Living inside my mind is painful sometimes. I wouldn’t recommend it.
Here’s what I know: A Minneapolis police officer is responsible for the death of an unarmed American citizen. Three other police officers stood by and watched it happen and did nothing to prevent the death. Four people charged with serving and protecting the people of their city are responsible for the death of one of their citizens.
That’s what I know. That’s the extent of my knowledge on the death of George Floyd. With the exception of maybe a handful of people, that’s all any of us know. For me to tell you anything more about the incident would be nothing more than pure speculation or the reverberation of hearsay on my part.
That should be what everyone sees. A police officer killed an unarmed citizen that was already subdued and in custody. But that’s not what everyone sees, now is it? Nope…everyone has been conditioned to see that a white police officer killed a black citizen.
Make no mistake here, ladies and gentlemen…To cause harm to those whom you are entrusted to protect is a travesty. I think Derek Chauvin should be publicly hung by the neck until dead…not a quick “neck snap” hanging….a long, slow “kick and wiggle” hanging. His three cohorts should serve time in prison after they’ve been forced to dig Chauvin’s grave to proper burial dimensions in the rockiest soil you can find with nothing more than those flimsy plastic KFC sporks.
So…that’s what I know and how I feel. What I don’t know is whether or not Derek Chauvin is a racist or a bigot. Would he have released the pressure on Mr. Floyd’s neck if he’d been Caucasian? Does Derek Chauvin view people in accordance to their complexion or does he just see people as citizens? I can’t say…I simply don’t know. Do you know?
Let’s see what Merriam Webster says about those words.
Racism: noun/rac·ism\ˈrā-si-zəm
a belief that race is the primary determinant of human traits and capacities and that racial differences produce an inherent superiority of a particular race.
Bigot: noun/big·ot\ˈbi-gət\
a person who is obstinately or intolerantly devoted to his or her own opinions and prejudices. especially: one who regards or treats the members of a group (such as a racial or ethnic group) with hatred and intolerance.
If you’re not a personal friend or close coworker of Derek Chauvin’s could you really know if either of those definitions apply to him? He could be a card carrying member of the Klan and have a Grand Wizard’s cloak hanging in his closet at home…but at this stage of the investigation we don’t know, do we? So, if we don’t know whether or not Derek Chauvin is a racist or bigot, how the hell did his act of undeniable malice become a hate crime?
Because we were told Chauvin’s act was racially motivated…we were told it was a hate crime.
Okay….we’ll get back to that in a minute. I want you all to dust off your “Sports Fan” hats for a couple minutes. Remember back when they actually had sporting events in stadiums filled with people and televised them all over the world? Picture it in your head for a minute…it really doesn’t matter…pick your favorite game at your favorite venue….the Yanks and Sox at Fenway….The Broncos and Raiders at Mile High. Okay….you’re sitting in your favorite recliner strategically positioned in front of your 72” flat screen 4K HD enjoying the sporting event that you’ve been waiting all week to watch. The game’s on the line, the pressure is mounting and time’s running out. Then suddenly everything stops and you’re staring at Joe Buck in the press booth because some dumb-ass decided to run out onto the field. Joe will tell you what’s going on, they’ll cut to commercial and come back once the idiot is cuffed and on his way out of the stadium and play is set to resume.
They don’t show you the idiot because they don’t want to encourage people to do similar things. They don’t want to give the dumb-ass any attention because that’s what idiots who run out on the field are seeking. It’s responsible journalism…an attempt to keep peace and harmony by NOT displaying the actions of idiots.
SO….back to Minneapolis. Why would the press put the video of a white cop leaning on the stack and swivel of a black citizen on every television in the world? Now…remember your history for a minute here before you answer that question. Remember the Watts riots in 1965. Remember the L.A. riots in 1992. Remember the Ferguson riots in 2014. If you’re a journalist or an editor or a program director you have to KNOW that if you air that footage you’re opening up a jar that you can’t put the lid back on. Why would you do that? You know before you even think about uploading that video that you’re going to be the source of hatred, pain, fire, looting, crushed dreams, economic catastrophe, environmental destruction and probably more deaths. Again…why would anyone do that?
Ya know….they can candy-coat an explanation with something along the lines of “The World Needs to Know”….and I’d almost buy it if they narrated the video with the words “Law Enforcement Officer Kills Unarmed Citizen”, but they don’t….the words you hear are “White Cop Kills Unarmed Black Man”. They have to stir the pot….knowing the potential for damage and loss….knowing their rhetoric has the power to cause further dissension among the masses….knowing that what they choose to show and what they choose to say can cause the death of others….KNOWING all of that…they still choose to stir that pot.
But it doesn’t end with the initial report…they keep stirring the pot and it just self perpetuates from there. They won’t show a streaker at a baseball game because they’re afraid it may encourage others to do the same….but they’ll show hours upon hours of riots and looting without a worry of what kind of behavior that might encourage…and then have crews on standby to cover the riots and looting in another city the next night.
Why would the media do that? Surely the people working at those networks are smarter than I…why would they risk so much?
Conspiracy theories abound. The country was coming out of the COVID mess and the economy was going to rebound and they needed to throw another obstacle in the path of the President? People were figuring out that the COVID fiasco was a sham and they wanted our attention on something else? There was too much negative press on the way some key Governors were handling the virus fallout? They need to keep the country focused on something other than the blunders of Joe Biden? All of the Above? Hell…I don’t know. But whatever the reason was, their solution worked…all you’ve seen on the tube and social media for the last two weeks is riots, looting and the U. S. Military occupying Main Street, America.
I have no evidence to prove whether those cops in Minneapolis are racists or bigots. I’m sure the truth will come out in time. However…I have plenty of evidence to convict the media of racism and bigotry. They’ve lost touch with humanity…they don’t see us as people…they see us as demographics….and they’re not above pitting one demographic against another to help further their agenda or increase their ratings.
I’ve gotta tell ya guys….this sucks for me. I’m nowhere near the riots and this sucks for me. My business hasn’t been burnt to the ground and this still sucks for me. I don’t know a single person directly impacted by this mess and it still sucks for me.
This sucks because too many good cops are getting a bad rap in this deal. It sucks because too many peaceful protesters are getting a bad rap in this deal. It sucks because too many men and women gave their lives in defense of the dream that is America….others uprooted their entire family and traveled perilous journeys half way around a planet to live this dream…and now we’re watching it burn…we’re watching the dream become systematically dismantled.
I think the worst part is that I just don’t get it. I can’t comprehend how one human being looks at another and sees skin color first or foremost. I’m not wired that way. It’s just not in my nature…it never has been. If you’re not wired to judge people by the color of their skin…well, that makes it really damn difficult to wrap your head around all this shit.
Hey….I know a lot of my posts end up with me poking the media in the eyes. But I truly believe they’re the problem with the planet. Seems like when you get to the root of it every problem we have stems from money….But stems don’t grow from roots without fertilizer….and the mainstream media simply shovels shit for a living.
Better posts are coming, my friends. My dumb-ass is going to try my hand at tapping trees and making my own maple syrup next spring. The jokes surrounding that potential catastrophe almost write themselves.
HEY….Nothing but Love for you guys.
Find something to SMILE about….dammit. 🙂