Rep. Charlie Rangel was trying to make a point on “The Ed Show” on MSNBC about the need for black police officers to speak out against police violence, but instead came off a bit cold-hearted, saying that he only started caring about the dead during the Korean War when the bodies looked like him.
His intended logic was to explain why he believed that minorities who serve on police forces should be speaking out en masse about recent white officer killings of black civilians — namely about former Officer Darren Wilson’s fatal shooting of Ferguson teen Michael Brown. He tied that view to his personal experiences during his service in the Korean War.
His statement, Newsmax reported: “I was in combat, and I’m telling you, I saw more dead people. But I was never moved until I saw dead people that looked like me in my uniform. And it does make a difference.”
It wasn’t clear if Mr. Rangel’s reference to those who “looked like me” meant blacks, or men wearing the U.S. uniform. But he went on, claiming the wall of silence that keeps police from speaking critically of each other is having a detrimental effect.
“So, yes, the blue wall of silence has kept communities and minority communities apart for so long, so that even minority policemen don’t want to break that silence,” he said. “And it has to be done.”
• Cheryl K. Chumley can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com.
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