New York Cop’s Anti-Obama Facebook Rant: “Go Die in a Shallow Grave You Muslim Commie”
There were apparently two comments which got Burns into the hot water, one saying, “The fact that he (Obama) is still alive bewilders me,” and another which read, “Go die in a shallow grave you Muslim commie.”
While they may have been ill-advised, given the epidemic state to which politically correctness has infected so many aspects of American life, and his position as a police officer, if you analyze what he said, those assertions against officer Burns seem to be a bit extreme.
This supposedly is still a land where we are entitled to our own opinions and where freedom of speech exists. This was a personal Facebook page, so I’m going to consider this to be both his personal opinion and an exercise of personal speech.
Obscenity is in the eye of the beholder, and is very subjective. With this Facebook page and the comments visible only to his friends, and that friendship being a voluntary arrangement which can be voided at either time by either party, the obscenity argument falls flat. If the chief was viewing the page through another type of unauthorized means, then he is responsible for being exposed to the perceived obscenity. Is there an official departmental definition of obscenity and a policy against it that the officer has violated?
The charge of racism is very weak as well. If the assertion is that voicing disapproval with B. Hussein Obama is racist, that is an invalid argument. Presidents, even non-white ones, are supposed to be held accountable for their misdeeds and all of their actions are subject to scrutiny. Relying upon one’s race as an insulator against criticism is racist.
If calling him a Muslim is labeled racist, that is invalid as Muslims are of many races and the word Muslim is not a definition of a race. Commies come in many varieties as well. The only vaguely legitimate racism argument could be made regarding the moniker “Coon Trapper,” but that seems quite a stretch to validate the position of the department and the chief.
The third component of a threat does not exist. If officer Burns wishes to express his amazement that B Hussein Obama is still alive, that is his right. If he wishes that the occupier of the White House would die in a shallow grave, he is free to express his wishes. No threat of harm was made. No assertion that the officer would act in any manner is stated or implied. He is merely expressing his opinion. Was the first amendment declared invalid at some point along the road to tyranny and nobody bothered to tell us?
A racial slur was alluded to in the original article but not specifically identified. Perhaps that is substantive enough to justify further action; we have no way of knowing from the information that is available.
One thing that we do know, though, is that a comment was made regarding the issue by Damon Jones, the president of the Westchester chapter of “Blacks in Law Enforcement of America.” He said “The fact that a cop can say something like that about the president shows that there are deep racial issues within law enforcement. It’s something our elected officials have to pay attention to. There should be racial sensitivity training in every police department, with oversight to make sure that it’s being done properly and being taken seriously.”
Let’s look at that comment as well and consider the source. A group that is exclusively for the promotion of and membership by a particular race could be considered racist. The very existence of Mr. Jones’ group is an indictment of their own acceptance of racism as a means for the promotion of their own agenda. It is only their claimed racism by other races that they have a problem with.
The police chief, Richard Love, labeled the statements “despicable” and “totally unacceptable,” and added a threat of his own, that they “will not be tolerated.” He promised he would take immediate action. Officer Burns was placed on administrative leave Tuesday and relieved of his duties. Chief Love said Burns could be fired or disciplined, that an internal affairs investigation was underway.
The chief might want to consult with the city attorneys as well and make sure of the footing he’s on first. If anybody is out on a limb, it might be him.
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