Jan 10

Jan 10 Renee Nicole Good (II)

Donald J. Trump, Demonstrations, Protest, Performance, Public Declarations

Rabbi Michael Ben Yosef staged a rally this morning at 11:00 AM in Federal Plaza. The blurb announcing the demonstration focused on Wednesday night’s killing of Renee Nicole Good, the Minnesota woman who was shot to death by U.S. Immigration and Custom Enforcement (“ICE”) agent Jonathan Ross. Despite the announcement, the rally’s focus was on ICE enforcement actions and Donald J. Trump. For more background information on the Good killing, see my earlier post.

Rabbi Michael is a highly effective speaker. While he has notes on his phone that he occasionally glances at, by and large, he speaks extemporaneously. He does not punctuate his remarks with “aahs” or “ums” as he speaks. The phrases pour out of him effortlessly, in part, because he has traveled the “social justice warrior” path many times before.

Several other people spoke, including two from La Causa. Both were dressed in what might best be described as military fatigues, which created an impactful impression. Like Rabbi Michael, both are social justice warriors.

I have two observations about this particular demonstration. First, like last night’s demonstration, it was poorly attended. Maybe 40 people. Chicago has failed Renee Nichole Good. The cable news networks have been running montages featuring demonstrations memorializing Good in cities throughout the country. Much smaller cities have turned out much larger crowds than attended either Chicago demonstration.

Given the large number of activists in the Chicago community, I simply don’t understand why there weren’t at least 1,000 people at least one of the two demonstrations. Admittedly, the temperature was frigid and light sleet was coming down this morning—which explains why the demonstrators stood under a nearby overhang rather than in Federal Plaza—but Chicago activists have come out in much worse weather.

Second, I am tired of the unjustified attacks on the police officers who maintain order during demonstrations in Chicago’s downtown. CPD should not be equated to ICE. Yes, in the past, CPD has “monitored” demonstrations with a heavy hand, sometimes precipitating violent confrontations between the police and demonstrators.

People fail, however, to recognize that CPD has gone to great lengths in recent years to reform its methods for handling the crowds that often turn out for public demonstrations. Unlike ICE agents, CPD officers are focused on the following three objectives: (i) keeping everyone safe; (ii) minimizing traffic disruptions; and (iii) assuring the demonstrators are able to peacefully express their viewpoints.

I’ve talked to the police officers who handle demonstrations in the Loop. They may have personal views on the issues being addressed, but professionally, they maintain an agnostic viewpoint. One officer long ago told me, paraphrasing, “As for the today’s demonstration, we simply want to know when the next one is.” In other words, for this officer and his compatriots, any given demonstration is just another day at the office. “Next!”

So when Rabbi Michael chastises the police about their silence or cajoles them to join the demonstrators, he misses the point. The police are not present to judge. They are people just earning a living, doing a sometimes-dangerous job that many wouldn’t consider doing.

If CPD officers step out of line, the demonstrators have every right to call those officers out for their transgressions. But until an officer steps out of line, the demonstrators should show the officers the respect that they deserve and have earned. ICE may be the enemy, but the average CPD officer working the demonstrations isn’t the enemy. And yes, there are bad cops, just like there are dishonest lawyers, bad doctors, and fraudulent merchants.

[Click on an Image to Enlarge It. The Images Are Not Necessarily in Exact Chronological Order]