Eleanor Roosevelt Condemned War on Cops

Here are a few stats from The New York Times (December
30, 2014). Nationwide deaths of police officers on the job
increased 25% in 2014, fifty by way of firearms; and very
disturbing is the fact that ambush killings went from 5 to 15. As of
this afternoon, we can add the death of New York Officer Brian
Moore, ambushed in Queens on Saturday night. Officer Moore was
25 years old, the son and nephew of NYPD officers.
New York is the safest large city in the country. Murder rates
have plummeted in the past 20 years. But the murder rate for
New York Police Officers since December, if one includes the
ambush of officers Ramos and Liu, is increasing dramatically. And,
if one goes across the Hudson and includes the ambush of Jersey
City officer Melvin Santiago last July, that totals four in less than a
year in the New York Metro area alone. I am only discussing the
assassinations that were successful, not including the officers that
were shot or hit in the head with a hatchet who miraculously
survived. What is going on? Indeed, what is going on! By all
accounts attacks on and murders of police officers are increasing
dramatically in the past months.
I have heard various spokespersons, that is, people who
have a national forum be they politician, news commentator,
religious leader or others express the opinion that we (the
country) must first fix the underlying conditions of poverty and
unemployment which are the root causes of violence and defiance
of authority. I am reminded of a conversation that Eleanor
Roosevelt had with Winston Churchill after World War II
concerning how to maintain peace in the world. By an AmericanAnglo alliance, was Churchills answer. The great humanitarian
Eleanor Roosevelt responded that the answer was, to raise the
living standard for all peoples of the world.
Yes indeed, poverty and the human condition have fueled
many a war and riot. The slippery slope here, the illogical and
terribly incorrect conclusion, however, is to blame poverty and
inhumane conditions for the killing of a police officer. The blame

for the killing lies totally upon the person who pulls the trigger or
swings the hatchet. The message should be and must be that it is
wrong in this country to assassinate a police officer; there is no
excuse, and there is no justification. Our leaders from the
President to so called community leaders and other politicians
have diluted this message by stating in the same breath, This is
wrong. BUT we must address the conditions that lead to this
behavior. Implicitly blaming the murder on abject human
conditions is wrong. This sort of rhetoric only fuels the fire of
those immoral, amoral and criminal minds who are looking for an
excuse to vent their hatred. It comes across to deranged minds
as, I am miserable, therefore I am justified in taking out a cop to
get my revenge.
The message must be in our schools, our houses of worship,
and our political forums that it is wrong to kill or attempt to harm
police officers in this country period. This must be the first order
of business. Until that message comes home loud, clear and
unconditionally, fixing poverty or joblessness will not stop the war
on police that seems to be gaining strength.
You see, to paraphrase Eleanor Roosevelt, she said that we
must address the human condition in order to maintain peace;
she did not say the Germans were justified because of their dire
condition in 1939, in starting World War II. She would have and
the leaders of today must make it crystal clear that ones
perceived misery does not justify starting a war on the cops. By
condemning Hitlers war Eleanor Roosevelt condemned war on
the peace-keepers including police officers.
Dr. Carolyn Koos