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Dear Officer Crowley
According to the Los Angeles Times, James Crowley has agreed to go to the White House on Thursday evening for a social get together with the alien-in-chief and America’s most prominent black scholar. I say to Officer Crowley, don’t do it. Read the commenters at Lucianne.com about this. They’re all telling you not to go. You can only be hurt by buying into Obama’s message that all three of you stepped over the line and now a little friendly chat can settle things. You didn’t step over the line. You acted properly. Gates behaved abominably and Obama’s statements were also outrageous. They owe apologies to you. You owe nothing to them. If you, who have done nothing wrong, allow yourself to be cast as the moral equivalent of these two misbehaving individuals, you will not only be destroying the clear moral distinctions that this event has established, you will be handing these unworthy men a victory over you. Don’t go.
- end of initial entry -
Jeff S. writes:
I must have read the title half a dozen times before getting the West Side Story reference. It fits.
LA replies:
Yes, in the song, the gang members are trying to make Officer Krupke excuse and rationalize their bad, shiftless, and criminal behavior as being caused by society, which in terms of our time means “white racism.”
So, by “Dear Officer Crowley,” I mean both Obama’s and Gates’s phony friendliness to Crowley, which is a danger to him, and my own sincere good wishes that he avoid their trap.
Ben W. writes:
You wrote:
“If you, who have done nothing wrong, allow yourself to be cast as the moral equivalent of these two misbehaving individuals, you will not only be destroying the clear moral distinctions that this event has established, you will be handing these unworthy men a victory over you.”
Aren’t you saying in effect that Obama is a corrupting influence in this situation? A previous VFR article mused whether Obama was evil or stupid. In this case his stupidity has the effect of being evil. Obama is destroying the moral certitude of the officer’s action and obfuscating the boundaries of good and evil.
LA replies:
Well of course he is a corrupting influence.
But it’s worse than what you or I have said so far. Obama’s message is that white racism is the cause of black ills. He clearly said in his March 2008 race speech (though no one wanted to hear it ) that Jeremiah Wright’s hatred of America and whites is justified, and will continue to be justified until white people fix the problems of blacks, meaning make blacks equal in their outcomes with whites. He has said over and over that racism by police is the reason blacks are arrested and imprisoned so much more than other groups. He thought he could make Crowley an example of this. That’s what he meant by a “teachable moment.” He wanted to make a simple police officer who was doing his job an example before the entire nation of white racial prejudice, in exactly the way he did to his own grandmother when he talked about her supposed racial prejudice and called her a “typical white person.” So for Crowley to have any dialog with Obama—Obama, who will be controlling the situation, and who can talk rings around Crowley—would only feed into Obama’s anti-white message. Crowley must not do this.
LA writes:
As for “Gee Officer Krupke,” the whole song is very clever (here’s a recording), but the best part is near the end where, after the gang members have gone through all their economic, sociological, and psychiatric excuses for their bad behavior (“Society”—or, in terms of our time, white racism—“has done it to us”), they admit the truth about themselves:
BABY JOHN: (As Female Social Worker)
Eek!
Officer Krupke, you’ve done it again.
This boy don’t need a job, he needs a year in the pen.
It ain’t just a question of misunderstood;
Deep down inside him, he’s no good!
ACTION
I’m no good!
ALL
We’re no good, we’re no good!
We’re no earthly good,
Like the best of us is no damn good!
Here’s the entire song.
ACTION
Dear kindly Sergeant Krupke,
You gotta understand,
It’s just our bringin’ up-ke
That gets us out of hand.
Our mothers all are junkies,
Our fathers all are drunks.
Golly Moses, natcherly we’re punks!
ACTION AND JETS
Gee, Officer Krupke, we’re very upset;
We never had the love that ev’ry child oughta get.
We ain’t no delinquents,
We’re misunderstood.
Deep down inside us there is good!
ACTION
There is good!
ALL
There is good, there is good,
There is untapped good!
Like inside the worst of us is good!
SNOWBOY: (Spoken) That’s a touchin’ good story.
ACTION: (Spoken) Lemme tell it to the world!
SNOWBOY: Just tell it to the judge.
ACTION
Dear kindly Judge, your Honor,
My parents treat me rough.
With all their marijuana,
They won’t give me a puff.
They didn’t wanna have me,
But somehow I was had.
Leapin’ lizards! That’s why I’m so bad!
DIESEL: (As Judge) Right!
Officer Krupke, you’re really a square;
This boy don’t need a judge, he needs an analyst’s care!
It’s just his neurosis that oughta be curbed.
He’s psychologic’ly disturbed!
ACTION
I’m disturbed!
JETS
We’re disturbed, we’re disturbed,
We’re the most disturbed,
Like we’re psychologic’ly disturbed.
DIESEL: (Spoken, as Judge) In the opinion on this court,
this child is depraved on account he ain’t had a normal home.
ACTION: (Spoken) Hey, I’m depraved on account I’m deprived.
DIESEL: So take him to a headshrinker.
ACTION (Sings)
My father is a bastard,
My ma’s an S.O.B.
My grandpa’s always plastered,
My grandma pushes tea.
My sister wears a mustache,
My brother wears a dress.
Goodness gracious, that’s why I’m a mess!
A-RAB: (As Psychiatrist) Yes!
Officer Krupke, you’re really a slob.
This boy don’t need a doctor, just a good honest job.
Society’s played him a terrible trick,
And sociologic’ly he’s sick!
ACTION
I am sick!
ALL
We are sick, we are sick,
We are sick, sick, sick,
Like we’re sociologically sick!
A-RAB: In my opinion, this child don’t need to have his head shrunk at all.
Juvenile delinquency is purely a social disease!
ACTION: Hey, I got a social disease!
A-RAB: So take him to a social worker!
ACTION
Dear kindly social worker,
They say go earn a buck.
Like be a soda jerker,
Which means like be a schumck.
It’s not I’m anti-social,
I’m only anti-work.
Gloryosky! That’s why I’m a jerk!
BABY JOHN: (As Female Social Worker)
Eek!
Officer Krupke, you’ve done it again.
This boy don’t need a job, he needs a year in the pen.
It ain’t just a question of misunderstood;
Deep down inside him, he’s no good!
ACTION
I’m no good!
ALL
We’re no good, we’re no good!
We’re no earthly good,
Like the best of us is no damn good!
DIESEL (As Judge)
The trouble is he’s crazy.
A-RAB (As Psychiatrist)
The trouble is he drinks.
BABY JOHN (As Female Social Worker)
The trouble is he’s lazy.
DIESEL
The trouble is he stinks.
A-RAB
The trouble is he’s growing.
BABY JOHN
The trouble is he’s grown.
ALL
Krupke, we got troubles of our own!
Gee, Officer Krupke,
We’re down on our knees,
‘Cause no one wants a fellow with a social disease.
Gee, Officer Krupke,
What are we to do?
Gee, Officer Krupke,
Krup you!
Lyrics by Steven Sondheim, music by Leonard Bernstein
Posted by Lawrence Auster at July 28, 2009 06:14 PM | Send
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