In the town of Melrose, Massachusetts, the mayor and police chief have apologized for the fact that a traffic sign reading “THE SAFETY OF ALL LIVES MATTER” was displayed on a public street.
“I have ordered that it be taken down immediately and am taking steps to find out how this happened,” said Mayor Paul Brodeur in a Facebook post. “I apologize to the residents of Melrose.”
Police Chief Michael Lyle issued a statement calling the wording of the sign “unfortunate and improper” and calling the phrase “all lives matter” a “misguided counter to the Black Lives Matter movement.”
The statement also explained: “Preliminarily, the officer reported to me that he did not post the message with either malicious or political intent. The officer, by his account, was trying to type a traffic safety message in the limited space offered by the electronic sign and did not realize the totality or impact of the words he had posted. Nonetheless, I will conduct a full and thorough investigation. On behalf of the Melrose Police Department, I sincerely apologize to our residents and anyone who drove past the sign today.”
What on earth is there to apologize for? There is nothing unfortunate, improper, or misguided about the idea that all lives matter. The message displayed on the sign – that the safety of all lives matters – is 100% true and should not even be controversial. Do the mayor and the police chief disagree with this message? Do they believe that some lives do not matter? The fact that such an innocuous message necessitated an investigation and apologies from both the mayor and the police chief demonstrates the ridiculousness of today’s political climate.