title: democratic panic
text: dawn perlmutter 
  the war on law enforcement is epidemic every aspect of culture has been infected the antipolice disease is highly contagious and rapidly spreading on social media in memes in movements in popular fast food restaurants at football games on campuses in media and in every aspect of american culture 
  an epidemic is defined as the rapid spread of infectious disease to a large number of people in a given population within a short period of time colin kaepernick is the typhoid mary of the antipolice epidemic kaepernick refuses to stand while the us national anthem is being performed at the start of nfl games as a protest against alleged racial injustice and police brutality on sept  kaepernick chose to kneel on one knee as his protest gesture instead of just sitting on the bench his explanation for his decision to switch is that it was an attempt to show more respect to former and current us military members as if kneeling is somehow symbolically less offensive than sitting he misinterpreted the meaning of the military expression take a knee which occurs when troops take a pause before continuing their mission similar to hands up dont shoot the antipolice gesture has been imbued with a trendy righteousness regardless of its original meaning the media reverently refers to kaepernicks protest as taking a knee as if it is some kind of sacred act there are no headlines that read kaepernick disses the flag or kaepernick takes a crap on his country just in case his gesture didnt send a clear enough message kaepernick also uses clothing to symbolize his antipolice sympathies he has worn everything from tshirts honoring the militant black panther party to socks that depict police as pigs in addition to numerous other crimes the black panther party was responsible for the murder of at least  officers and originated the expression off the pigs meaning murder police 
  like the typhoid infected cook mary mallon kaepernick is rapidly spreading the antipolice pathogen in what has been dubbed the kaepernick effect dozens of nfl and wnba players have knelt sat or raised a fist during the national anthem the disease has also spread to over  high schools  colleges and one middle school in what can only be described as a bizarre symbolic contradiction there were two incidents where women performing the star spangled banner got down on one knee in protest of what they were singing one of the women denasia lawrence not only kneeled while performing the anthem but also opened her jacket to display a black lives matter tshirt exposing miami heat fans to the contagious disorder 
  rapid spread is well known for infectious diseases the antipolice disorder also contaminated the navy an unidentified sailor assigned to the naval air technical training center in pensacola florida filmed herself deliberately not standing for the national anthem and posted it on facebook she remained seated and raised a fist during morning colors and then praised colin kaepernick another sailor petty officer nd class janaye ervin an intelligence specialist in the navy reserve stationed at pearl harbor did not stand for the national anthem while in uniform she also posted a statement on facebook saying she was inspired by colin kaepernick the navy acted decisively she lost her security clearance and may be facing jail in response to her actions it is yet to be known if facing real consequences will contribute to curing the virus or accelerating it 
  kaepernick is just one carrier of the antipolice disease the source of the infection can be attributed to specific movements such as black lives matter that originated in florida during the trayvon martin protests the disease went airborne in ferguson missouri where it was transmitted to college students professional protesters and journalists who subsequently spread the disorder to towns and cities across the country currently the disease seems to cluster around populations that are susceptible to antipolice propaganda the symptoms are irrationality excessive anger impaired perception anxiety hatred and delusions of oppression acute symptoms include sudden changes in behavior aggression paranoia loss of control and homicidal and suicidal tendencies all indicators are expressed in severe disrespect for law and order 
  early symptoms of the antipolice epidemic have been observed in various cultural manifestations of contempt for law enforcement officers antipolice graffiti is a common symptom of the virus writing has escalated from insults such as police are murderers to threats of violence a recent popular indicator is the expression kill cops and related variations such as kill all police save a life kill a cop cops lives dont matter and shoot cops threats are also depicted in images such as guns to officers heads violent antipolice rhetoric has also been seen in protest signs that read all my heroes kill cops put wings on pigs kill cops and cops under control or cops under flowers disturbingly antipolice graffiti protests and tweets increase after officers are murdered signifying that violence against cops is celebrated and glorified 
  the antipolice epidemic has also spread to wellknown fast food restaurants employees have refused to serve officers at a taco bell in phenix city al dunkin donuts in west hartford ct krispy kreme in columbia sc ihop in virginia beach va arbys in pembroke pines fl chuck e cheese in bowling green ky whataburger in lewisville tx mcdonalds in brenham tx chipotle in brooklyn ny genghis grill in dallas tx noodles  company in alexandria va tropical smoothie in winter haven fl luckys teriyaki sedrowoolley wa and at the krystal restaurant in irondale al other incidents involved employees refusing to let an officer use the restroom in a philadelphia starbucks refusing service at a sunoco gas station in miramar fl writing black lives matter on an officers coffee cup at a dunkin donuts in providence ri and a walmart bakery in mcdonough ga refusing to bake a cake for a police officers retirement party these are just the incidents that have been made public 
  refusing service at a restaurant goes beyond gestures of disrespect law enforcement officers are concerned that instead of simply being denied service that their food will be tampered with for this reason many officers will only eat at restaurants where they can see the food being made this is a legitimate concern on aug   in louisville ky five police officers were denied service at a taco bell when another employee took their orders they overheard a conversation between two employees making the food saying im going to mess with them which resulted in them walking out of the restaurant when officers have to fear what is being put in their food there can be no doubt that the war on police is a fullscale epidemic 
  the antipolice infection went viral on social media facebook twitter instagram and other social networks have hundreds of antipolice pages ridiculing disrespecting and threatening officers protests and riots are organized on social media and some users openly advocate and celebrate the killing of police officers the following are examples of popular hashtags ftp fuck the police bluelivesmurder acab all cops are bastards bluelivesdontmatter fuckcops fuckthemall apdk all police dept killer fryemlikebacon blacklivesmatter ferguson milwaukeeuprising and kaepernick 
  as the disease progresses more acute symptoms begin to manifest in acts of violence a particularly offensive indicator of the disorder is the desecration of fallen officer memorials memorials honoring officers killed in the line of duty have been attacked in philadelphia chicago albuquerque fresno denver new orleans oakland austin honolulu rochester san diego st paul covington richmond goshen fayetteville raleigh and many other cities across the country vandalism has involved everything from dousing in paint toppling and scratching granite burning to destroying a metal torch in order to extinguish the eternal flame in a previous article  i described these acts as symbolic assassinations vandals target tributes to heroic officers because they want to appropriate the valor honor and respect that they think they have been deprived of this is another symptom of the antipolice disease a sense of entitlement and resentment that leads to both symbolic and actual attacks on law enforcement officers 
  at its most critical stage the antipolice disorder is lethal this is expressed in the dozens of ambushes and killings of police officers in the most acute phase of the disease some of those infected become homicidal and suicidal targeting and killing officers knowing that they will die in the incident a pattern has emerged that clearly demonstrates that attacks on police escalate from protest gestures to acts of vandalism to deadly shootings that inspire further demonstrations in a continual cycle of protest and violence consequently kaepernicks gesture is neither benign nor harmless it is one symptom in a deadly epidemic