The Sun News’ shameful decision to print police cartoon
Re “Time to take OUR country back” column by Leonard Pitts Jr.
I could not agree more that a spate of opinion pieces have just been too liberal and so anti-Donald Trump. That said, in addition to that column that The Sun News for some reason chose to print, it also printed a regrettable cartoon.
Yep, in the cartoon, three different individuals are holding a smoking gun, with an apparent minority, such as an African-American lying on the ground dead from being shot. The first is a white man with the caption, “Innocent until Proven Guilty.”
The second, by appearances, an African-American with the caption, “Guilty until proven Innocent.”
And the third (no surprise) is a white police officer with the caption, “Innocent.”
Recently there has been a big spike, nationwide, in shootings of police officers, with some being deliberately targeted for death. To “Protect and Serve” has been changed to “Protect and Die.”
Police recruitment in some cities is down more than 90 percent. Who wants a job where all police are unfairly judged by the actions of a rare few?
The president of the Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) recently said that “The days of waiting for people to walk in the door are gone.”
That cartoon unfairly puts our men and women in enforcement at risk and stereotypes with the comparison of justice with three different sectors of Americans. Shame on The Sun News!
George J. Wilberg, Murrells Inlet
This story was originally published December 29, 2016 at 5:38 AM with the headline "The Sun News’ shameful decision to print police cartoon."