Rangel on Korean War: I Was Never Moved Until I Saw Dead People that Looked Like Me

Rep. Rangel on Korean War: I Was Never Moved Until I Saw Dead People that Looked Like Me (RealClearPolitics)

Korean War veteran Rep. Charlie Rangel tells MSNBC host Ed Schultz he "never was moved until I saw dead people that looked like me in my uniform."

Rangel was on Monday's broadcast of MSNBC's The Ed Show to discuss NYPD officers turning their backs on New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio.

"I was in combat, and I'm telling you, I saw more dead people, but I never was moved until I saw dead people that looked like me in my uniform. It does make a difference," Rangel said.
 

ED SCHULTZ, MSNBC: Isn't it important to point out that not all the officers turned their backs? I mean, there's a few in the ranks saying by respecting these officers, okay, we've got to move on, but there are some who say they don't want to move on. Your thoughts, Charlie.

REP. CHARLIE RANGEL (D-NY): It's awkward, because no one wants to be in the position that you're not with your colleagues, right or wrong, but when the moral issue raises that beyond just being right, and that you show that you have so much love and respect for the job, that you have assumed you're not going to allow a handful of people who are blinded by hate to spoil the reputation.

There's a hell of a lot that has to do -- I was in combat, and I'm telling you, I saw more dead people, but I never was moved until I saw dead people that looked like me in my uniform. It does make a difference. So, yes, the blue wall of silence has kept communities and minority communities apart for so long, so that even minority policemen don't want to break that silence. It has to be done.