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But nothing fueled NYPD outrage like de Blasio's relationship with Al Sharpton. When the mayor hired a former Sharpton aide, Rachel Noerdlinger, as the chief of staff to his wife, Chirlane McCray, then defended Noerdlinger against a torrent of bad press for her relationship with an ex-convict and her son's Facebook postings referring to cops as "pigs," NYPD anger exploded.
On a Thee Rant forum, commenters homed in on Noerdlinger's race (she is black) and her gender. While one commenter described her as "a weed soaked cum dumpster low life POS," another officer wrote of her and her partner: "The bit-ch will be bugging mofo's ass, if she hasn't done so already, about making nigge-r noise in court and he will begin clobbering her, and then junior will jump in and snap his neck!"
"They're born N I _ _ E R S , live like N I _ _ E R S and usually die like N I _ _ E R S," a police commenter added. His language was typical of commentary appearing on the forum whenever Noerdlinger's name was mentioned.
When de Blasio remarked this month that he had instructed his son, Dante, to use extra caution when engaging with cops, Thee Rant commenters lit up the chat boards. In a typically lurid thread, a Thee Rant commenter made light of the struggle de Blasio's daughter, Chiara, has waged with substance abuse. "Somebody should slip her a 'hot bag,'" a fellow officer who called himself Thisroundsoneme replied, suggesting a cop plant drugs on her to frame her for possession.
A Staten Island grand jury's refusal to indict Officer Daniel Pantaleo for strangling Eric Garner to death was not only a cause for celebration at Thee Rant, but an excuse for a new wave of racist tirades. "F u c k Black America, their equal or worse than whites, when speaking of Racism..." wrote Eddie R, a forum commenter. "F u c k Diversity, it's not working and never will work..."
"The latinos are about 24 percent of the population as opposed to the 13 percent that negroes comprise. Perhaps that is why our 'brethren of color' are using any excuse to act up," another NYPD commenter added.
When the killing of Ramos and Liu was first reported, Thee Rant commenters leapt to blame de Blasio, and for the first time, focused their loathing on Bratton. "Allowing these savage animals to get away with the SHYT they are is the reason this happened. The blood is on your hands Mr Mayor and You Police Commissioner Bratton," a forum member declared, foreshadowing remarks by the PBA's Lynch.
NYPD Commissioner Bratton has emerged in recent weeks as a hate figure on Thee Rant forums. The angry cops have dubbed him "Beansy," mocking his thick Boston accent and deriding him as a hyper-ambitious, imperious technocrat who has served as a political stage prop for the liberal de Blasio. While one forum commenter called for a PBA vote of no confidence for both de Blasio and Bratton, another waxed nostalgic for Ray Kelly, the former commissioner whose legacy was defined by his defense of stop-and-frisk. "The difference between Kelly and Bratton is Kelly, for better or for worse ran the Department while Bratton holds DeBlasio's coat," a commenter who called himself Petefio wrote.
As the demonstrations against police brutality spread, some Thee Rant commenters vowed to target protest organizers like Jose LaSalle, an activist with Copwatch who documents police abuses in the Bronx. "Jose hates white people!" wrote a commenter who identified himself as a former member of the NYPD and went by the handle, Retirednutjob. "What a shock! Why don't he go back to Puerto Rico? Go harass the Police down there Jose and see what happens!"
The ex-cop went on to post what he said was LaSalle's home phone number and suggested a campaign to force him out of his job with the New York City Parks Department. "Come on we are a powerful force of retired investigators and private eyes and various other sources, lets start following and watching these !%@% stirrers it cant be that hard to find dirt and discredit these azzholes," Baysidedet clamored.
From #TurnYourBack to Operation All Out
At the Woodhull Hospital in Brooklyn where Ramos and Liu were pronounced dead on December 20, the PBA and Sergeants Benevolent Association received word that de Blasio was on his way. It was the police union bosses' chance to embrace the raw rage of the beat cops they represented. When the mayor arrived, proceeding down a long hallway past a line of officers, the cops turned their backs to him in a show of total contempt.
"That blood on the hands starts on the steps of City Hall in the office of the mayor," the PBA's Lynch proclaimed afterwards. "When these funerals are over, those responsible will be called on the carpet and held accountable."
The following day, actor James Woods seized on the protest to popularize a hashtag on Twitter: #TurnYourBack. Woods' first tweet, published just hours after the spontaneous protest took place, has been retweeted more than 2500 times.
Woods is one of the Tea Party right's favorite celebrities and happens to be a friend and golfing partner of Rudy Giuliani. In fact, Woods played the former NYC mayor in the forgotten post-9/11 biopic, Rudy. "I fought tooth and nail to portray him as the genuine hero that I unequivocally believe him to be," Woods said at the time.
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