I did not know that

Massad Ayoob talks about his memories of the day that John Lennon was killed.  He mentions how Lennon was a big supporter of the NYPD, and how the officers involved made sure that the investigation was done well and that protection was provided at no cost to Lennon's family.

Color me surprised.

My mental image of John and Yoko was of anti-establishment drug addled hippies. Having heard how my mother the unrepentant hippie and some of her friends talked about the police, I just assumed that Lennon, one of her heroes, had the same attitude.

Turns out John Lennon cared more about the welfare of the police than the city government of New York did in some ways.

Two things occur to me in this:

1. I made the mistake of assuming that because someone in the 1960's/1970's leaned to the left they would be automatically anti-police.  I'm sure there were a lot of people on the political left during that time who recognized the need for police and supported them.  It just didn't occur to me until now.  I need to remember that politics does not absolutely rule attitudes towards other areas of life.
2. The current political left leaning glitterati, as an aggregate, seems to be more hostile to the police and other sheepdogs than Lennon appears to have been.  Can you imagine Sean Penn paying for body armor for patrol officers in Los Angeles?  I certainly never expect to see Drew Barrymore holding a benefit for the local FOP Widows and Orphans fund.  Our current crop of neo-hippies need to learn from their forebears and show some respect and compassion towards those who protect them from things that go bump in the night.

I was 9 years old when John Lennon died, but his music has been an influence on me for my entire life.  Since it's Christmas time, here's your John Lennon earbug for today.