Sherri T. lives right around the corner from the funeral
parlor where the wake was held for Officer Dillon Stewart. When
she wrote to tell me of her visit to the services, I decided she
was the perfect person to ask for an opinion on the gun debate
sparked by this terrible incident. A member of the black
community, she is, I believe, more cognizant than the Reverend Al
Sharpton about what is occurring in the city's embattled
neighborhoods.
When Sherri asked a detective if she could pay her respects to
Stewart, he told her, "I am sure that the family would
appreciate it." She saw Officer Steven McDonald at the wake.
Two female officers were standing guard at the casket and there
was a slide show presentation of family pictures of Stewart with
his daughters and at his wedding. No matter how many wakes and
funerals for police and fire personnel who have died in the line
of duty that one attends, the overwhelming sense of sadness is
always muted by gratitude and respect.
Sherri explains, "I wanted to show my respect and admiration
for what Officer Stewart did, which was put his life on the line
to keep us in the community safe. He could have stayed in
accounting and remained very safe and comfortable; but he wanted
to make a contribution. For that, I am deeply grateful."
As for the meaty debate about guns, I knew I could count on
Sherri for a levelheaded commentary on this volatile issue, and
she delivered.
"In the blizzard of press about the gun issue, I think that
no fair-minded person would want illegal guns all over the
streets of this country," she said. "In this debate,
there is so much focus about that; but nothing about the
dysfunctional pathologies that cause the behavior that led to
this killing. It is often glossed over, or is reserved for
academics to discuss. One officer, on Avenue D and Troy Avenue,
discussed that at length. We both agreed that there was plenty of
blame to be spread around; what is being taught in households,
the absence of two parents, lack of spiritual guidance ... the
list went on and on. As one woman told me over the summer,
'People have changed.' As we reminisced about growing up in New
York City, I was immediately reminded of similar stories that my
late father and uncle told where people were decent and obeyed
the law. Perhaps there needs to be not just more discussion about
that, but real and meaningful action. How about personal
responsibility?"
What a concept - personal responsibility.
Whenever another senseless gun death occurs, gun control
advocates roll out the numbers to bolster their argument that
tighter, more restrictive laws are necessary, even though such
laws pertain only to law-abiding citizens. Criminals do not obey
any laws, so what's the point?
But numbers are a strange thing. They need to be put in
perspective or they become just another tool for demagogues. As
an example, a perennial email currently making the rounds
compares the statistics of accidental deaths caused by gun owners
and accidental deaths caused by doctors. While the email is
facetious - it states that the percentage of deaths due to
doctors is 17.14% while the statistic for gun owners is only
0.001875%,thus proving that doctors are more dangerous than gun
owners - it's a clear example of how statistics can be
manipulated.
Another example of numbers being politicized is that of the war
deaths of our soldiers in Iraq. When that figure surpassed 1,000,
it was almost gleefully heralded by the anti-war crowd as proof
of the escalating futility of our efforts there. Yes, that is an
awful figure, but when compared to the deaths of more than 6,000
soldiers in the 35 days it took to secure the tiny isle of Iwo
Jima in World War II, one has to marvel at how our military is
conducting the war in a country of 25 million that is the size of
California.
So, as Sherri suggested, let's go beyond the numbers and ask that
important question: Why?
Vice President Quayle was roundly criticized for condemning the
1992 song "Cop Killer" by rapper Ice-T. That hit
includes these charming lines: "I'm about to dust some cops
off"; "Die, die, die, pig, die"; "better you
than me"; "I know your family's grieving but tonight we
get even."
Ironically, Ice-T is now playing the role of an undercover cop in
the television series "Law and Order - SVU." He should
have been at the funeral begging forgiveness.