Instead of Cowering to Pressure, Quentin Tarantino Fights Back Against Police Boycott

Refusing to back down against false accusations, Academy Award-winning film director Quentin Tarantino continues to stand by his statements condemning police brutality. After Tarantino spoke out against several police killings at a recent protest, police unions responsible for defending corrupt cops have called for a boycott against his latest movie.
The day after FBI Director James Comey falsely accused police brutality videos of increasing violent crime, Tarantino spoke at a rally called Rise Up October in New York City along with roughly 40 families affected by police violence.
“Tamir Rice.” Tarantino repeated, “Tamir Rice. A 12-year-old black male child. Cleveland, Ohio. On November 22, 2014, Tamir was playing with a toy gun in the park. After a 911 call with the person calling saying the gun was probably a fake and the person holding it was probably a juvenile, the police rushed over onto the scene and shot Tamir within two seconds. Then they knocked down and handcuffed his sister and locked her in the police car. And they would not allow his mother to hold her lifeless child who lied dead in the street.”
After advocating for those killed by police, including Freddie Gray, Antonio Guzman Lopez, and Michael Brown, Tarantino stepped aside to allow the families to voice their concerns at growing reports of police brutality.
“Hey, everybody,” Tarantino announced. “I got something to say, but actually I would like to give my time to the families that want to talk. I want to give my time to the families. However, I just do also want to say: What am I doing here? I’m doing here because I am a human being with a conscience. And when I see murder, I cannot stand by, and I have to call the murdered the murdered, and I have to call the murderers the murderers. Now, I’m going to give my time to the families.”
In retaliation, police unions across the country, including Los Angeles, Philadelphia, and New York, have asked cops to boycott Tarantino’s next movie, “The Hateful Eight,” scheduled for release on Christmas Day. In a press release, John McNesby, president of the Philadelphia union, falsely stated, “Tarantino has shown through his actions that he is anti-police. Mr. Tarantino has made a good living through his films, projecting into society at large violence and respect for criminals; he it turns out also hates cops.”
But during a recent interview with the Los Angeles Times, Tarantino responded, “All cops are not murderers. I never said that. I never even implied that.”

Tarantino eloquently added, “What they’re doing is pretty obvious. Instead of dealing with the incidents of police brutality that those people were bringing up, instead of examining the problem of police brutality in this country, better they single me out. And their message is very clear. It’s to shut me down. It’s to discredit me. It is to intimidate me. It is to shut my mouth, and even more important than that, it is to send a message out to any other prominent person that might feel the need to join that side of the argument.”
Unbeknownst to the public, police union representatives are paid to defend cops often accused of committing heinous crimes. They will usually fight tooth and nail until those accused officers plead guilty or receive guilty verdicts. Directing baseless accusations at Tarantino is merely one of their job requirements.
LAPD Chief Charlie Beck recently accused Tarantino of living in a fantasy world. “That’s how he makes his living,” Beck stated. “His movies are extremely violent, but he doesn’t understand violence… Unfortunately, he mistakes lawful use of force for murder, and it’s not.”
Like the rest of rational society, Tarantino appears to know the difference between common police tactics and recent incidents of cops blatantly abusing their authority. This year alone, police have killed over 1,000 people, including a mentally ill man begging for his life, a panicked teenager, and a hogtied victim. Unlike most Hollywood directors, Tarantino chose to stand up against unjustified police murders that our superficial society would rather ignore than face directly.
On September 3, three Santa Clara County sheriff’s deputies allegedly beat a mentally ill man to death in a California jail. On July 19, University of Cincinnati police officer Ray Tensing unjustifiably shot Samuel DuBose in the face. And on April 4, North Charleston Patrolman Michael Slager gunned down Walter Scott as he was running away.
“The people who are screaming against me are the mouthpieces for the police,” Tarantino said. “They can call for a boycott. That doesn’t mean that cops are going to respond. Because I actually have a whole lot of fans that are police officers.”

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