Cop Calls for Boycott of Fairfax Farm:
Three Words That Make Modern-Day Slave Catchers Go Off
November 2, 2015 | Revolution Newspaper | revcom.us
The way cops and their defenders react to the words “Black Lives Matter” reveals a lot about their role in this society. A case in point:
Recently, a “Black Lives Matter” sign was put up in the window of the home of one of the owners of Centreville’s Cox Farms in Fairfax County, Virginia—a family-owned farm featuring pumpkin patches and other attractions for visitors. In response, Brad Carruthers, president of the Fairfax Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) Lodge 77, posted a long Facebook message, saying he would boycott the farm and urging others to do the same. Carruthers posted a photo of the sign and called it a “slap in the face” to the Fairfax County police. He said, “Unfortunately that [phrase] has been hijacked by a small group of anti-police individuals. And now when law enforcement views Black Lives Matter we see—in social media and through protests—the violence that is inflicted on law enforcement.”
Carruthers echoes the big lie coming from other cops, their supporters, and the powers that be insisting that the big problem in society is not that the police are murdering Black and Latino people, but that the police are the “victims,” and making the outrageous accusation that those who popularize the hashtag and chant “Black Lives Matter” are engaging in “hate speech.”
This FOP attack was met by public outrage, including hundreds of people who wrote Facebook comments in defense of the “Black Lives Matter” sign. The FOP was forced to quickly remove the post.
Clearly, for those modern-day slave catchers in uniform who unjustly kill and brutalize Black people—and are regularly backed by the system for those crimes—the words “Black Lives Matter” are like a red flag before a bull.
The Cox family posted their own response, saying in part:
“Valuing Black lives and respecting the lives and work of police officers are not mutually exclusive... how can they serve and protect all members of our community if they do not believe that Black lives matter? We also know that the threatening comments on the original FOB Facebook post (those referencing throwing a brick through the window of our home, or the ones implying that perhaps the police might not respond to emergency calls for help) do not reflect the values and work ethic of the Fairfax County police officers we know and respect.
“Most of the people who are really mad about the sign are so offended because they believe the sign message is a direct attack on police officers. Yes, we have read the Black Lives Matter manifesto. From their website: ‘#BlackLivesMatter is working for a world where Black lives are no longer systematically and intentionally targeted for demise.’ That statement is absolutely in line with our family values. As a family, we are anti-racist and pro-justice. We recognize that systemic racism is real, and we embrace our roles as allies working to dismantle it.... About fifteen years ago, some visitors started a boycott of our Fall Festival because we flew rainbow flags over our hay tunnel, and they were concerned that Cox Farms was ‘promoting the homosexual agenda.’ Our business has continued to grow, and our rainbow flags are still flying.” (The entire statement is on the Cox Farms Facebook page.)
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