Police Union Sparring with Quentin Tarantino Looks Idiotic, Unable to Take Criticism

by Julian Spivey
I have never seen a Quentin Tarantino movie. There’s a fairly good chance I will never see a Tarantino film as long as I live. I’m not a fan of graphic and gratuitous violence in movies and there’s pretty much never been a movie director who filmed as much graphic violence outside of the horror genre than Tarantino. He’s just not the movie director for me.
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I say all of this, so as what I’m about to say doesn’t come off as being a fan taking offense to what’s happening to Tarantino at the moment.

Despite never seeing a Tarantino film I’m on his side in his little media war between himself and the Fraternal Order of Police, the nation’s largest police union.

Tarantino took part in an anti-police brutality protest in late October in New York City, as he has every right to do as an American citizen. The police union took his participation in the anti-police brutality event to be a sign of disrespect and hatred toward all police officers.
The union, which represents over 330,000 officers, has called for protests of Tarantino movies, specifically his newest release “Hateful Eight,” which is set to hit theaters in late December.

On Thursday, Nov. 5, Jim Pasco, the executive director of the Fraternal Order of Police, made a statement to The Hollywood Reporter that comes off sounding like a threat toward the Oscar-winning screenwriter and director.

Pasco said: “We’ll be opportunistic. Tarantino has made a good living out of violence and surprise. Our officers make a living trying to stop violence, but surprise is not out of the question. Something is in the works, but the element of surprise is the most important element. Something could happen anytime between now and [the premiere of ‘Hateful Eight’]. And a lot of it is going to be driven by Tarantino, who is nothing if not predictable.”
Pasco obviously wouldn’t give specifics, but it sounds as if the union is going to try to disrupt showings and premieres of “Hateful Eight” in big cities throughout the country. He did mention they’d try to hurt Tarantino where it mattered the most – economically.

It’s to be seen how Tarantino’s taking part in an anti-police brutality protest in October will impact his box office numbers in December, but a lot of people, primarily conservatives, in this country weren’t pleased by his participation in the event.

It’s important to note, although it shouldn’t be necessary, that Tarantino’s participation was merely to voice his opinion on the recent spate of police brutality in this country and it wasn’t a message about police in general. Too often people seem to confuse voicing opinions on police brutality or bad cops with a complete hatred of police altogether.

Tarantino said in an interview with MSNBC’s Chris Hayes on Wednesday, Nov. 4: “Just because I’m at an anti-police brutality rally doesn’t mean I am anti-police … stop shooting unarmed people. We want justice. Stop shooting unarmed people. But they don’t want to deal with that, they would rather start arguments with celebrities. I was under the impression that I was an American and I had First Amendment rights.”

Yes, Tarantino, you are an American and you have every right to both voice your opinions and participate in peaceful protest thanks to the First Amendment. But, the Fraternal Order of Police apparently don’t give a damn about the First Amendment. Because you voiced your opinion they want to treat you like the bad guys they should be far more concerned in catching and arresting than taking shots and making plans at hurting a movie director’s box office numbers.

Pasco and the Fraternal Order of Police would rather worry about someone’s opinions than doing everything in their power to end the corruption within their own system. They may succeed in hurting Tarantino’s box office numbers, but they’ve also succeeded in making themselves look like complete clowns who can’t take a little criticism.

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