i just wanted to add an anecdote:
i went for a walk tonight, and i was nervous because my neighborhood is in an area that is cordonned off by police barracades. i honestly didn’t know if i would be allowed back on to my street, because the police have been keeping people away so that the rescue work can proceed unimpeded. but at 1 a.m i was walking home in the rain, afraid that i was going to have to go and sleep in tompkins square park instead of in my home. and as i got to the police checkpoint and started to pull out my passport the policemen all smiled and said ‘oh, just go on through.’ and the warmth and kindness on their faces almost made me start to cry.
these kind policemen, standing in the rain at one in the morning, just radiating good-will and kindness.
some people might at times have issues with the police, but at that moment they were compassionate human beings, and i thank them for that. and i thank them for letting me sleep in my own bed tonight. the rescue workers and firemen and policemen (‘firemen’ and ‘policemen’ being non-gender specific terms, like ‘captain’…) are working tirelessly and bravely and they deserve our respect and admiration.
-moby
