With the current wave of senseless shootings happening around and making it into the headlines, there seems to be some kind of evil and breach against law and order that lurks and threat the American society and elsewhere in the world. I thought the great Martin Luther King, Mahatma Gandhi, Nelson Mandela and Abe Lincoln and the rest of those few good men who fought inequality, racism and slavery are now resting peacefully somewhere because they thought, people they have left behind will continue their good deeds unto the generation to come. But, why does so many people still see skin color was a preference, gender was a privilege and age was a factor for people to live in a society? Why are we called men of law and order when we cannot even contain our urge and rage? To the admins and moderators: Please delete this thread if it will be a cause of hate, anguish and anxiety of the members. I am MOST concerned about our members health than the discussion this thread will bring.
I'll start. I have so much to say about this and... well, like @Amie Ar , I hope my post doesn't cause a problem, but these are my feelings and I have no other outlet to share them. First... I think it's both racism and hate. Hate against whites (by the shooter's own admission, I'm not making it up!) and hate against police officers. And racism because the shooter specifically said he was gunning for WHITE officers. Of course that's racism. Now here's where people divide and get up in arms. Of course there are bad police officers. It is evil when they kill someone they pulled over if it was not necessary to protect lives or for self defense. But often when all the facts come out, there WAS a definite threat. But people don't wait around to hear that. Case in point below after I finish this thought. There are bad doctors, too... they give a wrong dose and someone dies. There is not outrage and rioting and mobs descending to kill doctors! Lawyers let innocent people go to jail... does anyone riot or kill or put hits on doctors and laywers? And where's the sense in KILLING people to somehow try to prove that lives matter? Is that not zombie mentality (i.e. not THINKING when it comes to reasoning?) Case in point... one of the deaths that started this new wave of violence. The guy killed at a convenience store while selling CD's. What did we all first hear? "Family man! Five children! Just trying to make a little money selling CDs!" But did ya'll follow up on that story? Why didn't the reports say "Convicted felon... carrying illegal weapon... hand in pocket where gun was... huge long rap sheet going back many years including getting a 14 year old pregnant... etc. etc. Why was it not in the reports? Why was the violent resisting of arrest not in reports? The threats against the officers? How the DEVIL did it turn into "family man with 5 kids just trying to make a living?" Oh man, it makes me so angry! Then of course the officer will be found innocent because a felon had his hand on an illegal weapon and about to shoot [allegedly] but once again people will just hear "not guilty" and turn into zombies on the warpath. Okay.... well, I'll calm down now and go get my groceries... it's 5 a.m. and already over 80 degrees. Ugh!
My apologies Mari to get you upset so early. I meant no harm. Please remember to remain calm for your sake and your loved ones. This was just news to keep all of us on our toes about what's happening around us. Its all up to us to use our gift of wisdom and judgment to live according to our good values. Let us hope and pray the concerned parties will find ways to solve this without further inflicting harm that can make matters worse. And let us also pray for the fallen ones and their bereaved families for definitely they're in deep sorrow right now for their respective losses.
Oh my goodness, @Amie Ar ! My kind of "upset" is a good thing... it's what gets things done and sometimes causes changes. Certainly a whole lot better than the fence riders who are so wimpy that they don't speak up in fear of "offending" someone. Sheesh! No worries there... I THANK you for bringing this up so I (and all of us) can share my personal feelings on things like this among my friends. No worries there at all!
I think the main problem is that the news media and the politicians get things stirred up before the facts are known. I think almost all shootings by police are justified, that's why most are not charged after the facts a known. I wasn't there and don't have all the facts so I'm going against what I just said, but I have a serious problem believing the shooting in Minnesota was justified.
To me, those shootings are the fault of the shooters. And regardless of their reason for committing the crime, they have killed people and that should be the focus of the issue. A man who killed a white guy is as guilty as the man who killed a black guy. In the same vein, the killer of the straight woman and the killer of a gay man are both guilty of the same crime. But I understand that hate killings is getting to be prevalent. That simply means that killers are now getting emotional. Just the same as the ISIS suicide bombers who focus on their emotion hence the aeal to die for their religion.
It's easy to get people stirred up about subjects, especially when they've been taught to think they've been victimized by those who are more powerful. Getting people stirred up emotionally keeps them watching, and keeps them clicking links, which brings in ad revenue. Actually functioning as journalists and investigators takes more work and isn't quite as exciting. It also might not draw in the numbers of viewers/readers, so most news stations and newspapers these days regurgitate the talking points they've been given, and dress it up with inflammatory quotes by supposed 'leaders' pushed on the unknowning by people they trust. It's pretty apparent to many of us that there's an agenda in play, and it's not to have everyone getting along, holding hands and singing kumbaya. If that happened, we wouldn't need special organizations that serve to divide people into various categories based on race, color, religion, etc. Those organizations make a lot of money, and so do the hatemongers they employ.
Oh, absolutely, @Sheldon Scott ... it *is* the media, yes. It's like fanning the flames to get more sensationalized coverage opportunities. Sickening. Anything for a scoop or a breaking news headline. There's still an innocent part of me that screams that I'm wrong there and they'd never do that... but I still have touch with reality, too, and it's not a nice conclusion. I agree that most shootings by police are justified... the ones that aren't are the "evil" that I mentioned... just pure evil. There's no part of me that understands the mindset that going on a killing spree is going to "even it out" or make things better. Of course, I'm sure I wouldn't *want* to "get it."
Sure it's the same, Corie! It changes when it becomes a matter of premeditated revenge, though. Whether or not the first killing was justified or pure evil, it's turned into "revenge hunting" and there IS no justification for that.
Good post, @Diane Lane ... the country needs a whole lot more of that kumbaya, doesn't it? And those organizations, yes... if you're talking about the one I'm thinking of, even the NAME is racist in nature, but who would dare voice that?
Having worked with, not for, law enforcement, in EMS situations, a person pretty much has to "be there/on the scene" to really know what came down! If an officer feels threatened, for whatever reason, he will react to that threat. Officers wearing "Body Camera's" will show this! People take iPhone video, but it really seems like this video starts AFTER the suspect has done something towards the officer(s). There are some bad officers out there, but definitely not all are bad. I have total RESPECT for any law enforcement officer and say the word "Sir" and "thank you" to them. When an officer/officers ask/tell a person to do something, the thing to do is...............do it! Any bad reaction towards an officer and that officer will react. They all have training, but "on the scene, when a problem is actually happening", an officer has to react. And, that reaction may not be the same as he/she was trained to do. Classroom training is/can be very different than actual happenings.
[QUOTE="Diane Lane, post: 95818, member: It's pretty apparent to many of us that there's an agenda in play, ...[/QUOTE] And what is that agenda? btw people who have been discriminated against (whether because of race, gender, religion, etc.) don't need to be "taught" that they are victims. They already know.
Absolutely... I'm sure the police officers all over the country definitely have known they're being discriminated against... doubly actually... for being law enforcement *and* for being white. Shameful, that reverse racism, isn't it, Arlene? Trying to "prove" that certain lives matter while snuffing out other lives. I can't make sense of it. Maybe that's the agenda @Diane Lane meant, but I'll let her answer that.
They do that a lot, or they'll show an old photo of the victim looking innocent and harmless, and of course it's deliberate. Even when the facts become known, that's the image that remains. It's not just the media, though. The BLM thing is Obama's baby, and it's funded through millions of dollars from George Soros. The people playing a part in it don't even realize they're being used as pawns in a game that won't put them in the winner's circle. A national police force supplanting local police. Gun control or outright bans. Divisiveness within the population. More power for the federal government.
So the media invented the Holocaust, Japanese internment camps in the US, Apartheid, the Civil Rights movemnt? Just to get people stirred up and make them think they're victims? REALLY?? Hmm, I think NOT. I see anger and complaints, but nothing in this thread about solutions.