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Biden eulogy at cop funeral a knockout - NY Daily News

http://m.nydailynews.com/blogs/dc/biden-eulogy-funeral-knockout-blog-entry-1.2058319

Biden eulogy at cop funeral a knockout

Joe Biden knocked it out of the park.

The Vice President gave one of the better eulogies one will ever hear
Saturday at the funeral of slain New York police officer Rafael Ramos.

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For a man who occasionally stands guilty of rhetorical overreach and
imprecision, he hit all the right andc compelling notes on this day---and
avoided all the unceasing and divisive background noise.

Just a snippet:
[image: Vice President Biden gave one of the better eulogies one will
ever hear Saturday at the funeral of slain New York police officer Rafael
Ramos. ]
Vice President Biden gave one of the better eulogies one will ever hear
Saturday at the funeral of slain New York police officer Rafael Ramos.

“I didn’t know your husband,” he said, addressing the widow, “and I didn't
know his partner, who were keeping watch at Myrtle and Tompkins Avenue on
that terrible afternoon, but I do know why they were there. They were there
to protect and defend, as they always are. Sometimes fearful, but always
watchful.”

“I knew them. They’re the guy I grew up with in Scranton and Claymont,
Delaware, the boy with the most courage and the most compassion; the man
with a brave heart and a generous soul; a brother who always looked out for
his sister; a father whose words were always encouraging to you boys with a
touch that could soothe away the fear; and a son who made his mother proud
every time he turned and smiled at her; and a husband with a gentle hand
who could soothe away the concerns, who you knew would always be there.”

“A former school safety officer, who became a cop at age 37; an active
member of his church, studying to become a chaplain; a father, a husband, a
son; a seven-year veteran on the force. A son of a Chinese immigrant, his
partner, conversant in several dialects; a newlywed. Both -- confident,
committed, passionate and vigilant.”

“Being a cop was not what they did, it was who they were; like every man
and woman in uniform here today. It’s who you are. And they like every one
of you in uniform inside this church and outside, you all joined for
essentially the same reason. There was something about you that made you
think you could help, that you should serve, that you had a duty.”

“But I do hope you take some solace from the fact that as reported by the
press there’s over 25,000 members of the same fraternity and sorority as
your husband who stand and will stand with you the rest of your life -- and
they will. It’s an uncommon fraternity.”

A friend agreed that it was one of the best speeches given at a moment of
national mourning. The notion of “not what they did…but who they were” was
nifty.

He captured the universal essence of police work and the stresses that
families can feel. There was the image of officers who kiss their families
goodbye when they leave home and of families who fret over their safe
return.

There was the evocative notion of tragedy having now bringing the Ramos
family more intimately into a larger family of police.
The funeral of slain NYPD officer Rafael Ramos View gallery
<http://m.nydailynews.com/news/funeral-slain-nypd-officer-rafael-ramos-gallery-1.2057982>

And there weren’t even veiled references to the politics of the moment; to
the post-Eric Garner and Ferguson, Missouri protests or calls for dialogue
between police and the suspicion-filled communities some serve.

It was about solidarity and sorrow and inevitable shows of compassion and
strength.

It was pitch perfect.

*ON A MOBILE DEVICE? CLICK HERE TO WATCH BIDEN'S EULOGY
<http://video.nydailynews.com/Joe-Biden-speaks-at-Rafael-Ramos-Funeral--28294974>.
CLICK HERE TO WATCH THE FULL FUNERAL
<http://video.nydailynews.com/Funeral-service-for-Officer-Rafael-Ramos--28294760>.*


Eric D. Schwerin
eschwerin@rosemontseneca.com

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