Katherine Powell Cohen rules!

My beloved friend Katherine sent me a copy of the email she sent to the SFPD. I am reprinting here without her permission, but I'm sure she won't mind. I so so so appreciate her for taking the time to write and send this letter!

From: Katherine Powell <jkmpoco@mac.com>

Date: April 9, 2008 11:36:45 P.M. PDT

To: sfpd.online@sfgov.org

Subject: Call for Apology

Dear SFPD:

It was with shock and shame, as a San Franciscan and an American, that I saw footage on ABC 7 news of a San Francisco police officer engaging in hooliganism today. As a citizen, I call for a public apology by Commissioner Fong and tangible evidence that the officer be educated on the basic tenets of the U.S. Constitution, and be punished.

After torchbearer Majora Carter waved a small Tibetan flag, which was confiscated by a Chinese Olympics official, an SF police officer shoved Ms Carter from behind as she finished her leg of the relay. Ms Carter is a respected environmentalist who has done much for the greater good, and her action today was dignified. Regardless of Ms Carter's respected status in our community, and aside from the fact that her gesture was a graceful statement, the police officer's action was an affront to the American people and a disgrace to the city of San Francisco. The freedom to express one's convictions, especially in support of an oppressed people, is one of the factors that makes the United States a beacon of democracy. The Chinese official, by snatching the flag from Ms Carter, only emphasized the contrast between Chinese government, and the U.S. government's great populist foundation. In the next minutes, the offending officer showed ignorance of American values by behaving even worse than the Chinese official.

Sincerely,

Katherine Powell Cohen, Ph.D.

Hurray for Katherine!!