Anthony Freda Illustration |
Amanda Warren
Activist Post
What better way to celebrate a charity than redoing a song cheering Michael Brown’s death?
Recently, there was a charity event given by retired LAPD officer Joe Myers. Half were police, some retired, and the other half were non-police attendees.
Private I Gary Fishell, who once worked for the federal government, thought it would be funny at the event to get up and sing a violent song of sorts….
A witness became offended by a karaoke rendition of Jim Croce’s “Bad, Bad Leroy Brown” which inserted violent lyrics that celebrated the police shooting of unarmed Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri in August. The person discreetly recorded it and sent the footage to TMZ.
It should be noted that TMZ is an infamous Hollywood gossip and paparazzi outfit. Yet, where there is scandal they will answer the call, and the footage below is an eye-opener to true attitude coming from the police force.
Here is Fishell’s version of “Bad, Bad Leroy Brown,” as copied by The Free Thought Project. See if you think this is an appropriate charity event:
Michael Brown learned a lesson about a messin’
With a badass policeman
And he’s bad, bad Michael Brown
Baddest thug in the whole damn town
Badder than old King Kong
Meaner than a junkyard dog
Two men took to fightin’
And Michael punched in through the door
And Michael looked like some old Swiss cheese
His brain was splattered on the floor
And he’s dead, dead Michael Brown
Deadest man in the whole damn town
His whole life’s long gone
Deader than a roadkill dog
[emphasis added]
A lawyer for Fishell conceded that the song was “off color and in poor taste.” And that, “He’s a goofball who writes funny songs.” (No, Weird Al is someone who writes funny songs. Singers at children’s birthday parties are goofballs who write funny songs, but this guy??)
When asked what would prompt Fishell to sing this to a room full of cops, the lawyer replied, “He thought the room would get a kick out of it.”
While Myers who hosted the event allegedly did not know the crowd would receive such a serenade, he certainly didn’t condemn the choice either.
He said:
How can I dictate what he [Fishell] says in a song? This is America. We can say what we want. This is a free America.
Yet the very topic of the song redo proves that no – no, this is not a free America.
An Elks Lodge trustee is not thrilled with the event, however. A spokesperson told TMZ:
It’s deplorable and inappropriate and the Lodge will take disciplinary action against [Fishell] and possibly the people who organized this event.
Headlines are already brimming with calls of racism. The garish and violent lyrics say nothing obvious about racism – no, it unfortunately highlights a general psychopathic attitude toward non-police. The police who operate with this lack of empathy are equal-opportunity life destroyers. The song was intended to arouse humor in other officers and laud a twisted justification for executing unarmed people on site. It’s a defensive show of brotherhood against perceived anger – anger they feel is unwarranted – instead of thoughtfully reflecting on why people are incensed at police right now.
The nonchalant reaction also says a lot … This writer doesn’t know what is more sad – that anyone would find this a humorous approach to a charity, or that a current P.I. actually took the time to create these updated lyrics – and proudly sung them!
And, what do you think folk rock singer Jim Croce would think, if he were alive today?
PS – it should be noted that the “badass” in the song had a badge and a gun, the other person sung about…did not.
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