I’m confused.
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| New York Post Photo |
In the 60’s, I marched with many for civil rights. Yes, I’m white, but I felt it my duty as a human being to march. We didn’t riot, destroy property, or give the small minded asses that spat on us and called out slanderous remarks a reason to get violent. We wanted to create a peaceful assembly and demonstrate that hatred between the races was a thing of the past. And, yes, there were times we ran away at the end to avoid major confrontation and jail. It was called, “Surviving to protest again!”
That was half a century ago.
Now, I get to witness news showing rioting. A riot that is validated because a white police officer shot down an unarmed black individual. A riot in the black neighborhood, destroying black property owners inventories, injuring innocent black bystanders, and stealing various items of value from black shop owners.
I don’t get it.
Why would you destroy, injure and loot from your own race when you’re protesting a shooting? I don’t like the answers I come up with.
1) Too lazy to catch a ride downtown to protest and riot at City Hall.
2) Too far to outrun the authorities when they start to chase you down.
3) Too many chances of being caught on camera and being charged later.
4) Too hard to carry stolen merchandise home.
5) Too hard to blame it on the police shooting and not just a chance to steal.
To protest the act of another, hurt your own, and then proclaim justice is needed is so damn hypocritical it’s beyond comprehension. Once again, stupidity rears its ugly head in today's society.
Don’t get me wrong. No, in no way, shape or form am I saying that the officer is innocent of anything. If the sucker did as reported then he needs to pay the penalty for doing so. Us old time protesters never stated justice wasn’t a need. In fact, we wanted justice back then, the same as many do today. We just didn’t let a few outlaws, that didn’t give a hoot about the cause, ruin everything we worked to achieve.
Still, we’re supposed to learn from our mistakes. In the late 60’s, the rioting in Watts and areas of the East Coast showed that rioting only hurt those in the riot zones … no one else.
So, why have a riot in your own neighborhood? Are you really that stupid? Has the “No Child Gets Ahead” school agenda really worked that well?
Out of the five reasons I listed above, I’m going to stick my neck out and proclaim number four to be the reason. Rioters and looters need a quick route home. Most could care less about the cause and more about the profit. While the preachers for profit go on about justice and civil liberties, the looters are grabbing the items they normally don’t have money to afford. The closer the store to the home, the more merchandise they can get, and return to get even more. It’s simple logistics!
Please, if you care enough about a cause to protest, take it to the man. Don’t expect the man to feel sorry for you when you’re destroying your own neighborhood. He’s sitting downtown at City Hall in his big office and overstuffed chair laughing his ass off at you … just like the looters are laughing their asses off at you.
Take it to the man. Wipe the smile off his face and demand change. Demand that the police serve the public instead of ruling them military style. When he doesn’t listen do what it takes to get national attention. Sway public opinion your direction.
Believe me, the rioting only makes you look like a bunch of uneducated thieves using racism as an excuse for violence.
Oh, one last thing. Is it really a race problem? Ask yourself, “If the police officer had been black, would this last week have happened.”
If you answer, “No”, then maybe you’re part of the problem.
Racism … it goes both ways.
Maybe we all need to take
a second look in the mirror.
I really wonder if the cops laugh at this idiots destroying their own neighborhoods and think "This is why we treat you the way we do." My dad used to have a saying - "Don't shit where you eat." These idiots are popping a squat in their own living room and wondering why the hell it smells. And they need to go back to school and be re-educated in the teachings of Ghandi and Martin Luther King.
ReplyDeleteTerrye - Thanks for stopping by! When we used to protest, we had licenses to march. It was a legal effort to used the rules to change things. Today, it seems that there has to be an "excuse" to get things rolling. Sadly, witnesses come forth that were never known in original questioning, who may or may not be telling the truth. An intelligent person has to question these people as to their intent to spread the truth or simply get their 15 minutes of fame by repeating tales they've heard, and shift around to suddenly be included in as a less than viable witness. If things are so bad, why isn't there bloggers spreading the word in advance? Are they so afraid that the written word will be their death warrant? Or, is this situation another one manufactured by the media to create sensationalism as a distraction while our government slides unwanted legislation through ... unnoticed? There's so many questions and the answers may never be known. I believe there is a cause, but I think there are many that simply want to use it to either gain media attention for themselves, or use it to cover up their true intent to loot. I do agree with you to the need for additional education. Still, I have to look at our school systems and the teaching restrictions put upon them by the government. I wonder how little is actually taught about those you mention, as they would provide a path to counteract some of the things those in charge attempt to achieve. Keeping the public "stupid" has been a goal of the government for decades. It's the government's way of maintaining control of the populace. Outbursts, such as the one in Ferguson, simply give them reasons to install more laws increasing the power of the police and military to intervene. I find it difficult to envision a community that feels the only way to achieve and end to violence is more violence, especially with today's social media avenues. Yet, again, society becomes what it is taught to become when individual thought is looked upon as a negative influence, as the politically correct would have you believe. The times need to be a changin', but unless people understand this we're looking at a George Orwell "1984" society before you know it. Many Thanks!
DeleteI think the two biggest issues I see with all this stupidity is 1. they are moving further and further away from the lessons of the value of life, and 2. they are teaching the younger generations that it's ok to steal, bully, and destroy to get what you want. As a society, that only leads to de-evolving. And these morons wonder why they don't get respect. You have to give it to earn it.
DeleteTerrye - I've said it many times that our current state of society is partially a result of environmental conditioning. When our government started paying children, under the age of 16, support for their babies, it was taken as an "Okay" to have one ... and more! In essence, our government said, "We know you don't have the moral fiber, the ability to teach right from wrong, or the basic understanding of common sense, but what the hell, neither do we. So, go ahead and have all you want and we'll back you up."
DeleteNow, the children of the children are having babies of their own. Having never had to learn the basics of life, they are completely unable to teach them. Thus, we're left with a society that continues to become more stupid than those prior. However, this isn't only taking place in the inner cities, but in the ranks of poverty all over, be it the swamps of Alabama and Mississippi or the streets of Washington, D.C.
Vast amounts of the last two generations don't understand the concept of respect. They think they're perfect the way they are and that all should bow to them. The concept of earning respect is lost with their level of understanding. I would even say that this bleeds over to little to no respect for human life, as many more violent acts are taking place by the youth of today than ever before.
Thus, laws enacted by our "Politically Correct" society have entered our lives. Many of these laws are nothing more than the legalization of the manners we were taught decades ago. Manners that have become lost over the years do to a lack of teaching by parents.
In addition, our society lacks any personal accountability, and only seeks to find "blame" in others, or the actions of others. These acts of rioting are to blame another for an action, instead of looking at what led up to these actions. I'm not going to validate the shooting at all, even if the youth was a thug that had committed a misdemeanor prior to the event. Shooting an unarmed individual cannot be justified. Still, destroying personal property within their own community is an absolute disgrace and makes no sense whatsoever. Again, the looters are happy their bounty is so close to their homes, and the politicians are happy it's not happening in a more elite area where the losses would amount to many more dollars.
We truly do live in a screwed up world, don't we? Many Thanks!
An intelligent, insightful look at the contradictions and hypocrisies surrounding violent/criminal responses to a perceived injustice. I suspect that those involved comprise a number of categories, each with differing motivations. After all, it doesn't take many opportunistic idiots to transform a peaceful protest into a riot. A captivating post, Richard, delivered with your usual eloquence.
ReplyDeleteGary - Thanks so for stopping by today! I'm never amazed at the idiocy of today's society. If you're mad at your neighbor, you don't destroy your house to get back at him. It's really that simple. The majority of the rioters could care less about the cause. Instead, these opportunistic individuals are using it to acquire goods on a no return basis. This only hurts the neighborhood as many cannot afford to carry sufficient insurance to cover such losses. Yet, they simply don't care. If they don't care about those they hurt, how can they care about those that others hurt?
DeleteThe news agencies are always looking for a new story to sensationalize. Not too long ago, they showed a five year old picture of a youth accused of attacking a man to attempt to sway public opinion one direction. Everyone followed suit with this. Finally, pictures started appearing that showed the individual as he was at the time of the crime. That's when many started thinking, "Hmmm, maybe he wasn't so young and innocent." A sensible person must take everything the news agencies report upon with a grain of salt, constantly questioning motives and accuracy. Unfortunately, too many fail to do this.
I cannot validate the taking of a life for a petty crime, even if the Ferguson youth was guilty. Usually, this type of act, when from an officer of the law, comes from over zealous attitudes or fear. Sad that we have this type of person wearing the badge.
A bigger question may be society's callous attitude towards human life. Today's world sees so much violence world over that violent death has become almost commonplace. The inner city provides death daily in the form of drive by shootings, drug related overdoses, and gang warfare. So, I have to ask, "What makes this death so noteworthy?"
Is there truly an injustice here, or has a mountain been made out of a molehill? Was the police force attempting to show its might and scare the people out of further violence, or were they afraid that the population might run crazy and injure innocents that couldn't escape the mob? Is Ferguson an area that has so much hostility and crime within itself that it earns this type of treatment, or has a true police/ military state come into existence?
These are questions that need answers. Unfortunately, most are too busy to even consider contemplating them. Funny how priorities shift when reporters arrive. Many thanks!