Thoughts on the Death of a Police Officer

Dear Mainstream Canadian Media: Is it really necessary to engage in this orgy of grief every time someone in uniform dies? It is a terrible tragedy, yes. Possibly one that could have been averted if guns were more tightly controlled, or if there was some way for police to know there are firearms behind the door they are approaching. 

But do we really need to see every parade of police through the streets, hear from the mothers of other officers, hear from every first responder willing to talk to your camera crew? Do we need to intrude on the funeral itself, like a nation of voyeurs? It is sensationalizing what is really a personal tragedy for his family, and for his friends. More than that, it conveys the impression that the world is a very dark and dangerous place. It supports the increased militarization of police services in the minds of viewers. 

Fear is not a positive social norm. Regardless of the current government's enthusiasm for instilling dread in the public, thus justifying their draconian laws, CBC, the national broadcaster, the PUBLIC broadcaster, is doing us a great disservice by reinforcing the fear message, as are the privately controlled media. There is a place for respectful recognition and tribute. But continuous coverage of the funeral all day is over the top, and enters the realm of the lurid. 

Generations past would be utterly horrified by this conversion of personal tragedy into public spectacle. Workers who die in accidents on the job also die "in the line of duty", but they do not get massive death pageants. The glorification of the police and military, just like the many over-sized flags that Harper likes to festoon any place he speaks, and the military monuments that are springing up around the country, are all part of the psychological take-over that is being perpetrated on Canada.

I, like every one else in Canada, feel very sad for this family that has had husband, son, father ripped from them. This is not a negation of their pain, or the support the Edmonton community has offered them. This is about the manipulation of this tragedy for political ends.