re: #54 William Lewis

9/11 changed perspectives on cops and firefighters and first responders generally.

We saw them rush into the buildings to try and save lives. Hundreds never made it out. 343 firefighters died. Nearly 100 cops across multiple police departments.

Hundreds more have died since from 9/11 exposures.

We called them heroes, and they were - for doing heroic actions to try and save lives.

But the reality is also that many of those who died should never have died. Comms failures meant that those in the North Tower should have been ordered to evacuate but didn’t. They never had a chance because radio systems that were identified as a problem from the 1993 WTC bombing forward, never got upgraded under the Rudy admin. Those deaths are on Rudy.

But 9/11 events also suggested that everyone in law enforcement and firefighters are heroes when that simply isn’t the case. We have too many inconvenient facts and situations to show otherwise. Even from the NYPD we have tons of cases where they murdered unarmed people, violated their rights and more. We see that in practically every corner of the nation - police cover up their own malfeasance and the criminal justice system is fixed - to give cops cover when they do bad things. Prosecutors who don’t investigate or prosecute. Prosecutors who bring lesser charges. Prosecutors who fail to administer justice. Judges who do the same.

Hero worship is a dangerous thing, especially when the truth is so much murkier. It’s a story people tell to comfort them, but the reality is that it provides excuses when things go badly and remediation is required.