On June 30th, Bronx NYPD sympathizers gathered for a ‘Blue Lives Matter’ rally in support of the local police officers who they felt have been unjustly vilified by Black Lives Matter protests across the country.
While they were having their little NYPD lovefest in Morris Park’s Loreto Playground, a counter protest chanting Black Lives Matter arrived.
What ensued was a horrific display of white faces filled with hate screaming at counter protesters with shouts of, “Fuck you! Get out of here you pieces of shit! All lives matter!” not to mention threatening the lives of Black protesters.
It was as gross and vulgar as it gets but this isn’t surprising given that we’ve personally seen the comments the organizers have made in various Facebook groups in the past.
Morris Park, as racially diverse as it is, is also a place that many Black and BIPOC residents have made known the racism they’ve encountered while living there.
Christian Amato, a Bronx activist, told Welcome2TheBronx, “In the wake of this, neighbors have been sharing stories of the racial bias they have felt as community members, and we are mobilized to ensure that those stories are elevated in order to continue fighting for racial justice.”
The majority are supporters of Trump and his white supremacist administration so again, this wasn’t shocking to us.
One of the Blue Lives Matter supporters got extremely aggressive and physically threatened Amato but the NYPD held him back from leaving the park.
State Assemblywoman Nathalia Fernandez condemned what she saw in the video on Twitter.
“These actions are not a way of showing respect to law enforcement. This bigoted response to simply stating “Black Lives Matter” is why we chant and why we protest.” she said.
“We have to fight entrenched racism. Because all lives can’t matter until black lives do.” added Fernandez in a tweet.
State Senator Alessandra Biaggi also condemned the hatred.
“This display is a perpetuation of the exact problem New Yorkers are protesting. You do not honor law enforcement by threatening the existence of Black New Yorkers.” said Biaggi on Twitter.
Meanwhile, Amato told us, “I was happy to see a diverse coalition of Bronx residents join in solidarity to stand up against police brutality and protest the racial inequities that policing forces on communities of color. I was dismayed by the grown men who attempted to threaten young protestors through violence and aggression.
“These Blue Lives agitators claim that “All Lives Matter” while shouting homophobic, sexist, heteronormative slurs; and spitting at and attempting to assault Black Lives Matter protestors.
“The behavior exhibited by the majority of the “Blue Lives” attendees shows that they need an outlet to condone their racism and bigotry” he added.
Watch the videos below captured by local resident Michael Kaess:
This post was last modified on July 2, 2020 6:14 pm
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