Robert J. Schappert III’s letter published in the Oct. 30 edition of the Cape Gazette served to illuminate and exacerbate conditions that seemingly pervade our country; it smacked of nastiness, intolerance and abject hatred.
In his response to a published letter from Don Flood, he sought to make his point that Antifa and Black Lives Matter are “anarchist Marxist organizations hellbent to overthrow our government and end democracy” by hurling demeaning invective at Mr. Flood. While he fails to identify the “back channel” sources he relies upon to discredit Antifa and BLM, for the purposes of this letter (although I strongly disagree with his assessment of the BLM movement; surely, at its core it seeks nothing more than the advantage and privilege of parity of treatment and opportunity that Mr. Schappert no doubt enjoys, and I condemn violence as a means of protest from wherever it originates), I will not challenge each of the derogatory statements he makes about these movements.
Mr. Schappert signs his letter as president of a lodge of the Fraternal Order of Police in Sussex County. While I have no knowledge of the professional/work background of Mr. Schapport, I am assuming that he is or was a law enforcement officer and/or involved in that honorable profession.
At a time when our country is, at a minimum, deeply divided; a division fueled by fear and hatred, Mr. Schappert’s words do absolutely nothing to ameliorate that condition but rather apparently seek to fuel those intolerant flames. His “left wing” characterizations of individuals and entities interested in achieving racial equity is unfortunate at best, horribly destructive at worst. It is my sincere hope that this Fraternal Order of Police lodge president does not speak for the law enforcement membership of his organization. How comforting it would be to hear one or more of his membership speak out against such hate speech.
I write this on the eve of an election that, regardless of outcome, could see a rise in violence and the tension that grips our nation. Most of us look to the highly valued law enforcement community to step forward and act as a reasonable and calming influence. Surely, there exist among them individuals that seek a day when our community and country come together, when the rhetoric is lowered and we look to bring about fairness and common good. Sadly, Mr. Schappert has, at least for himself, rejected that role.
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