The people that brought us "comply, even if you feel it's unjust" are at it again. The NYPD's Sergeants Benevolent Association -- one of the powerful police unions that played a central role in last year's unrest following a grand jury decision not to indict the police officer that killed Eric Garner -- is now encouraging its members to submit images of the city's homeless, complete with "funny" captions mocking their plight, to an official Flickr account.
Union head Ed Mullins says the so-called "Peek-a-Boo, We See You" initiative is part of his larger war against Mayor Bill de Blasio and progressives on City Council who are working to rein in a culture of police discrimination against minorities.
Gawker captures the depravity of the campaign by highlighting some of the featured images:
One photo, of a person holding their head in their arms behind a sign that says “Hungry, Broke, Travelin’,” is captioned “disgusting.” Another, of a man sleeping on the sidewalk, reads “bed and breakfast.” A third photo is captioned “progressive agenda”—an apparent swipe at the policies of Mayor Bill de Blasio.
With the cops' anti-de Blasio tactics
backfiring spectacularly in the winter, they've apparently decided that sinking even lower will boost their credibility. While the connection between photographing homeless people and challenging the Mayor's policies may seem tenuous, Mullins' explanation reveals the extent to which citizen recording of brutality has put law enforcement in a compromised position.
From The New York Post, a Murdoch publication that also likes to
publish photos of impoverished people with sick headlines:
Noting that more cops are being recorded on the job, Mullins wrote, “Shouldn’t accountability go both ways?”
“We, the ‘Good Guys,’ are sworn to protect our citizens. Shouldn’t our public officials be held to the same standard?” he said.
We can debate whether or not officers that violate the privacy of the most vulnerable truly deserve that self-selected 'Good Guys' title, but what's clear is that the dignity of our fellow human beings should always be held in higher regard than political gamesmanship. Homelessness existed before de Blasio and will exist after he leaves office. Laughing at these people is not holding public officials accountable -- it's a demonstration of the desperation that infects an institution as it loses its stranglehold on those officials.
Once again, Bill de Blasio's opponents have exposed the moral bankruptcy that undergirds their resistance to the reform process led by the Mayor. In doing so, they emphasize just how vital it is to transform the culture of law enforcement -- especially its relationship to elected officials and minority communities.