Last weekend, Quentin Tarantino participated in a rally in New York that was organized by RiseUpOctober to protest police brutality. The director did such standard, civilly-disobedient things as march with other protesters and hold up a banner. And when asked about his presence at the event, Tarantino said, among other things, “I’m here to say I’m on the side of the murdered.” The unfortunate timing of the long-planned event, which occurred just days after a police officer was killed during an arrest, was not lost on Tarantino, who noted that the officer’s death was also tragic.
Tarantino’s apparently (though not to us) insouciant actions (and filmography) were interpreted by the Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association as tacit endorsement of violence against law enforcement, and the PBA called for a boycott of his films. The union’s president went so far as to call Tarantino a “cop-hater” who’s made “a living glorifying crime and violence,” because there’s no room in the thin blue line for nuance. Now MSNBC reports that the LAPD’s union has heard the NYPD’s call and is also urging people to boycott Tarantino’s movies.