Wait, what?

I almost couldn't believe when I read another article about the situation in Missouri. Apparently the chief of police is rather upset that the public has become outraged at the conduct of his officers. He openly defends their conduct and doesn't see a problem ... And that's a problem.

"A whole bunch of what you'd call citizen journalists, who were sitting with cameras recording, waiting for something stupid to happen, which they got. They won on this one," Jimenez told the publication.

First off, referring to citizen journalists is a bit hypocritical when your police force is caught in outright lies. Secondly, they are witnesses to the conduct that your officers exhibited during the Ferguson situation. Thirdly, it really goes to the training that the officers got if a video camera is simply the means to "wait for something stupid to happen."

I understand that you stand behind your police force as they have endured a great deal over the last couple of weeks, but what the chief doesn't understand is that if we have to protect ourselves by filming events to ensure that an unbiased witness (i.e. the camera) can correctly recall and otherwise ensure the integrity of the process, then there is no more doubts. Things can be taken out of context and reports can be skewed and twisted to whatever end. But it's not our fault that the police didn't exercise greater restraint.

Not when you have gems like this on your force:

In another incident, Glendale Officer Matthew Pappert was fired Thursday after posting on Facebook that Ferguson protesters should be "put down like rabid dogs" and asked where "is a Muslim with a backpack when you need them?"

 Don't blame us for your own internal hatred. Not my issue, it's yours former officer Pappert ....

No National Divide? Think again ...

I blogged yesterday about the unrest happening in Missouri.

So it's not too surprising to hear of the support for the officer that shot the unarmed Michael Brown.

Is there a racial divide occurring in this country?  Of course there is ... and has been all along.  For whites to "settle" for a black man to become President doesn't mark the end of racism or the racial divide that has occurred for generations. If anything, it's fleshing out the resent on both sides.

Even with the emergence of civil rights, many whites thought: "okay, that's done."  It doesn't work that way.  It has to be maintained, the conversation has to be ongoing and the healing is a continual process.  You're not expected to run when your broken leg comes out of the cast.  Even when it becomes healthy, you have to take steps so that you don't get hurt again.

America needs to have a racial dialogue while pursuing equal justice for all.

It's the equal part that doesn't quite seem to be playing out correctly here.  Our actions, our beliefs, our words are all subject to scrutiny even though we piously stand with our rights affirmed by the hatred we hide behind.

The problem is: a lot of folks are blind to that hatred.  They immediately dismiss it like they don't carry a bias or a prejudice.  Those descriptions are mean and harsh ... and apparently reserved for "other people," not them.  Well, I hate to break it down for those folks, but we all have bias, we all have prejudice and if we aren't bold enough to walk across the street to stop an injustice from occurring, then we are just as guilty to let that injustice happen in the first place.

Ignorance plays us all for the fool we care to be.

Why the surprise folks?

As the events of Ferguson, Missouri (and the rest of the state) continue to unfold, there's comments in a lot of social media demonstrating surprise about what has happened in the Show Me state.

Surprise?

"Yes, surprise.  This kind of thing doesn't happen in America."

What doesn't happen in America ... exactly?

"These people rioting and causing chaos."

Have you ever watched water boil?  How the water seems so perfectly calm ... how small bubble may form before the water becomes turbulent and violent.

"Yeah, so?"

*sighs*

And so it goes....

It's not rocket science.  Shooting an unarmed black male and then ramping up the reaction with a militarized presence is throwing gasoline to already hot fire.  Now it's even more out of control and thankfully the press is actually doing their job to report what's happening.  Not through a skewed lens of the police spokesperson, but risking their lives to report on the conflict.

In the heartland of the country - a race war is underway.

So when folks communicate surprise to the situation, I shake my head.  There has been an ongoing amount of injustice suffered by African Americans and even though things like this is reminiscent of a dark period in our history, the underlying problems still exist.

The only surprise here is that folks still don't understand how we got here in the first place.

Wait, what?

I was saddened that the news of the death of James Brady, Ronald Reagan's Press Secretary who was shot in the early 80s. It was a remarkable that he lasted as long as he did given the injuries that he sustained. May he finally rest in peace.

One very curious thing has happened since his death. The corner has ruled his death a homicide. I do believe this creates a bit of a problem as there would be the presence of double jeopardy and to the best of my knowledge there is no legal precedence for charging someone with a homicide given they have lived longer than a reasonable window of expectation.

I do believe this finding may create additional problems legally and civilly because it establishes a precedent that if you are harmed tomorrow and yet you are able to continue to live several years before your death then the responsible parties could then potentially be sued for your death. I believe this creates a legal paradox and it will be interesting to see how the courts eventually rule on such a thing.

There won't be peace anytime soon

The ongoing war happening between the Palestinian people in the Israelis has now entered into its third week. A shaky truce has been violated in the war continues.

It's astounding to come across people who truly don't understand what's happening in the Middle East. The Palestinian people have nowhere to go and yet everybody asks why don't they just leave? I'm sure they would if they could but they can't.

It doesn't come without of irony given the plate of the Jewish people in the 20th century. Let's not forget that Israel came about after World War II. The plight of the Jewish people cannot be underestimated as there was continual death, degradation, humiliation and the near extinction of people in the Jewish faith. The world owed the Jewish people an opportunity to grow and flourish after the atrocities of World War II.

Unfortunately the relocation and eventual recognition of Israel today came at the cost of destabilizing many Arabs, Palestinians, Egyptians, Syrians from their homes.

In essence, the remaining Jewish population pushed out an existing population.

One can see the reason why animosity exists in the region.

This doesn't mean that I am against the Jewish people forming a country. I have a great deal of sympathy for what they lost in Germany and in Russia and in France. The problem is that the Jewish people find themselves entitled to the land that they now defend when in reality they have conquered the indigenous people that live there a lot longer than they did.

Folks tend to forget about the history and how the Middle East conflict has come to be. I know people have their reasons for defending one side or the other, but in the end what ultimately matters is for two groups of people to set aside differences, to respect one another, and to peacefully coexist as neighbors in an ongoing volatile neighborhood.

History dictates that this is not possible. As much as people want to condemn Hamas and their terrorist activities, the other vantage point is that they are trying to liberate themselves from an oppressive force. Their homes have been destroyed. Their families have been decimated. The value of life on both sides of the equation has been dropped to a pitiful "tit for tat" exchange.

I'm not placing blame on either side because both sides are complicit in their behavior. I'm merely trying to even the scales of perception so that we do not forget the historical basis of how this conflict originally began. If both sides were convincingly aware of this then perhaps we would have a better roadmap to peace in the Middle East.

Some are calling for the destruction of Hamas. Experts agree that the destruction of Hamas may only lead to a greater monster with more firepower than Israel faces today. The call for peace and coexistence can't be a greater call at this point in history. We stand to lose a lot if we don't start acting today.

My sympathies go out to the affected on both sides of the conflict. May both sides in the world open their eyes to collectively understand the issue and to be able to respond appropriately to a peaceful resolution.