The Louisiana shooting was due to a report of someone brandishing a gun. The Minnesota shooting was over the belief that the man was going for a gun. The Dallas shootings definitely were because of a gun was in the wrong hands. In all three cases, guns shouldn't have been produced or fired. Of course, one thing is lacking in the Louisiana and Minnesota cases. Video. Oh, we have got video. The video of the cops taking a man to the ground and shooting him. Unjustly, I add. If a man is down and you are sitting on top of him, you don't need to shoot. We also have the video from the woman whose boyfriend was shot by a probably scared and adrenaline pumped officer. Also, may have been unjust.
We don't have video on what preceded these events. Police have a tough job. Everyday. You couldn't pay me enough to be a police officer. I am not Pro-Police and Anti-Black. I'm not Pro-Black and Anti-Police. I am Pro-Everybody-Lives. All Lives Matter! Police face the unknown everyday. They go to where the problems are. I don't. I wouldn't. I avoid that shit like the plague. They run toward danger. I watch it on the TV. Looky-Loos rush to where the action is and problems are also, but they usually are not there to help but to shoot video. Which sometimes makes things worse. Unless, we have video capturing the complete situation from start to finish; we don't have the complete story. The story may still be that the involved officers, either through inexperience or bravado, have committed a crime or at the very least, a grave mistake. They still may be guilty of murder. That remains to be seen.
In the case of the Baton Rouge man, it is questionable to the reason as to why he was transacting business outside a convenience store after midnight. Selling CDs? Whatever. It sounds hinky to me, but he has the right to do that as long as he was not impeding the store's commerce or causing harm to life or property. Then there's this story from CBS that doesn't look good for the Baton Rouge PD. [Story Link] It smacks of cover-your-ass-I-did-a-bad-thing. One thing is certain. This case lacks video. It only tells the latter half of the story. What happened before the take down and shooting? Was the man being uncooperative? Were the police hassling another brother without due cause?
The following is NOT an explanation but a scenario: One reason could be: Machismo. Machismo has been the cause of many altercations between men. Street fights. Bar fights. Sports team fights. Fights over a girl/woman. Fights for fights. Sometimes it's all about who has the biggest dick. Men don't like taking orders from other men. It's true. I'm a man. I like to give orders not take 'em. A cop gets in my face or space, I get pissed, especially if I'm not doing anything to anyone. I can understand that. A push becomes a shove becomes you being taken down and cuffed and marched off to the hoosegow for resisting arrest and public disturbance and blah blah blah. Shit happens. Race does not always play a part in these altercations. However in this case, I think being we're talking about the South; it does. [Conjecture]
The second shooting in Falcon Heights was an entirely avoidable situation. If what I read is true, they were stopped for a busted tail light. The best thing to do in that case is: 1) Be respectful and cooperative, 2) DON'T FOOKING VOLUNTEER INFORMATION. If the young man had not said he had a gun, the officer would not have gone into defense mode. Even if you are legal and have the permits to carry, you need to not escalate the situation. If the officer asks, "Do you have a gun?" You respectively answer, "Yes. I'm licensed to carry. And officer, I'm going to place my hands on the dash. I don't want to be shot or to shoot you." He's not going to shoot you. It's Minnesota not Louisiana, Texas or Georgia. Surrender yourself. You can always later pull out your wallet and show your legitimacy. All too often people take it upon themselves to try to control a situation. You can't. Not always. Sometimes you have to be submissive and surrender and hope that you're dealing with a cool-headed intelligent individual. Any other way is a guarantee that it's not going to end well for anybody. It was daylight. Looking into a car in bright daylight is difficult to see what he was reaching for. Again, I say, where's the video before the shooting began. We only have the second half of the story. There's insufficient information to formulate a fair opinion.
The general public is all too easily swayed by video. [There are people that believe all those reality shows are real. Most of it is scripted and/or staged. I think Springer and Maury are.] You see a person down on the ground or sitting helplessly in an automobile bleeding with police looming over them. Your first reaction may be to shout, "Police Brutality". It may not be. A lot of people's knee-jerk reaction stems from fear. It's the fear every person in the world shares. To be dominated. Imprisoned. Pinned down. Victimized. Emotions go from zero to WTF?? in zero point two seconds. I know. I've felt it. Been there; done that. But I also possess the ability that many lack. The ability to step back and access the situation. Say whoa! tell me the rest of the story first, please. Nothing makes you look more stupid when you jump too soon to the wrong conclusion and support the wrong side. What happens later when we find out that the victim had a history of crime and was transacting a crime. Maybe a drug dealer. A straw gun seller. A rapist. A bank robber. Whatever? I'm not saying that the end justifies the means. I'm saying that before we point fingers and demand our pound of flesh. Get the rest of the story, Jack!
I've never been a protest marcher. I have never joined a sit-in, a hunger strike or any movement. I believe protests serve the purpose to poke the bear and exasperate the situation and nothing more. With social media, you can achieve much more without taking to the streets and disrupting traffic and getting your hippy ass locked up. You can text or email your elected officials. Barrage them with emails. It makes them most uncomfortable and crashes their servers. Do the same to your local police. Everybody in the goddamn world. It's quicker and nobody gets hurt. Physical presence these days disrupts other people's lives. You do not have the right to assemble and block traffic and disrupt commerce. Read the Bill of Rights. You can assemble - Lawfully. If the jurisdiction allows you to march, you can march. Everything is based on following a proper legal protocol and decorum. If you take to the streets, riot or disrupt other people's freedom, you are lawbreakers or at the least, scofflaws. And it would be anarchy. Anarchy is bad. It destroys communities and countries. Look at Europe and the Middle East. Many nations there have lived through such events. It's not pleasant.
The Dallas march as many marches in major cities throughout the US was sanctioned by the local government. The police presence was there to keep the marchers safe. They were not there to impede or stop the march. They were there to keep the peace. This is one of their functions within a community. Because with every issue there are two sides - supporters and adversaries. If there wasn't a peace march for Black Lives Matter in Dallas this week, would there been a shooting causing 5 policemen their lives and another 9 people including two marchers injuries? I want to say, No. I marched (once) in a Fourth of July parade when I was ten years old. I carried an American flag. BFD. I'm not one to take to the streets or in general to take up a cause. However, I am one to jump on my PC and toss my two cents into the pot. You're reading it.
I don't like to choose sides. This is a partial truth. I choose some sides. But I can't march or assemble for Black, White, Blue or Rainbow Lives Matters causes. Why? Because it's the 21st Century and we shouldn't have these issues. And. And I mean AND...if you choose one issue, shouldn't you choose them all. I'm not a hypocrite. I believe Black lives matter as much as every man's. I believe in the sanctity of marriage between a man and a woman, or a man and a man, or a woman and a woman. I have an open mind and an open heart. With that said, I also believe: Every man (woman) is accountable and responsible for himself (herself).
Let me further my explanation.
- If you go into a Lion's den after someone tells you the lions haven't been fed and are ravenously hungry, who is to blame if you get eaten?
- If you're a man, any man, but in this case a black man and you know the environment around you is hostile toward black people and always has been. Everyone knows this is wrong. But it exists none the less. Do you behave in a manner that is perceived as threatening to others, especially those with a badge and a gun? Who is to blame when you get shot?
- If you're a woman and have been in a bar all night drinking, and you're drunk and out of control, who is to blame when you leave the bar a group of men follow you and jump you in the parking lot and do unmentionable things to you?
The answer is EVERYONE.
- The man eaten by lions should not have had easy access to the lion's den. He also should have had enough sense to not go near lions. I mean, they're LIONS for fook-sake.
- The police should exercise more self-control or use other methods to control people. The man, black, white or Irish, needs to use some self-restraint and stop acting entitled. Yes. I said it. (The number one problem with this country. Everyone thinks they're entitled. We have more freedoms than most of the countries in Europe and probably all the countries in the Middle East and Asia.) We all act like someone owes us. Everybody owes everyone BUPKIS. Nothing. Zero. Nada. Get over it and grow the fook up.
- The woman should have been taught at an early age that men are sick, stupid and base beings (animals) and not to be trusted. She also should have been taught self-control and decorum in public. Men in general have not evolved to the point that they should know better to not take what isn't theirs. We should, but we don't and we still break the rules. Prisons and graveyards are filled with these individuals. Look how we treat women in the business world. Not me. I've always earned less than women in my profession. I'm the exception to the rule. [Can you say LOOO-Zzzzerrrr!?]
In general, people are their own worst enemies. They place themselves in harm's way. They live their lives with reckless, devil-may-care abandon and think they're indestructible. And when something tragic occurs, everyone is shocked and wants to take to the streets for a public lynching. But the foolishness continues. Promises are made by the politicos. People hold candle-light vigils. But nothing changes. These things help to soothe the aching hearts and unsettled souls, but do nothing to bring about change. Laws need to be stricter for both Blue Lives and All Color Lives. People need to exert a higher conscious and self-control. I know this shit is hard, but anything worth doing well is going to be hard. If it was easy to be a millionaire, we'd all be fooking millionaires and there would be McMansions door to door on every street in America.
There is no way to know with absolute certainty if the officers' lives were in eminent danger. However, I think we need to arm our police with something in addition to their firearms. There has to be another way to diffuse a situation and subdue an individual without causing them irreparable harm.
Proponents of firearms would say, "Just arm up America! We need to protect ourselves from the 'bad guys' and the Police". That's not the answer. That's chaotic thinking and promotes anarchy. In that scenario, the only ones that win are the gun manufacturers and their agents, the sellers. The more product they sell; the more money they make. I'm sure the markup on bullets is 100,000%. (Purely conjecture) They practically make nothing on the manufacturing and sales of firearms. (More conjecture) Selling a million guns pale to the selling of ten million bullets. [Possibly true] Greed not need motivates the selling of firearms. The second amendment was intended to keep the citizenry from being dominated by an oppressive government as the British had once been toward the Colonies. If you also remember, the revolutionary movement did not have 100% support of the Colonies' citizens. Not everyone was unhappy with King George III's rule or rules. A small percentage gave up living in the colonies and moved back to England because they didn't agree with the movement. I'm not suggesting love it or leave it here. [Special note: Ask Siri who was King of England in 1776. Her answer is King George aye-aye-aye. Of course, I heard Ay Yi Yi Yi. You know, this song.]
Let's roll this back to the top.
Q: If Baton Rouge had not a gun complaint, would there have been an incident?
A: I don't think so.
Q: If Falcon Heights had kept quiet about the gun or at least kept his hands in full sight, would he be alive today?
A: I think so.
Q: If the two events above had not occurred, would there have been a Dallas peaceful Black Lives Matter march? Would the officers killed or injured be alive and well today?
A: March - No; Alive - Yes
Everything that occurred this last week/month could have been avoided.
Where does the solution lie? I'm not going to tell you that I have the answer. I have suggestions. I have made a few above. True change can only come from within each and everyone of us. We need to tolerate others better. We need to respect each other more. We need to control the use of guns. We need to learn to communicate better. We need to understand each other better. We need to stop making this country look bad to the rest of the world, for fook's sake. I know for one. I'm tired of being embarrassed by the racial tones everything is taking on and the clowns we have as leaders of our country and communities. The USA wasn't the first but may have been the last to abolish slavery but we still treat people of color like non-Americans. They've been Americans longer than many white Americans have been. Not my ancestors. We scurried over from Ireland to somewhere (Upstate NY, maybe) in the 1600s, I think. Smuggled ourselves (illegally, no doubt) in the hull of an Irish ship. Escaping creditors. Of course, we married well...a native American or two. Blackfoot tribe. I like to say that I'm 50% Italian and 50% White Trailer Park Trash. I'm not proud. But I digress.
I cringe every time Mr. Trump opens his mouth. I'm not saying Secretary Clinton is the answer, but at least she sounds diplomatic and I believe would gain respect and cooperation with the rest of the world leaders. Mr. Trump will send us back into the dark ages. [Conjecture, but I think I'm right] I don't know where I'm throwing my vote, but it won't be for "The Donald".
I'm tired and depressed and totally exhausted from writing this. I feel for all the people who were killed and injured and their families and the people in those communities. I know how they feel when I see the kind of shenanigans that go on here in Phila-la-la-la. I hope someday that we can stop all this insanity and grow to be the great nation our forefathers, as misguided they were on some issues, planned for us. May we unite and fight against our common enemy: Those who want to see us fail and fall as a nation.
PS. I know I'm omitting the Minneapolis killing in March, but if I searched, there are probably dozens that I could research and report on. My intention was to show the connection to these three incidents. The Butterfly Effect. Newton's Third Law of Motion. The Deadly Domino Effect.
Until next time, stay safe, stay sane and show a lot of love toward each other. Love feels better than hate. I've never known anyone who got naked for hate.
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