Editorial for May 15, 2008 edition:


Al, you’re hurting us!

Last week a gang of rotten apples in the Philadelphia Police Department took the law into their hands by brutally beating three robbery suspects. It was wrong, and it would have been just as wrong even if a TV news helicopter had not captured the incident on tape. That the cops may have lost their cool because one of their own had been shot dead two days earlier is no excuse for their deplorable behavior. If an investigation confirms their guilt, they should be dealt with firmly and fairly, including suspensions from the police force.
The Rev. Al Sharpton, who met Sunday with one of the beating victims, is a menace to civilized society. He should be ashamed of himself. The civil rights "activist" who refuses to apologize for defending fake rape victim Tawana Brawley in 1987 specializes in exploiting racial tension. In his world, he sees things only in black and black.
He has ample time to run his mouth and inject race into every dispute that pops up in America, but where was he when Sgt. Stephen Liczbinski was being laid to rest last Friday? Did Al meet with the assassinated policeman’s grieving widow and children? Did he attend the memorial ceremony two days earlier that honored slain Officer Gary Skerski? Has he ever met with the family of slain Officer Chuck Cassidy? Could it be that because those police officers were white and their killers are black, it was none of his business?
Face the facts, Al. You only get involved when the victims are black. That makes you a racist. You’re like that little gnatty bug or pesky mosquito that always shows up uninvited. We Philadelphians can handle our own problems. We have very capable people running the city, especially our new mayor and police commissioner. They’ll do what is right for the City of Brotherly Love. Now butt out. ••

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