+ In his acrid little book Studies in Classic American Literature, DH Lawrence wrote that “the American is a killer.” He may have underestimated the depths of the country’s cultural psychosis.
+ This week came the news that three of the Baltimore cops who took Freddie Gray on a fatal torture ride were feted at a black tie gala hosted by the Media Research Council, a right-wing smog machine based in Virginia. The three killer cops–Brian Rice, Edward Nero and Garrett Miller–were hailed as “heroes” by columnist Cal Thomas.
Miller spoke to the worshipful crowd, begging them to keep the cops in their prayers. “Our profession is hurting,” Miller whined. “We’re losing officers at an incredible rate. Not just from gunfire but because they’re tired of it. They quit. Our department is short. Everywhere is short. Nobody wants to be a police officer anymore.”
+ Call it the Sick Blue Line. Cops portray themselves as victims even after they’ve killed defenseless citizens and the Police Industrial Complex rallies to their aid. The innocent dead are slimed and slandered, their lives distorted beyond all recognition. Tyre King, a 13-year old with a toy gun, was shot multiple times by Columbus police and then smeared as a gang-banger and thug before his corpse had even cooled. They didn’t pause for a moment to contemplate the young life they had prematurely foreclosed, as if young Tyre were merely a future problem…