Right-Wing Lies (X): Obama has never honored cops

This is the tenth (or so) in my occasional series of “Right-Wing Lies.” Now I know there are some left-wing lies, too. (It’s not true that 1 in 5 college women are raped, for instance. Nor is it true that black teens are 21 times more likely to be shot and killed by police than white teens.) But among my friends, I find there are many more simply false statements coming from my dear conservative brethren.

One of the recently forwarded picture/meme involving Obama’s supposed disrespect for police officers.

 “794 law enforcement officers have fallen in the line of duty since
B.H. Obama took office, with no special recognition from the White
House. A man robs a convenience store and assaults a cop; the White House sends three representatives to his memorial service.”

(Never seen this before? Then you, my liberal friend, really need to have a more diverse group of friends.)

Of course the above is not true. At least not the part of Obama never offering recognition to fallen police officers. From politifact you can get six quick links to special proclamations. Obama has said things like this:

Every American who wears the badge knows the burdens that come with it
— the long hours and the stress; the knowledge that just about any
moment could be a matter of life or death.  You carry these burdens so
the rest of us don’t have to….

The rest of us can never fully understand what you go through. But
please know that we hold you in our hearts — not just today, but
always. We are forever in your debt. And it is on behalf of all of us,
the entire American people, that I offer my thoughts, my prayers, and my
thanks. May God shine a light upon the fallen and comfort the mourning. May he protect the peacemakers who protect us every day.

It’s kind of touching, to be honest. Politifact goes on to conclude, in part: “Archived information about these events was easily available to the
public on the White House website, meaning that the meme’s creator was
reckless in not taking them into account. We rate the claim Pants on
Fire.”

But… if you believed the lies when you first read them, my bet you will continue to believe them, facts be damned. Because well, if you hate Obama, then something like this just should be true. Even if it’s not.

(Also, the number 794 isn’t right either, but whatever.)