Okay, so this is pretty much going to boil your blood. On Friday night’s edition of CBS' Blue Bloods, an episode titled “Rush to Judgment,” Black Lives Matter, or the made-for-TV equivalent thereof, take center stage as Jamie Reagan (Will Estes) son of police commissioner Frank Reagan (Tom Selleck) confronts an angry mob of protestors who are…well…angry. What else would they be?
Rev. Potter: It's time to end the abuse! Stop police brutality! What do we want?!
Protestors: Justice!
Rev. Potter: When do we want it?
Protestors: Now!
Eddie: I thought they were supposed to stay on the walkways.
Reagan: They are, but they're looking for trouble. And headlines. The right to protest, Eddie. As American as apple pie and bitching about taxes.
Eddie: But we're not the bad guys.
Reagan: Preaching to the choir. So is Reverend Potter.
Guerrero: We're sending a message to those in power! Whose streets?
Protestors: Our streets!
Eddie: Who's the other guy with the bullhorn?
Reagan: That's Gerry Guerrero, civil rights attorney. Suing the NYPD in half a dozen cases. Not a favorite of the commissioner's. Your people need to be over on the walkways, Reverend.
Guerrero: Uh, Officer, we have permits.
Reagan: Not to block a government plaza. These cars need to move in case of an emergency.
Eddie: Folks, behind the barricade,
please.Rev. Potter: What is going on here? Is some recording this?!
Protestor: What about our rights?
Reagan: Ma'am, you can't be here right now. You need to be back behind the barricades.
Woman: I want to join the group.
Reagan: This is a government plaza. It's off-limits right now. You guys have to be back...
Woman: The group is right here.
Reagan: Back behind the barricades. Please... Hey. Excuse... Hey, slow down! Hey! Sir! Sir! Sir. Hey, talk to me. Call a bus. We need a bus...
Rev. Potter: This man needs immediate medical attention.
Protestor: You see that? Dude just belted that dude for no reason.
Reagan: No, that's not what happened. He was about to run into a woman and a kid. You saw, right, Eddie?
Eddie: No, I was over there.
Guerrero: Officer, I need to see your badge number and your name. Reagan? That's your name? You're Reagan?
I love this scene. First of all, the protest causes the near-miss accident by assembling in a place where they weren’t supposed to be, which is why Reagan had to grab the courier’s bike in the first place. But then, instead of actually doing useful things to help the bike courier or just dispersing, the sleazy, anti-cop lawyer is more concerned with getting Reagan’s name and badge number.
Second, after working with cops on a daily basis as a former member of the FDNY/EMS, I’m more than familiar with the reality that being a cop is at times the most thankless job in the world. Not only are the police charged with protecting normal everyday citizens, but they’re also charged with protecting the people who hate them and call them names. More than once I can recall the police tending to the injuries or calling for medical assistance for people who attacked them.
Again, it’s the most thankless job I can think of and I can’t understand why anyone would do it. But thank God they do.
Later on, it turns out the angry red head who is at the front of the mob screaming about her rights accuses the sleazy attorney, Guerrero, of rape. During his questioning by Danny Reagan (Donnie Walberg) who is also the son of the commissioner, Guerrero takes his sleaze game to a whole new level when he analogizes his arrest to Iraq:
Guerrero: I want to hand it to you people. 'Cause this is probably the phoniest set-up since the invasion of Iraq.
2004 called, they want they’re phony outrage back. Seriously, the idea that “Bush lied, people died” WMD references are still making their way into mainstream TV programming in late 2015 is ridiculous. Almost as ridiculous as Guerrero’s belief that his rape accusation is somehow akin to geopolitical conspiracy.
But I digress. Later in the show it turns out he’s innocent and the girl made the whole thing up. However, also later on comes what is undoubtedly the coolest part of this very cool show. An entire family, multiple generations, sitting down at the dinner table together and talking. And complaining as well, of course, as Jamie gives his old man a hard time about his modified assignment duties while his investigation goes forward.
But, what’s even better is how the scene ends, and what the family does right before they eat:
Henry: By the time we all agree, it would be tomorrow morning. No, let the roast set for a bit before you start carving.
Frank: Why?
Henry: 'Cause I said so.
Frank: Wow. I haven't gotten that one in years.
Jamie: But you're still giving it out.
Frank: What? Your modified assignment?
Jamie: Well, yeah.
Danny: Get used to it, kid. Comes with the territory.
Erin: What are we talking about here?
Danny: Jamie got jammed up. His assignment is the equivalent of watching paint dry.
Frank: I told you, that assignment does not cross my desk.
Jamie: Fact remains I'm jammed up probably 'cause of my last name, and the punishment is also worse 'cause of my last name.
Henry: Your dad had a taste of that same medicine when I was PC.
Jamie: All the more reason to correct it.
Henry: No, all the more reason to just bite that bullet. There's an upside to being a cop named Reagan, so inevitably, there's a downside.
Frank: Yeah. I mean, do you really want to be explaining how you just happened to pull modified duty work in the Ranger game at the Garden?
Jamie: No, but...
Frank: No buts. Pop, the roast looks beautiful, but it would look better in slices on our plates.
Henry: The juices need to be absorbed. Just let's say grace,
and then you can carve.Erin: Who wants to say grace?
Jamie: I'll say grace. Lord, thank you for making us all Reagans. Because here in New York, being a Reagan is the greatest gift Thy could bestow...
Frank: All right.
Jamie: Bless us, O Lord, (others join in) and these thy gifts which we are about to receive from thy bounty, through Christ, our Lord. Amen.
Ah, a prayer. Something that gets very little play on television. But something we should all do for the police who risk life and limb to protect us. An appeal to Heaven, while activists and politicians do everything they can to make their lives a living hell.
