The Northampton, Mass., Police Department has ended a program where officers gave high fives to kids before Friday classes because some parents were concerned it would make kids uncomfortable — whatever that means.
If you thought we had moved beyond these types of stories, you must have forgotten how some people will never cease to make a scene if their delicate sensibilities are offended. They will never be satisfied, they will always complain. Now high fives, of all things, are their next target.
One of the legitimate takeaways from the disheveled, unfocused, and inflammatory Black Lives Matter movement was the need for more community policing methods in which the public and police officers could interact in relaxed environments where they could get to know one another. The “High Five Friday” program was just that.
Introduced at last fall’s meeting of the International Association of the Chiefs of Police, the program was a big hit with the vast majority of kids and their parents.
Captain John Cartledge described his experience, “We would just wait for the children to get off the bus and we’d high five them if they wanted one when they came off the bus, and they’d go about their day and we’d leave afterwards.”
Despite the fact that this type of engagement is exactly what those on the far-Left have called upon police to undertake, it has become cause for outcry.
The department’s statement on the program noted how some were “specifically concerned about kids of color, undocumented children, or any children who may have had negative experiences with the police.”
One commenter on that post believes kids should have as little interaction with police as possible because they are untrustworthy. “I think we should keep kids away from the police and focus on teaching them ways to protect themselves from police officers,” he wrote. That, apparently, would be more “useful” and “empowering” an activity.
At a community meeting in December, one parent, Gina Norton-Smith, said the program was well-intentioned but “ill-considered, tone-deaf and potentially damaging.”
These qualms are, to put it bluntly, ridiculous.
If some kids have never interacted with law enforcement in a positive way, or have misconceptions about what police officers do, then this is exactly the type of solution that could help fix that. Instead of letting those preconceived notions or bad experiences fester, this method ranks right up there with Career Day as a way for police officers to participate in acts of outreach and teaching rather than simply “going after the bad guy” in the background of our daily lives.
If some parents are concerned that this experience could be unsettling, then maybe their parenting has something to do with why they believe their kid has a certain attitude about law enforcement. Instead of deflecting responsibility onto others, they ought to figure out the extent to which their own situation plays a role.
To be upset at something called “High Five Friday” means your selfishness has ruined what most agreed was a great thing. Your itch to create mountains out of molehills has annoyed and destroyed. Your obsession with being outraged at the obscure will cast unnecessary doubt whenever you next choose to raise your voice for a cause that actually is worthy of others’ attention.
But at fault here are not only the handful of whiners who started this. Also to blame are the chief of police (who had previously backed a Black Lives Matter banner on city hall) and the school district’s superintendent, both of whom caved to unwarranted and petty demands. The fallout is that the two “remain committed to exploring alternative programs.”
If problems arose with something as innocuous as “High Five Friday,” then what other plans could there possibly be that won’t also disturb the fragile waters of the social justice ecosystem? There will always be a vocal minority that takes issue with whatever others do. The police, especially in this day and age, are certainly no less immune than their private sector neighbors.
We learn (in school, ironically) through teachings and experience that it’s difficult to get 100 people to agree that the sky is blue. Just because one person refuses to see things for what they are, that by no means requires others to back down. In fact, that could very well be a regrettable decision.
As evident in the comments on the department’s statement, there has been considerable backlash. Among the 500 comments so far, one would be hard-pressed to count on two hands those who agreed with the decision to call it quits.
This has led the chief of police to make a pitiful retreat. Regurgitating a bland, politically-correct talking point often relied on by those in the public eye, she said, “One of the things we’re all learning in our current climate is we need to listen to other people and hear what they’re saying.”
But she has heard what they are saying, and there is nothing much there of merit.
If, somehow, the Northampton Police Department and school district agree to reverse course and restart the widely-approved program, that would be something worth high-fiving over, and something that arbitrary sensibilities could not change to their liking.
William Vaillancourt (@12WCV) is a freelance writer and editor from New Hampshire.
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