It’s not easy to applaud PETA, but it appears the one time the organization did something useful, it’s being slammed for collaborating with police.
Police in St. Louis, Mo., have been operating an initiative called Operation Polar Cops, a community outreach program that gives free ice cream bars to kids.
Love is in the air. Ice cream just brings people together. #SamSafety #STLPolarCops @FOX2now pic.twitter.com/Apxu72K36W
— St. Louis, MO Police (@SLMPD) August 3, 2016
#STLPolarCops @TowerGrovePark sharing treats with kids and staff from The Youth & Family Center pic.twitter.com/RThBxHWVrn
— St. Louis, MO Police (@SLMPD) August 5, 2016
Rather than dispatching a crew of near-naked activists to the scene to protest the exploitation of dairy animals, PETA instead offered to provide $1,000 worth of non-dairy offerings, including coconut, soy, and almond-based vegan ice cream bars.
PETA’s offer did not sit well with Brittany Packnett, an educator and activist who was appointed to President Obama’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing, formed in 2014 via Executive Order.
Packnett was among those who met with President Obama in February as part of the “first-of-its-kind gathering of leaders who represent different generations of the civil rights movement.” She was also on hand in July, the day after the president turned a memorial service for five slain Dallas police officers into a lecture on race.
One announced focus of the February meeting was building trust between police and neighborhoods, but don’t let Operation Polar Cops fool you.
https://twitter.com/MsPackyetti/status/762779650724552704
screw ice cream. stop killing us.
— ☔BlackPeopleAreHuman♿ (@SparrowOnTheEye) August 8, 2016
Fattening us up for the slaughter ?
— IGetItFromMyMomma?? (@TeamStephie) August 9, 2016
Harsh.
https://twitter.com/MsPackyetti/status/762780010348318720
https://twitter.com/MsPackyetti/status/762780073510309889
https://twitter.com/MsPackyetti/status/762781032252792832
https://twitter.com/MsPackyetti/status/762781293042028544
https://twitter.com/MsPackyetti/status/762782874105806848
FYI @peta-we don't need the police to hand us healthy snacks. We need them to stop killing us, and stop getting away with it. Thx but no thx
— Brittany Packnett (@MsPackyetti) August 8, 2016
https://twitter.com/MsPackyetti/status/762803933009944576
Once more for emphasis: Packnett, along with DeRay Mckesson, who also has connections to Teach for America, has been hand-selected to work with the president on police reform and community engagement.
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