“Don't Insult My Sacrifice”

Don't Insult My Sacrifice is the title of an online petition posted by the New York City Patrolmen's Benevolent Association.  “Don't Insult My Sacrifice” is New York's Finest's pouting thrust-out-your-lower-lip stamp-your-feet way of saying to Mayor Bill de Blasio and City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito “Don't come to my funeral if I get killed in the line of duty.”  The petition accuses the mayor and city council speaker of “consistent refusal to show police officers the support and respect they deserve.”

[rolls eyes]

OK, first of all, I'm not downplaying the risks of a law enforcement career, or the unimaginable heartbreak of family members when a loved one doesn't come home one night.  But this kind of anguish occurs any time anyone gets killed in the line of duty.

And that brings us to a well-documented but little-known fact:  There are millions and millions of everyday working Americans whose jobs are much more dangerous than that of a police officer.

Check this out.  And bookmark it, and forward it to everyone you know.

Nationally, the overall mortality risk (per 100,000 workers) is 3.5 for ALL occupations.

In California (presumably not too different from the rest of the country), the mortality risk for police officers and sheriffs is 4.9 per 100,000.

For a little perspective, the mortality risk for commercial fishermen is 127.3.  Roofers — 34.1.  Construction workers — 26.8.  Landscapers — 15.6.  Taxi drivers and chauffeurs — 19.7.

Anyway, you get the idea.  Yes, police officers — like workers in many other occupations — sometimes get killed in the line of duty.  But this does not in any way justify the hatred directed at anyone who dares to criticize the uncalled-for brutality of a rogue police officer.