Tom Alciere, an obscure Republican lawmaker from New Hampshire, received nationwide media attention this week for posting remarks on the Internet about killing cops. What a fool. If Mr. Alciere had written his crude rantings in rhyme and embarked on a music career instead of a political one, he’d be making millions of dollars and winning Grammy Awards.
Here are some of the statements Mr. Alciere sent to various online discussion groups:
— “The Bill of Rights never got through a cop’s head. The only thing that ever gets through a cop’s head is a bullet.”
–“They’re ALL enemy officers. Nobody will ever be safe until the last cop is dead.”
— “Nothing wrong with (killing an officer), since cops are nothing but a bunch of vicious, brutal, crooked, racist, obnoxious, perjuring, bullying thugs anyway.”
— “Speak highly of the cop-killers, for they are America’s only hope. If you kill a cop, the news is fleeting, your message broadcast on one evening’s news if you live to make it to trial. But cop-killers are there, and we can spread the glory of their deeds.”
–“There’s nothing wrong with wasting cops. They go around threatening innocent, random people at gun point, and they whine about it when one of us humans kills a cop.”
Outrageous rhetoric. But it’s tame stuff compared to the violent sentiments spread by some of the country’s most acclaimed rock and rap stars. Take Rage Against the Machine, the Grammy Award-winning band that has raised tens of thousands of dollars for convicted cop-killer Mumia Abu-Jamal and campaigns for the release of Leonard Peltier, convicted of killing two FBI agents in 1975.
The band’s guitarist, Tom Morello, once said: “A good song should make you wanna tap your feet and get with your girl. A great song should destroy cops and set fire to the suburbs.” Among Rage Against the Machine’s “great songs” are the subtlely titled “Bullet in the Head” and “Guerrilla Radio,” an ode to Mumia, which goes in part: “All you pen devils know the trial was vile/Army of pigs try to silence my style/Off em all out … “
Another angry tune, “Killing in the Name,” shares Mr. Alciere’s belief that cops are racist: “Some of those that work forces are the same that burn crosses … Those who die, are justified, for wearin’ the badge, they’re the chosen white … Come on, f— you, I won’t do what you tell me … “
Profanity is the key ingredient missing in Mr. Alciere’s Internet expressions of hatred for law enforcement. To be successful in the anti-police niche of the entertainment business, he should take a few lessons from rapper Ice Cube and the lads of N.W.A., who penned the masterpiece, “F— tha’ police”:
A young n—– on the warpath
And when I’m finished
It’s gonna be a bloodbath of cops
Dead around my way
Yo b—-, I got somethin’ to say
F— the police, f— the police, f— ’em! (Surprise)
F— the police, f— the police, f— ’em! (Surprise)
F— the police, f— the police, f— ’em! (Surprise)
F— the police (You’re mothaf—in’ right)
Also worthy of Mr. Alciere’s study is the graphic reverie of Ice-T, the former Time-Warner rap star who crooned the classic “Cop Killer:”
“I got my twelve gauge sawed off
I got my headlights turned off
I’m ’bout to bust some shots off
I’m ’bout to dust some cops off!
Cop killer, it’s better you than me
Cop killer, f— police brutality
Cop killer, I know your family’s grieving (F— ’em)
Cop killer, but tonight we get even (ha, ha, ha, ha, yeah!)
What’s lunatic in New Hampshire is lucrative in Hollywood. When it comes to musical cop-haters, the mainstream press barely musters a peep of complaint. Mr. Alciere should resign from public office, buy a pair of dark sunglasses, gold chains, and a microphone, and call MTV. The next Eminem is on his way.
