That's how it ought to be. People who run this city should have lived and devoted their whole lives to this city."

Perhaps true. And certainly the mayor is a self-made man who worked tirelessly to get to where he's at today. He's served the city as a lawyer, teacher, city counselor, and mayor for most of his life. But I had to chuckle thinking that those words came from a black man who was born and raised in one of Philly's relatively well-off, predominantly white, Montgomery County suburbs.

---------------

District Attorney Lynn Abraham:

"You must uphold the Constitution. And remember that there are cameras everywhere watching your every move. You must serve the public and hold yourself to the highest standards."

This, coming from the district attorney who is prosecuting a man for photographing police during a drug-related arrest while on his own property. What's that about cameras, standards, and the Constitution again?

---------------

Police commissioner:

"You must remember that as police officers, you will be held and must hold yourselves to higher standards."

(1 minute later)

"Neighborhoods are outraged that [the police department] shot and killed 20 people last year, some of which had pulled weapons on officers. But where was the outrage when drug dealers killed a little girl walking down the street with school books in her hands?"

Ignoring for the moment that the community was outraged and heartbroken at the latter crime, who are the community's citizens to hold the police to higher standards?

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