Robocops

A sad affair, the burial of the ambushed and murdered New York police officer (his partner is to be buried later when family arrives from elsewhere in the world) but, really, the turning-of-the-backs on Mayor de Blasio is more than a little pathetic.

Not because of what he said, speaking aloud of warning his person-of-color son to be careful around the police, which wasn’t very politic of a politician, though it hardly seems worth all the angst it provoked. Nay, it’s pathetic because it makes the officers look like unthinking robots, ticky-tacky and all in a row.

Unions do demand such behavior from their, uh, rank-n-file. But you might expect the police to be somewhat more individual and less robotic. Or maybe not. They do seem infinitely less human these days. Much more inclined to kill when other options to subduing a protesting arrestee such as Garner are available. Mace, for instance.

Killing is much more characteristic of police states. As is robotic behavior.

UPDATE:  NYC police commissioner Bratton condemned the turn-their-backs behavior, but added that they feel under siege not just from the mayuh but the “justice” department and the White House. I wish it was about more than race.