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Obama: Phillies more important than Downed Officer Memorial

manimal

Ociffer Tackleberry
Feb 27, 2002
7,212
17
Blindly running into cactus
http://blogs.suntimes.com/sweet/2009/05/president_obama_official_sched_58.html

blog excerpts
Oh, I'm sorry Mr. President, I didn't realize it was more important for a photo op with a baseball team than to actually show up to honor the country's fallen law enforcement officers

In case nobody told you, May 15th is National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Day

Would have been nice, but I guess getting a team jersey was a better photo op.
President Obama doesn't even have the luxury of pretending that he didn't know about it. HE signed the order making May 15th, Peace Officers Day and May 10 through 16 as Police Week, and he did this on May 11th.
In the 19 years that I have attended, this is only the third time that a president did not show up. Bill Clinton and George Bush were absent one time each, but sent a representative to apologize for their absence and gave a reason why. Obama did not even give a reason or send any message of condolence to the families.I guess baseball is more important that cops dying.
bad PR team or intentional or both?


i'm sure renegade rick is excited that the prez feels the need to honor the fallen members of the "police state" at a LOCAL ceremony is outweighed by the chance at a photo-op with a bunch of roid pushers. :rolleyes: ...but i find it pretty despicable and uncouth as hell.
 

kidwoo

Artisanal Tweet Curator
He's black.

fvck da pOlice I think he says





Anybody else find something odd with the following quotes when juxtaposed?

President Obama doesn't even have the luxury of pretending that he didn't know about it. HE signed the order making May 15th, Peace Officers Day and May 10 through 16 as Police Week, and he did this on May 11th.
In the 19 years that I have attended,
 

manimal

Ociffer Tackleberry
Feb 27, 2002
7,212
17
Blindly running into cactus
it's not like he didn't know it was going on.



but really....what's more important. photo-op with some baseball players or trying to show some solidarity with the nations law enforcement?
 

manimal

Ociffer Tackleberry
Feb 27, 2002
7,212
17
Blindly running into cactus
and further...from a LEO blog so you can understand what his actions have done to the LEO community:

http://www.policelink.com/news/articles/106179-obama-greets-phillies-in-rose-garden-snubs-national-peace-officers-memorial

Historically, the President of the United States is the keynote speaker and welcomes the survivors as each officer's name is announced and the family places a flower in the FOP wreath in honor of their loved one.
My question is how do you tell a child whose parent was killed protecting his community, that the President would not be coming to honor his mom or dad because even though he was just down the street he was too busy taking a picture with a baseball team. The City of Philadelphia, the Delaware Valley and our country has seen way too many officers killed in the Line of Duty. FYI...there are 18,661 names on the walls of the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial in Washington, DC, and one horrible fact remains. Every 53 hours a Police Officer is killed in the Line of Duty.
We as Police Officers cannot thank the citizens enough for their kindness, generosity and support, but the men and women who were in DC for Police Week are reeling from the President's decision not to pay his respects by attending the memorial service but instead chose to welcome a baseball team to the Rose Garden. There is no comparison. There is no excuse. There is no justification. I don't understand his reasoning....go pay my respects to 134 Police Officers killed in the Line of Duty or take a picture with a baseball team.

THIS IS NOTHING BUT AN INSULT!!!
 

.:Jeenyus:.

Turbo Monkey
Feb 23, 2004
2,831
1
slc
i respect the fact that y'all put your lives on the line on a regular basis and think that it deserves recognition (as i am sure Obama does as well), but seriously?

plenty of other occupations out there that are just as dangerous, (and as absolutely essential to our society) but get no recognition at all.
 

Westy

the teste
Nov 22, 2002
54,232
20,015
Sleazattle
Is Obama also expected to attend memorials for Iron Workers, pilots and Farmers who die at a higher rate while building and feeding this country?
 

Inclag

Turbo Monkey
Sep 9, 2001
2,750
439
MA
I wish I was such an important part of society...

BTW, this weekend I was on a boat with 2 officers from RI. One of them was talking about this trip he and some of his department attended. And I quote, "Yea, I just tag along now a days to keep the boys in check and to talk us out of any drunk driving incidents"
 
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Westy

the teste
Nov 22, 2002
54,232
20,015
Sleazattle
I wish I was such an important part of society...

BTW, this weekend I was on a boat with 2 officers from RI. One of them was talking about this trip he and some of his department attended. And I quote, "Yea, I just tag along now a days to keep the boys and check and to talk us out of any drunk driving incidents"
I think the technical term for that is selective enforcement enforcement.
 

Pesqueeb

bicycle in airplane hangar
Feb 2, 2007
40,138
16,537
Riding the baggage carousel.
The IAFF fire fighters national memorial is here in Colorado Springs and there is a big to-do here every year for those who have died in the line of duty. I've been to several, and both my dad and brother are fire fighters, yet I've never seen the president show up, but I've never heard anybody whine about it either. I guess that's the difference between firefighters and cops.:nopity:
 

manimal

Ociffer Tackleberry
Feb 27, 2002
7,212
17
Blindly running into cactus
ironworkers die primarily from accidents. cops die from intentional malicious acts while doing what society demands, ie: protect your lame asses from crap you like to pretend doesn't exist.

and the difference between fire/police is that fireman get to be the hero because they aren't tasked with restricting freedoms. cops are routinely shat on by the public they defend, and now the leaders that depend on them to maintain order. i would love to organize a national LEO strike for about a month and just sit back and watch the nation unravel.
so i guess now you see why most cops have an "us against them" mentality.

i am, however, glad to know that the negative viewpoints in this thread are among the vast minority

Men are respectable only as they respect.
-Emerson
 

manimal

Ociffer Tackleberry
Feb 27, 2002
7,212
17
Blindly running into cactus
The IAFF fire fighters national memorial is here in Colorado Springs and there is a big to-do here every year for those who have died in the line of duty. I've been to several, and both my dad and brother are fire fighters, yet I've never seen the president show up, but I've never heard anybody whine about it either. I guess that's the difference between firefighters and cops.:nopity:
it would be an issue if every president since that memorial's inception spoke at the event, or sent a representative to speak and then a new president thought a photo-op with a baseball team was more important. The LEO memorial is literally down the block from the prez and is traditionally attended by the prez. If the LEO memorial was in Montana and rarely attended by presidential staff and the new prez didn't show up it wouldn't be a big deal....that just isn't the case.
 

Inclag

Turbo Monkey
Sep 9, 2001
2,750
439
MA
ironworkers die primarily from accidents. cops die from intentional malicious acts while doing what society demands, ie: protect your lame asses from crap you like to pretend doesn't exist.

and the difference between fire/police is that fireman get to be the hero because they aren't tasked with restricting freedoms. cops are routinely shat on by the public they defend, and now the leaders that depend on them to maintain order. i would love to organize a national LEO strike for about a month and just sit back and watch the nation unravel.
so i guess now you see why most cops have an "us against them" mentality.

i am, however, glad to know that the negative viewpoints in this thread are among the vast minority
I think the negative viewpoints in this thread are more a function of you and not people's general feelings about law enforcement.
 

jonKranked

Detective Dookie
Nov 10, 2005
85,562
24,182
media blackout
wait wait wait... let me get this straight...

He designates a WHOLE WEEK to honor police officers, and you got your panties in a bundle because he had a schedule conflict with one particular event?
 

BurlyShirley

Rex Grossman Will Rise Again
Jul 4, 2002
19,180
17
TN
ironworkers die primarily from accidents. cops die from intentional malicious acts while doing what society demands, ie: protect your lame asses from crap you like to pretend doesn't exist.

and the difference between fire/police is that fireman get to be the hero because they aren't tasked with restricting freedoms. cops are routinely shat on by the public they defend, and now the leaders that depend on them to maintain order. i would love to organize a national LEO strike for about a month and just sit back and watch the nation unravel.
so i guess now you see why most cops have an "us against them" mentality.

i am, however, glad to know that the negative viewpoints in this thread are among the vast minority
We can have a chicken and egg argument over the "us vs. them" thing, but it's that exact attitude that turns people against the police. I dont appreciate being treated as a criminal when Im not one, whether it's for the cop's own safety or not, and this has largely been my experience when dealing with the police. That and the constant justification of what are clearly abusive acts just puts a sour taste in my mouth.
I know you're a good man and a good father and I know there are other good cops out there, but I don't have to kiss the entire profession's ass. If the job is so bad, get another one. Don't demand to be saluted as a hero.
 

Upgr8r

High Priest or maybe Jedi Master
May 2, 2006
941
0
Ventura, CA
He only had 40 minutes with the baseball team and then off to his next meeting. How much time would it had taken to go to this ceremony?

It looks to me that he was fairly well booked for the day and chose to do the baseball thing during the lunch hour because it was a quickie.

I totally respect the job that LEO's do but I never realized they were a bunch of whiners :disgust1:
 

manimal

Ociffer Tackleberry
Feb 27, 2002
7,212
17
Blindly running into cactus
Don't demand to be saluted as a hero.
no living cop is demanding anything. but the cops that died in the line of duty deserve our respect. Period.

i guess it makes sense though. i mean, Memorial Day is just a time to barbecue and take a day off from work. Veterans Day is just a good chance to get a good deal on some merchandise. So why bother honoring some dude that died for doing what their community demanded of them? :rolleyes:

pardon me for imagining that i live in a country that still honors it's dead. i guess i'll return to my backwards ways of morals and principles and leave you all to the new enlightened world of narcissism.
 

BurlyShirley

Rex Grossman Will Rise Again
Jul 4, 2002
19,180
17
TN
no living cop is demanding anything. but the cops that died in the line of duty deserve our respect. Period.

i guess it makes sense though. i mean, Memorial Day is just a time to barbecue and take a day off from work. Veterans Day is just a good chance to get a good deal on some merchandise. So why bother honoring some dude that died for doing what their community demanded of them? :rolleyes:

pardon me for imagining that i live in a country that still honors it's dead. i guess i'll return to my backwards ways of morals and principles and leave you all to the new enlightened world of narcissism.
Thanks a lot.
Because I don't like the general attitude of the police toward the public, Im un-American.

Speaks very well to my point.


Edit: Every man who deserves it will have my respect. It won't matter what his profession is, and that respect won't be defined or demonstrated by the fact that I attend a particular ceremony.
 
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X3pilot

Texans fan - LOL
Aug 13, 2007
5,860
1
SoMD
First, let me say I personally have tremendous respect for all civil workers, be they police, firefighters, the dude that cuts the lawn in the park, social workers, etc.

For the President to attend a memorial service that close would be nice, but would you be pissed if he had sent a junior staffer? Sometimes it can be more demeaning to the event to send a "flunkie" than to not attend at all, and it's a gesture that none of the other Presidents that did attend when he signed a proclamation devoting a week to honoring fallen LEOs.

Me, I'm kinda ticked that the speech to the Muslim "World" was the "longpole" of his current trip, and a visit to Normandy an oh by the way since we're here stop, but that's another thread for another day.

As far as the we'll go on strike and we'll see how bad it is, seriously, I live 5 miles from Allentown, live in a township that has no police force and we never see a State trooper patrol and we don't have looting and anarchy everyday, as I suspect the majority of the country is like. However, major cities need that presence and it's a demanding job that has it's risk and I certainly lend my respect to all those that gave their lives protecting their communities.

I'm done now.
 

jonKranked

Detective Dookie
Nov 10, 2005
85,562
24,182
media blackout
no living cop is demanding anything. but the cops that died in the line of duty deserve our respect. Period.
For the President to attend a memorial service that close would be nice, but would you be pissed if he had sent a junior staffer? Sometimes it can be more demeaning to the event to send a "flunkie" than to not attend at all, and it's a gesture that none of the other Presidents that did attend when he signed a proclamation devoting a week to honoring fallen LEOs.
I'm with X3 on this one. Yes, it would have been great if he could have made it. I highly doubt he was intending to be disrespectful by not going, or that the thought had even crossed his mind. But come on, to make this big of a deal out of it when he did enact an entire week of recognition just speaks poorly on your part. We know you aren't a fan of Obama, and it just seems like you're digging for another trivial reason to bag on him by focusing on what he hasn't done instead of what he HAS done.
 

Westy

the teste
Nov 22, 2002
54,232
20,015
Sleazattle
ironworkers die primarily from accidents. cops die from intentional malicious acts while doing what society demands, ie: protect your lame asses from crap you like to pretend doesn't exist.

and the difference between fire/police is that fireman get to be the hero because they aren't tasked with restricting freedoms. cops are routinely shat on by the public they defend, and now the leaders that depend on them to maintain order. i would love to organize a national LEO strike for about a month and just sit back and watch the nation unravel.
so i guess now you see why most cops have an "us against them" mentality.

i am, however, glad to know that the negative viewpoints in this thread are among the vast minority
I don't understand why someone needs to have their grundles tickled and egos stroked because their dangerous jobs are dangerous for any particular reason, that's just me though. I'm not one of the people who complains about cops. I generally respect the job as it is not an easy one that I couldn't do. Most of the people who complain about cops are those that do not understand the complexities involved in the job and don't bother to think about it. Just like you aren't probably thinking there are larger more important reasons that the pres isn't going to some cerimony.

If all the iron workers, or pilots or plumbers or electritians or doctors or yadda yadda yadda all refused to work the world would come to crashing halt just as fast. Fact is most jobs are critical to the country, some are just more obvious to joe public than others.
 

sanjuro

Tube Smuggler
Sep 13, 2004
17,373
0
SF
btw, while I think honoring the dedication of our LEO's is important, I want to point this out:

I haven't seen any proof that Bush or Clinton made any gesture on May 15h. Some anonymous commenter is not exactly a quotable source.

I am not saying they should or should not have attended the ceremony, just that Obama could be unfairly criticized.