Akerman: Police hierarchy caves in to hypocritical gay activists – and the menace of woke politics
NSW police being forced into humiliating negotiations over marching in the Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras demonstrated the perils of mixing woke politics with public service, writes Piers Akerman.
Opinion
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The NSW police force should never have been forced into humiliating negotiations with homosexual activists over permission to march in Saturday night’s Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras.
Yet it engaged in ridiculous to-and-froing over whether uniformed police officers could march, whether only gay officers could march, and whether they could carry their regulation firearms.
It was a stark demonstration of the perils of mixing woke politics with public service. In this instance, it was the police, but it may as well have been members of the armed services, the fire brigade, emergency services, or even health workers.
Members of radical activist group Pride in Protest ensured that the occasion became the focus for politics, not pride, as its pro-Palestine statements make clear.
That any gay activist would wave a Palestinian flag or banner is the ultimate in deluded thinking as gays are locked up, tortured or murdered on the West Bank and in Gaza, just as they are in the majority of Muslim nations.
The issue of police marching came to the fore in the aftermath of the murders of a homosexual couple, allegedly by another homosexual man who happened to be a NSW police officer. Had the victims not been high profile and their alleged killer a police officer, it should have been yet another domestic violence tragedy.
Police Commissioner Karen Webb has handled the issue with appalling clumsiness. As in the case of the 95-year-old great-grandmother who died after a fall subsequent to being tasered by a police officer, Webb took too long to address the public on a matter of considerable public concern.
Her public expression of gratitude to the alleged murderer was also a wrong note. That NSW police historically treated homosexuals brutally is inarguable, but they have gone to great lengths to remedy this grave injustice since homosexuality was legalised in the state in 1984.
Police in full uniform and on full pay have been marching in the parade for decades. Some who claim to represent the communal views of LGBTQ+ people said uniformed officers should be banned from marching in the parade to give their community time to grieve.
In my opinion, uniformed officers should be barred from participating in an official capacity in this or any other political parade. If individuals want to march in their own time and in mufti, that’s their decision and not a matter for the state.
Those aggrieved by the presence of police are focusing on the uniform and trying to bury the fact that the alleged murderer is also a member of their community. There is every reason to believe that the alleged act was a crime of passion, as Webb said – much to the annoyance of some in the gay world.
In a statement, she said the parade was “an important event on the NSW police calendar” – but surely no more important than any other event attracting a sizeable crowd.
Going woke is always a bad move and, in this instance, has led to the demoralisation of men and women, gay and straight, in the police force.
The public doesn’t want to have to think about the sexuality of the police officer responding to an emergency any more than officers should be concerned about the personal pronouns preferred by either villains or victims of crime.
The soft leadership of NSW Police was highlighted by the lack of action that followed the revolting scene of Islamist supporters of the terrorist group Hamas taking over the Opera House forecourt to celebrate the murders, kidnappings, rape and torture of Israeli civilians on October 7.
In pandering to activists on the Mardi Gras committee, NSW Police has been shamed.
How many more public bodies will we see capitulating to noisy minorities and cowering because of aggressive social media bullies?
The gay community talks of pride and inclusivity – this action shows otherwise. Police must be outside all politics, woke or otherwise.
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