Larry Strauss

Opinion columnist

Among the many outrages last week, the country’s attorney general has threatened Americans whom he does not believe demonstrate sufficient adoration for law enforcement.

At a Justice Department awards ceremony honoring police officers, William Barr said Americans “have to start showing, more than they do, the respect and support that law enforcement deserves, and if communities don’t give that support and respect, they might find themselves without the police protection they need.”

I wonder whether Barr appreciates the irony of his threat to withhold a basic public service for the purpose of silencing dissent — while the president who appointed him withheld congressionally approved foreign aid (that he had already signed) to coerce complicity in weakening a potential political rival. Or the irony of Barr’s insistence on “respect” for law enforcement, given the many criminals in Donald Trump's circle and his own flouting of a congressional subpoena.

But this is more alarming than the hypocrisy of his words and actions. This kind of threat is a nod to fascism — one the police officers of this country should not be party to.

Respect should be earned and mutual

To be clear, there are many honest and courageous and hardworking law enforcement officers throughout this country. I have had the honor of teaching more than a dozen of them. I have coached and mentored some as well over the years. I am proud of those men and women, some of whom I still have contact with. These are young men and women of color who grew up in a community notorious for its history of police abuses; they are committed to being part of positive change in that regard.

One thing I try to teach all my students is that respect flows from self-respect then elevates to mutual respect. I’ve never demanded unquestioned authority over a student and never would. Respect is never a one way thing. By its very definition, it cannot be coerced.

So I am confident that all those fine law enforcement officer I’ve taught, coached and mentored are as offended as I am by the AG’s remarks.

Respect is earned; it is never coerced. Respect, if it’s real, is mutual.

Barr further decried the fact that the nation’s police officers are not celebrated the way that U.S. soldiers returning from overseas combat are. I'm not sure how celebrated returning combat vets actually are these days. We could probably offer them a lot more recognition, not to mention remuneration and post-combat supports. But Barr likes comparing police officers to military soldiers — and am I the only one who finds that unsettling?

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If anything, Barr should be recommending more and better law enforcement services to distressed communities — more community policing, more social services to support young people and reduce crime. Police departments want that. That's what one of my former students, Los Angeles Police Department officer Chris Baker, told me recently.

"Any good cop and any good department cares about the community and wants the resources that are going to help people and reduce crime," he said. "Services for the homeless, mental health services, good schools and good after-school programs for a start. Otherwise you’re just arresting people and doing nothing to change anything and you’re just an occupying force in that community.”

But Barr prefers to condemn citizens of some cities who demand greater police accountability and an end to excessive force. He compares them to Vietnam War-era antiwar protesters blaming an unpopular war on the soldiers who had risked their lives to try and fight.

Threats a reminder of oppression

A dubious claim, it turns out. And even if it were true, it is a contorted analogy, to say the least — police officers being mostly unionized civil servants, Vietnam War soldiers mostly draftees.

And is anyone blaming the crimes of a few criminal cops on every badge or uniform? If anyone is, shame on them, but it is anti-democratic and divisive to suggest silencing dissent or disagreement with the actions of law enforcement — or the military or anyone else.

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The threat of withholding law enforcement services should remind us of a shameful past when police were agents of the systematic oppression of African Americans and other minorities, as well as workers and women. The city in which I live has an infamous legacy, one the LAPD is still trying to repair, of policing different communities in radically different ways: peace officers for white people, an occupying army for everyone else. And in April 1992, LAPD leaders withdrew officers from an escalating skirmish that turned into deadly violence. They refused to do their job at the moment when they were most needed.

Barr’s recent threat endorses these egregious failures and disgraces all the hardworking law enforcement professionals he is supposed to lead. He underestimates the toughness, resolve and professionalism of police officers who welcome transparency and want to serve even the most distressed communities — and who never forget that we, the public, pay their salaries.

William Barr would do well to remember that we pay his salary as well.

Larry Strauss, a high school English teacher in South Los Angeles since 1992, is a member of USA TODAY's Board of Contributors and the author of more than a dozen books, most recently "Students First and Other Lies" and, on audio, "Now's the Time" (narrated by Kim Fields). Follow him on Twitter: @LarryStrauss