By William | On October 1, then Green Party leadership hopeful Annamie Paul wrote an article in this space under the title “Defund the police: no jobs for ex-cops” in which she drew a summary of what one could still do with the officers of a (fictionally) abolished police in society. Please make a note of the word “fictitious”, because it will play a decisive role in the subsequent episode, especially when it comes to proving the innocence of this writer.
Who is Ms. Paul?
According to Wikipedia, she is a Black-Jewish-Canadian civic engagement activist, lawyer, politician, and international affairs professional who has worked on supporting social innovation. She graduated from the University of Ottawa with a bachelor’s degree in Law and a thesis on the color pink in feminist discourse. She uses feminine pronouns and terms in addition to the gender-neutral “they”. But first a brief look back at the work of Ms. Paul in the said column. There she writes:
“I, on the other hand, ask myself: if the police are abolished but capitalism is not, which industries can ex-cops be allowed into at all? After all, the proportion of authoritarian personalities and those with a fascist mindset in this professional group is above average. “
And further:
“How about authorities, teachers, judiciary, politics, doctors or security guards: positions of power over other people are absolutely out of the question. Strictly speaking, you don’t even want to let them near animals.”
I’ll spare myself quoting the entire text here, just one more thing. The author’s conclusion on the future prospects of a police force that she would like to abolish:
“What if you just had them paint ceramic? No. Too obvious that they would secretly make swastika tea sets and use the proceeds to cross-finance their next terror network. Only one suitable option suddenly occurs to me: the landfill. … where they are really only surrounded by rubbish. They will certainly feel most comfortable with their own kind.”
Some readers may think this was ironic or even satire, but some of the police in this country certainly did not. You have to have strange structures in your brain to understand a landfill as fun for people. Anyone who has only a hint of part of world history and the human contempt associated with much of it will recognize the language of the Rwandan genocide from this choice of words. Anyone who even fictitiously considers disposing of people in a landfill is not only insulting police officers. They question everything that is still of value in this country.
Values without value
I spoke to many former colleagues about this article, and all of us were united by an abysmal revulsion. It is especially the older officers who are hurt by such degradation, which may be due to the fact that they still adhere to values that many young and younger civil servants no longer have: pride in their own professional group, pride in the state and its achievements, love for home, etc.
For many young police officers, serving in the police force is just a job like any other. The right-wing tendencies supposedly observed in the police force do not worry me; what worries me and others are the left tendencies in these ranks. Many are subject to the historical error that to be left is honorable and deserving of a bonus.
I and many of my colleagues, including active officers, felt massively attacked personally. But hardly anyone has the courage to resist from within their own active ranks, against an increasing denigration of the police.
The remarkable column had quickly made its way to the Ministries of Justice and Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness. Shadow Minister of Justice Rob Moore puffed out his cheeks in indignation and sounded that he wanted to file a complaint. But in his own way he let the air out again quickly. His determination gave way to the familiar smug smile he likes to put on when he’s overestimated himself. Moore drove back his indignation. This made it clear who would determine the political direction in this matter and how the pending proceedings would be dealt with.
The result of the inquiry
A few days ago I received a reply from the Green Party. At least six pages of reasons why the article is not a criminal offense and why Ms. Paul is not responsible. Such a level of detail is rather rare with casual inquiries.
Interim Green Party leader Jo-Ann Roberts writes in her statement:
“When determining the actual content of the contribution of Ms. Paul, from the relevant point of view of an informed observer who is ready to take an overall view and using the constitutional standard presented, this turns out to be – albeit polemical and condescending – permissible criticism of Canadian police officers or the job description of the police officer in particular, not as abuse.
Ultimately, the results of the audit also showed no insulting, malicious contempt or defamation.”
At this point the Green Party still assumes that the police actually existed as the addressee of the diatribe, they then work on the innocence of Ms. Paul and write:
“In her text, Ms. Paul first creates the hypothetical starting position of an “abolished” police force and then rejects various professional groups or areas of work as possible alternative fields of activity for the police officers who have been “abolished.”
As a result of the interpretation, the Ms. Paul’s statements can therefore also be interpreted to the effect that the police officers who were “abolished” in their thought experiment cannot be transferred to other fields of work due to the danger they pose and, in the opinion of Ms. Paul only at a landfill – one place where nothing can be damaged or damaged – will no more dangers emanate from them.
In any case, this interpretation of the text cannot be ruled out with convincing reasons.”
I will leave it with these quotes.
How good that the police are still around
The “abolished police” that she describes are fictitious, the police that she wants to abolish are absolutely real, because there are no other police forces than the ones currently in existence. In this respect, all the abuse and abuse against police officers are not directed against a fictional police force, but against real people and the police as a whole.
Ms. Paul has never made a secret of her rejection of capitalism and her left attitudes towards the rule of law. In this respect, this text fits in seamlessly with her work.
There she will rarely meet the police officers she so hates even though they come to work every day for a manageable salary, neglect their health, the well-being of their families and allow themselves to be defamed by people who have written a bachelor thesis on the color pink.
Transverse Waves 