Quincy Black Lives Matters goes four for four with peaceful protests

– Quincy News from Quincy Quarry News.

Black Lives Matter
Image via the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Quincy Black Lives Matters goes four for four with peaceful protest events!

News, opinion and commentary from Quincy Quarry News.

After suffering a one day weather delay, the plucky as well as persistent student members of the Eastern Nazarene College Black Student Union and their supporters held their fourth peaceful Black Lives Matter event on Sunday.

Marchers staging at Faxon Field
A Quincy Quarry News exclusive image

Even on a spectacular Sunday summer evening for engaging all manner of other outdoor activities as well as given a one day weather delay, upwards of two hundred people who demographically reflected local racial demographics but not necessarily age demographics staged for this latest loca Black Lives Matter rally at Quincy High School’s Faxon Field track.  

Then after a pep talk via a bullhorn, attendees marched peacefully up Coddington Street to Quincy’s two City Halls to voice their understandable grievances.

Marching for Black Lives
A Quincy Quarry News exclusive image

The reason for this march?

To reiterate their understandable ask of Quincy Mayor Thomas P. Koch to share his views about the deaths of people of color at the hands of police across the country under circumstances open to questioning.

That and what he might be willing to do to change local policing practices and related efforts so as to strive to better keep the peace in Quincy.

Yet again, however, Quincy’s peerless mayor was nowhere to be seen. 

“Well that’s too bad …”
An O’Mahoney/Patriot Ledger image

Instead, he issued a vacuous statement the day after the march:

“This is part of what makes our country great:  a group of people coming together to express themselves and letting their voices be heard.  We’re going to continue to listen, and we’re going to continue to talk about the issues of race and racism as a community.  We won’t agree on everything, and that’s OK, but it’s an important discussion taking place now and continuing in the coming months.”

In other words, a wall job.

Even so, the mayor’s mouthpiece Pinocchio Walkbacker added that the mayor takes all emails very seriously, and that they have had a lot of communications come their way over the past few months.

“The mayor takes great pains to make sure emails are responded to,” added Walkbacker.

Living a lie makes it easier to lie
An ill-advised Facebook posting

To this additional pile of bovine byproduct, Quincy Quarry personnel are prepared to provide a considerable number of emails sent to City Hall addressing substantive matters which were than ignored, including most recently about an arguably significant problem with early primary election voting at North Quincy High School over the weekend of August 22 and 23.

Truth actually be told, other than repeatedly seeing to it that his beloved thirty two million dollar Kim Jung Koch Plaza is protected from overwrought concerns over an existential potential for vandalism, Mayor Koch continues to duck and dodge to fair criticism while at the same time has been concurrently opening himself up to even more understandable criticism over his supporting of a controversial flag that is viewed by some to be a symbol of police oppression.as well as participating in a pro-police rally earlier this summer

Quincy Police Chief Paul “The Beav” Keenan
A City of Quincy head shot

Then again, what with one of the mayor’s brothers-in-law the Chief of Police of a not exactly diverse police force, one of mayor’s nephews who is also the son of the chief and was hired onto the local police force in a larger process that was later subject to rebuke by the Massachusetts Civil Service Commission as well as has since been subject to unrelated tawdry rumors, and the mayor’s eldest and recent college son who was recently prospectively hired onto the force and is currently attending police academy along with the concurrent controversial prospective hiring of a son of a former Quincy police officer who was bumped to the top of the hiring list under questionable circumstances, such pro good old boys policing practices by the mayor – along with other such long ongoing practices – can only be expected.

Mayor Koch’s tacky tribute to Las Vegas’ Dancing Waters at the Bellagio Hotel
A Quincy Quarry News exclusive file photo

Returning to Sunday’s event, as march participants marched out of their staging area and up Coddington Street, they came upon ever increasing levels of police presence as they approached Mayor Koch’s beloved but well over the top thirty-two million dollar Kim Jong Koch Plaza in front of City Hall.

The but several Quincy bicycle police officers near the Black Live Matter Quincy event staging area at the track were quickly supported by a handful of bicycle and motorcycle riding Special Operations officers who came out of nowhere moments after the marchers headed up Coddington Street.

That and even more officers were seen as the marchers approached Kim Jong Koch Plaza.

Police presence (click on images for cleaner image)
Conjoined Quincy Quarry exclusive images

Amazingly, however, only around a couple dozen officers were seen at and around Kim Jong Koch Plaza, a considerable reduction from the handful of dozens of officers on duty for the Black Lives Quincy family-focused Chalk for Justice event over the Fourth of July Holiday weekend.

National Guard troops staged at John Adams Peacefield during June 2, 2020 BLM event.
A Quincy Quarry News file photo

Considering how Quincy Quarry was advised of rumors that Governor Charlies Baker’s weekend calling up of a thousand Massachusetts National Guard over concerns of rioting in Quincy, the much lower presence of police than on duty at the last Black Lives Matter Quincy event in Quincy was surprising.

Even so, the number of officers were clearly still likely in excess of need as most of them were standing around in small groups shooting the breeze during the protest event while they collected relatively easy overtime pay..

Kim Jung Koch Plaza walled off and covered up yet again
A Quincy Quarry News exclusive photo

Additionally, there were a suspected half dozen or so City of Quincy Department of Public Works workers on the scene at the ready to both clean-up and clear away the usual over the top as well as unnecessary protective barriers put in place to protect various Kim Jung Koch Plaza extravagances.

Further unnecessary, the Superintendent of the Department of Public Works, the number two person at the DPW, inexplicably felt it necessary to leave his leather interior sporting city ride on double parked on Hancock Street.

In turn, as well as things considered, one can only view a regular Quincy Quarry commenter’s post on a related story as germane.

“”Mayor Koch subsequently rolled out a phalanx of barricades to protect his beloved Kim Jung Koch Plaza in front of City Hall as well as surely approved the assignment of arguably as many police officers as attendees . . . ‘”

Double parked City Ride of DPW Superintendent
A Quincy Quarry News exclusive image

“Indeed — that can be considered Koch’s comment about people of color who have been killed nationwide at the hands of police officers under questionable circumstances.” 

Read more: Eastern Nazarene College Black Student Union continues to press Quincy Mayor Tom Koch for comment