On Monsters and Men: The Politicization of a Child’s Murder
One week ago and not far from my hometown, the sleepy Long Island hamlet of Center Moriches was rocked by the news that one of its citizens, Michael Valva, a transit cop with the NYPD, had been arrested in connection with the death of his eight-year-old autistic son, Thomas.
The young boy has apparently lost his life due to hypothermia; his father allegedly forcing him to sleep on the concrete floor of their unheated garage in below-freezing temperatures, without pillows or blankets, reportedly as punishment for bed-wetting. As each gruesome fact in the case emerges, the anger and vitriol toward Michael Valva and his wife, Angela Pollina intensifies, and rightfully so. However, there are those that seek to use this unspeakable tragedy to advance a socio-political agenda, which is a particularly shameful tactic that must be snuffed out at every turn.
Yesterday, before I had a chance to catch up in-full on the sordid details of the case, I signed into Facebook to kill some time as I, unfortunately, do out of sadistic habit these days, and I came across some startling commentary among a “friend” and one of my family members. The “friend” referenced the Valva story in a status update that I can no longer quote — as it appears they have since beat a hasty retreat into account deactivation — but it struck me deeply enough that I can paraphrase quite accurately here:
“Can we now start talking about the domestic abuse problem in law enforcement, or would that shatter the myth that these people are actually heroes?”
Upon reading this brazen opinion, I was absolutely floored and found myself incensed with a sense of indignation that I find difficult to accurately describe, even at this moment. Sadly, it is not the first time this “friend” had opined via rather vile sentiments on the site. This person and I have had several contentious disagreements on a number of topics in the past, such as his staunch support for Antifa violence, the promotion of communism, and his calling for the abolition of law enforcement agencies. His opinion on this situation, however, found me at a loss for words, and all I could muster in response to his post was a simple “Oof.”
I began to notice that his comment began garnering “likes” and an array of the other mindless emoticon reactions from some of his other far-left friends as well as a comment from a female cousin of mine (someone who has also been vocal in her anti-police rhetoric on Facebook), where she argued that the Valvo case is a prime example of why women fail to report assaults to the police. Her contention, you see, is that Valvo, like all other members of law enforcement, is nothing but a “bully” who uses his authority to abuse everyone around him.
My cousin and I began a typical social media back-and-forth of disagreement, where I stated that I did not believe that her claim, that women do not report abuse because all cops are bullies was true, to which I was told that I am a man and that I have no right to an opinion on how a woman feels, yadda yadda…that old chestnut. Quite quickly I found myself in a familiar place: at the intersection of regret and disappointment, engaged in a discussion using a dissenting opinion with certain people on social media. My contempt for Facebook and the people that use it (myself included) grew deeper at that moment, a feeling in which I did not believe myself capable.
When I was finally able to fully engross myself in the details of Thomas Valvo’s horrific death, I was cut down to the very center of my emotional core. As a father, it is such a foreign notion to me that one can treat their child, or any child for that matter, in such a brutal, callous way. As a Long Island native who grew up ten minutes from where this happened, I was horrified learning that such a thing happened in my old backyard. It is disheartening to admit, but with the news, the muted flame that is my belief in a God above grew dimmer.
Could the effects of Michael Valvo’s experiences as a member of the NYPD be a factor in this case? Possibly. Was his status as an officer a variable in the courts when previous reports of abuse were ignored? Possibly. There is much to be learned concerning his mindset and the past decisions made by Child Protective Services, which may or may not come to light in the months and years to come. What we do know so far is this: Michael Valva is a monster. A monster that deserves every bit of punishment that comes his way and I rue the fact that there is not a Hell for someone like him.
Something that we all should recognize through all of this is the fact that the overwhelming majority of the men and women who put that badge on every day are heroes. These are selfless individuals that choose to risk their lives to rip the helpless from the clutches of real monsters every single day, carrying home with them hellish visions of those like Thomas Valva in his last moments, and getting up to do it all over again the next day. Despite my very real and deep-seated anti-authority leanings, I also must recognize the sacrifice these people make and why it is important that we lend our support to the good ones. I can assure you, the good ones out there are very real heroes that battle very real monsters on our behalf, and they deserve respect.
That being said, what needs to be called out is the notion that all peace officers are woman-beating, child-torturing psychopathic monsters like Michael Valva, preying on the public they swear to serve, especially when those notions are espoused publicly while standing on the graves of helpless, young souls. Those that choose nightmarish occasions such as this to push their socio-political beliefs are cretinous, loathsome beings worthy of the most fervent admonishment possible.
After deciding to use Facebook to publicly denounce my distaste for those in my “friends list” that share these despicable opinions, I received confirmation from others that they have seen similar posts on their timelines. I then decided to look into the prevalence of this ideological mindset and I was relieved to find that, after searching through comments related to the Valva story on Twitter, those choosing to make such statements are as of now sparsely scattered throughout the site. So if we, those that refuse to let the memory of Thomas Valva and other victims be highjacked, continue to raise our voices against those that aim to advance their selfish ideologies, the smattering will remain so, as it should be.
No matter how you may feel about the current state of our communities, law enforcement, or society at large, and no matter where you fall on the religious/spiritual spectrum, the most decent and the most human reaction to this story is to keep Thomas, his mother, and his siblings in your heart. Send a prayer out into the universe and hope that it in some way leads to justice for a young boy that did not deserve any of this. When that is done, do what you can to stand up to the bullies that aim to abscond with the memories of the voiceless and I assure you, the world will be a better place for you having done so.
