Another bad week for the truth.

Protesters breach a line of police in New Orleans, Wednesday, June 3, 2020, during a protest over the death of George Floyd. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

Senator Cory Booker of New Jersey, a black man and a Democrat, said this recently.

We have so many people in our country, African American men, mostly unarmed, being murdered by police officers and no way of holding them accountable.”

I’m certain that millions of Americans – perhaps a majority – believe that statement. Consume enough coverage from the “mainstream media,” watch enough late-night TV, follow the social media posts of enough celebrities, follow the social media posts of your own acquaintances or, for certain, listen to the professor in just about any college classroom in America, and you almost can’t help believing it.

There is widespread belief in every corner of the country – by old and young, male and female, Democrat and Republican – that black men are being viciously, wantonly and frequently gunned down by racist police officers.

That belief has spawned protests in cities from coast to coast. Those protests have, in city after city, morphed into looting, rioting, mayhem and lawlessness.

But is Senator Booker correct? Is his statement actually true? Are “so many…African American men, mostly unarmed, being murdered by police officers…?”

As it turns out, no. Not even close. And the source of that answer is the database on police shootings that the Washington Post began maintaining in 2015.

Last year, according to the Post, exactly ten unarmed African Americans were fatally shot by police. Ten. In a country of 325 million.

In five of those cases, a police officer was physically attacked before the shooting occurred. One case involved the accidental discharge of the officer’s weapon during a physical struggle. The remaining four cases involved a pursuit or a standoff. In two of those four cases, one of which happened in October of last year in Ft. Worth, the officers were criminally charged.

The Post goes on to say that the number of police shootings is dropping. In 2015, during the presidency of Barack Obama, 38 unarmed black men were killed by police. So, too, were 32 unarmed white men. Last year was the safest year for unarmed suspects – of any race – since the Post began tracking the data.

Not so for the police. According to the FBI’s crime statistics database, 48 police officers were killed in 2019 – nearly five times the number of unarmed black suspects killed.

The death of George Floyd at the hands of those idiot cops in Minneapolis is an outrage. We’ve all seen the video. It’s appalling. It should never have happened. No person of goodwill of any race believes otherwise.

That’s the truth.

But most of the media, most of the entertainment industry and almost all of the professoriate would have you believe that George Floyd’s death is part of an epidemic of murder committed against innocent, unarmed African American men by racist police officers.

That’s a lie.

The failure of our political leaders and the media to call out that lie, and by so failing to allow passions to build and cities to then burn, is a crime unto itself.

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Paul Gleiser

Paul L. Gleiser is president of ATW Media, LLC, licensee of radio stations KTBB 97.5 FM/AM600, 92.1 The TEAM FM in Tyler-Longview, Texas.

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9 Responses

  1. Richard Anderson says:

    Your article Mr. Gleiser is topflight.

    Some time ago, my vehicle and I became stranded on the highway. The law enforcement officer who came to my aid just so happened was different than me. He is black. I am white. He could not have been more courteous, professional, and friendly than he was. He helped me get back on my way. To me, the police, have ALWAYS been my friends since I was a child. They keep ALL of us in our communities safe. Without them, society cannot exist.

    To make our nation better for all of us is simple. All we need remember is Jesus’ commandment…
    LOVE THY NEIGHBOR AS THYSELF and to put God first in our lives.

  2. All it took was one, this time.

    In the 70s, LONG before each of us carried in our pockets a camera capable of instantly broadcasting worldwide, Dan Rather wrote: “The Camera Never Blinks.”

    THAT is now “mainstream media.”

  3. Michael Reagan says:

    Senator Booker T. Democrat need look no further than the city of Chicago and Detroit. Funny how black on black murder was for Detroit, and now currently Chicago, is off the charts. Both under solid Democratic control, former Obama officials in charge, and look at their sorry situation. This applies to Los Angeles, St. Louis, Baltimore, Philly, Washington D.C. Need I go on?

    Anyone ever hear of Candice Owens? If you do not know this incredible young woman, you need to look her up. She is following in the footsteps of Dr. Walter Williams and Dr. Thomas Sowell.

    I for one, will no longer tolerate “white guilt”, “white privilege”, or anything remotely resembling putting my birth right as a barrier to anyone black, yellow, green, pink, brown, or whatever color. This all comes down to the Democratic party and their BS victimization and exploitation of minorities. Fear, ignorance, and hypocrisy by the Dems for how many years? What have they done for minorities? Not a hell of a lot from where I sit.

    Make no mistake, all this is a plan. Anything and everything to get rid of President Trump. Most of the major media outlets are on board and doing their part. I only hope Texas and our elected officials have the guts to stand up for our Republic and State and do what is right and just. At this point, this whole ordeal has nothing to do with George Floyd’s death. Social Distancing and Covid be damned as well. Rioters and looters are sure not worried about that, are they! NO ONE has said a frigg’n word about all those protesters walking shoulder to shoulder. Sick of this crap and had enough; time to end this brazen coup and war on America.

    • Darrell Durham says:

      We must exercise our right to choose the leader of the country, and I can only hope the recent polls indicating Biden’s lead expanding are wrong. However, the democrats are already crafting different scenarios to explain the way Trump gets reelected. Who knows what actions they will take afterwards. Our free speech right is doing nothing to fix the problem. Everyone that is participating in the protest should become a part of the solution and we just MIGHT have success.

  4. Ron Eagleman says:

    Facts/statistics do not matter to anarchists and their useful idiots; the ends always justify the means. The “tools” of this current anarchy include the lazy, incompetent media, uneducated or “re-educated” Blacks, and self-hating Whites, who just want to be a part of anything to get a life. Who knows, they may even find that elusive boyfriend/girlfriend in the excitement of these mob scenes? Many of these protesters do not know the difference between George Floyd and George Washington. There is no “SYSTEMIC” racist hunt to kill unarmed Blacks, and as Paul correctly cites, the occurrence is extremely rare. Most of the cities where these tragedies occur have been controlled top to bottom by minorities for decades, and the police officers are employees of those administrations. It makes no sense to the logical thinker, but when we witness the shameful behavior of these so-called “protesters” looting and destroying these minority businesses, logical is not an adjective that comes to mind. Racism is the mindset or judgment that a race has certain characteristics or behaviors that cause it to be inferior or superior to another. This prejudice is many times an involuntary reaction that people develop through very powerful self-preservation instincts. When these natural instincts feel threatened by the behavior displayed by this looting, destruction, and mayhem, the average person becomes fearful of that group of people. It is certainly not fair to judge an entire race by the appalling behavior of some of its members; this is totally illogical and unfair! Which makes me wonder…… why are all White people described as privileged bigots?

  5. Ron Eagleman says:

    Please consider these questions carefully: Why do you see hordes of Blacks protesting the murder of a Black person by a White police officer, yet there is hardly a whimper about a 20 year old Black man beating the crap out of an ailing 75 year old White resident of a nursing home? Has anyone witnessed huge demonstrations against the murder by “protesters” of the Black retired police chief? How about all the “polar bear” hunts by the Black men against innocent White people, male or female, old or young? Anyone interested in the horrendous slaughter of Blacks, by other Blacks, every weekend on the streets of almost every major city. Honestly now, does anyone think that the death of George Floyd was a sincere concern for these anarchists, or do you think that it only provided the opportunity to create more chaos and a pathway to destroy this country?……..An inquiring mind wants to know, and yes Paul, this was indeed a bad week for the truth!

  6. Michael Reagan says:

    As if this whole George Floyd debacle could not get any weirder or horse hockeyish. Now the lefties are going after the Hmong community in Minneapolis. Apparently a member of the Hmong community was a police officer involved with Floyd’s death somehow? Not 100% on that one; but reading the radical blogs and seeing their ire pointed to the Hmong community now. So Asians, as high achievers (as the blog read) put the black community in an unsavory light; now must call them out and paste racist labels on them. Paraphrased there, so give me some latitude. But, unlike Adam Schiff’s impotence; that is pretty close to what is being said. Whew, I feel better already knowing my “white superiority” has company in misery. We are White among the Hmong. There has GOT to be a T-shirt or bumper sticker or both in here somewhere.

    • Ron Eagleman says:

      Yes Michael, and “horse hockeyish” is a great description. Ever wonder why Asians are not constantly complaining that they are victims of “systemic” racism? After all, some were our mortal enemies in WWII, Korea, Vietnam, and now a negative perception of China’s role in the pandemic. If we are to believe that America is a racist country, surely the Asians would be #1 on our hit list! But no, we tend to respect this race for their culture, achievements, and behavior. Additionally, they do not enjoy constant promotion through the media and commercials as being judges, doctors, heroes, and every position of respect you can imagine. Racism has nothing to do with skin color, and everything to do with behavior! No matter how much the looting, arson, and violence are excused as being the result of racism, most logical people will still believe their lying eyes. Almost every sane person was repulsed by the ghastly murder of George Floyd, and we all want justice for him and his family; however, as for the uncivilized reaction……give me a break!

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