Fair Game ?

   Shaquille O'Neal is known as one of the most dominant big men in basketball history. His sheer dominance on the basketball court was awe inspiring. He was such a force of nature, that after breaking down a few basketball goals, the design of these basketball goals had to be modified, or Shaq proofed,  but he wasn't great at everything. His free throw throw percentage was awful, but his 3pt shooting % was even more atrocious. He was 1 for 22  or  about 5% for his career. Needless to say his coaches preferred for him to play down low, but as a basketball player all rules that apply to an accomplished three point shooter like Steph Curry apply the same to Shaq. They are both basketball players and although they have different skillsets they are officiated under the same type of rules.
     This brings me back yet again to our current state of equality here in America. The same America that has a professional sports league that has ostracized a man (Colin Kaepernick) who protested against inequalities and mistreatment of people of color in regards to police brutality and other atrocities. This same league has teams who signed a QB (Chad Kelly) who was once kicked out of the  Clemson Tiger football program for being emotionally unstable,belligerent, any other synonym to describe someone who was a pain in the rear after being told he wasn't guaranteed to be a starter in an upcoming season. This man also once threatened to shoot up a bar with his AK47, but was only subjected to community service. Last year he sneaked in a family's home in Colorado and was arrested, ultimately getting him dismissed from the Denver Broncos. This choir boy still manages to get opportunities, just last month he was signed by the Indianapolis Colts. If you speak out against the wrong doing of your fellow man,  the shallow moral compass of some fans, discourages most team owners from taking a chance on a player like Colin Kapernick, even if he's a more viable option than a lesser talent like Nathan Peterman aka, the most prolific thrower of interceptions in NFL history. Thats the NFL for you.
      Just recently in Arkansas a young gentleman named Ed Truitt had an encounter with an officer who pulled out his service weapon on him as he was stopped in a parking lot. Not knowing all the facts in the case, Mr Truitt had a weapon in his vehicle which he said was registered and apparently there had been a series of break ins in the area which led to him being accosted by the cop. Truitt was deemed suspicious, but without having anything of consequence on Truitt the officer still pulled out his gun on him. Truitt having seen similar incidences occur with the likes of Philando Castile and Stephon Clark, kept his hands in visible sight as well as he streamed the encounter on Facebook live. In those incidences those cops made assumptions and murdered those men due to fear of a potential weapon being used on them although a command was given to perform an action.What's even more alarming is Clark was just holding a cell phone. When did Samsung make a cellular gun?
      Permittless, Concealed , and Open Carry are now legal in Arkansas for those who can legally possess a firearm. A category Truitt falls into.  Like my basketball analogy explained, there can be 2 different types of players, although they play different ways, the same still rules apply. It is a shame that in a land where we are taught in school that we are all equal. One nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all, but it doesn't resemble that one iota. Why does it feel like we are divided and true liberty and justice exists for some  and not all?  Are we that naive to believe that these principles instituted by this country's forefathers, looks nothing like they envisioned. When a man has to live stream to ensure his life will be spared. It speaks volumes. Trust me, some people won't have to stoop to that level to ensure their survival. Case  in point, Grady Wayne Wilkes. In  Auburn,  Alabama this man shot and killed an officer, and wounded 2 other people after authorities were notified about a domestic disturbance involving him. Despite the violent nature of his crimes. His arrest was rather uneventful despite the fact he was known to be armed and dangerous.  I don't get it. A man with a gun who just killed a comrade you don't fear him. But if you look in your glove compartment  you're a dead man. I guess  the approach of shoot first and ask questions last has some unknown variables that are only applied in certain cases which seems like a violation of the rules of equality. Which makes me wonder why did these officers not fear for their life since this man had proven to kill a man, not just a man, but one of their own? They made a conscious decision to allow this man to live. But a 12 year old child with a toy gun gets shot on sight with no repercussions. Maybe I have a distorted view of how I see it, but stuff like this is incomprehensible. Day after day our judicial system continues to allow these acts to happen. Fans were able to get the NFL to institute a new interference review rule after an ergregious missed call was not made in the NFC Championship game. There's been more than enough outcry about these unjust killings to make changes too. But still no movement. Is a football game more important than a human's life? I think it's about time we get some transparency on rules of engagement and what is deemed an unlawful killing by law enforcement. In most jobs, when a person makes an ergregious error they are punished significantly. Those actions which led to the incidents I have mentioned should get dissected for gaps and corrections with the intention of having no more reoccurrences. I think if some of these officers were held more accountable, and punished satisfactorily , we'd make tremendous strides in interactions between cops and minorities.  We should have more defined lines of clarity. Apply all the rules appropriately. We all should be afforded the same rights unless we have proven ourselves to be unworthy. A person with a violent criminal record riding around with a gun in his car, doesn't have much of a ground to stand on. If you have a criminal record  or aren't disciplined enough to conduct yourself in a civilized manner, then an officer maybe justified to be more demonstrative in their engagement with you. I shouldn't be fearful of being killed for following a command. Just as important is the fact the people who can't handle pressure well, don't need to be cops. It takes a special type of person who has the right temperament to perform under intense conditions,  if you don't have it, find a new job. You are putting the public in just as much harm as you are serving and protecting.
   In my basketball analogy I compared Shaq's style of play to Steph Curry's style. We are all privy to the same rules, laws, etc. But some of us are better equipped to operate in different areas better than others. Did Shaq need to shoot threes? No, because he wasn't good at it. Should Steph try to go down low in the post? No, he's too slight.  Although they don't do those tasks well, they can still attempt to execute them because they play on the same court under the same rules. We know how skilled these two basketball greats are because we've seen them perform on the highest level, but you can pick another NBA player similar in size and their skillset and overall abilities maybe totally different.  Should the rules be applied differently? No. The difference is you may not give Steph an open three pointer because you know what he's capable of. Give the other guy a shot and  see if he is a serious threat before you try to race out to defend him on the three point line. He may very well be harmless and throws up bricks as much as he could be a great shooter too. But afford him the opportunity. In all walks of life, stop assuming and apply rules appropriately. Judge people on their character. Stop stereotyping people based on looks. You'll find this will go a long way in healing what ails America.

       

2 Sided

     Take any two people regardless of race, age, religion, etc. and if they accidentally touch a hot iron or stove. What do you think they’d do? There are severe illnesses that affect the feeling in your extremities. But if both were considered normal, relatively healthy, human beings would one feel the pain from the heat, more or less due to their ethnicity. No. I am sure they both would undoubtedly agree that it was a rather unpleasant experience. Think about people from northern states like Minnesota and Michigan. Temperatures in the single digits aren't uncommon to them. But if they have a 50 degree day in February,  they'd put on shorts and sandals due to unseasonbly warm temperatures. Whereas people in South Florida exposed to those same temperatures would probably freak out because they are usually warmer. Why such a drastic difference in feelings? They come from two totally different environments. One is more tropical the other is more frigid. Proving our sense of normalcy isn't always the same. Based on what we've been exposed to majority of the time our interpretations of a particular variable, in this case temperature, can be viewed markedly different. I know its cliché,  but the phrase perception is reality is confirmed by this premise. We are all a products of our environment.  But like a chameleon we can change to blend in. So why is it so difficult for us as humans, especially Americans to coexist?
     We all have witnessed some of our loved ones go on to glory. No matter how it occurs it's always painful. It could be health related like cancer or heart disease, a car accident, or something malicious such as murder. Either way it's painful for those left behind to lose someone they whom they knew and loved.
     Some Americans are too rigid in their thoughts and opinions. Sure there are some issues that we may be unequivocally passionate about. I despise women and child abusers. But some people continue to lack objectivity, empathy, and overall self awareness in regards to how others in a different demographic or socioeconomic group might perceive the same thing. Issues like welfare assistance,  and  legalization of marijuana come to mind.
    I'm not dismissing the fact that groups like #blacklivesmatter aren't needed. They are.  I concur wholeheartedly that the way cops interact with us needs to change. Under no circumstances should a cop who kills an unarmed citizen who wasn't a legitimate threat to them, to still be able to get a job in law enforcement again, but it happens. Our lives are valuable too. But the results of Philando Castill's (black man killed by a Hispanic cop)death by an officer and Justine Damond's(white woman killed by a black Muslim cop) death by an officer in the same area only years apart, netted a far different result for each victim and the scary, incompetent, cops that killed them. The outcry for police protection was far less prevalent for one over the other as well as the pay outs for the families. Why? Was the prosecutor that much better? Blacklivesmatter is needed.
     #Blacklivesmatter also needs to address the issue of black lives, caring about black lives too. Control what we can control. This starts at home. If you see someone that looks like you and you call them a brother treat them like one. Jealousy and envy are the works of the devil. The fact is we just can't highlight incompetent cops and turn a blind eye to the black on black crime going on in America too. Everybody can't rhyme like Jay Z.  Shooting another man for stepping on your Jordans is foolish, but that's the world we live in. People competing to see who's the top thug, who has the most women, money,  clothes, and who has the fliest ride. I believe rectifying these issues will help us with some of these other societal problems. They need to put more of an emphasis on showing love to your neighbor. Having such an unstable footing in black communities makes it that more difficult to combat injustices that go against us. The animalistic approach we sometimes have towards one another leads to innocent people being judged unfairly.
    Lastly, why I don't have a flattering opinion about abortion. I recognize that God is the ultimate judge. So who am I to judge. Yet some are so vocal about this issue and use Christianity as a way to condemn those who have abortions calling it murder.  What if it was a situation where a mom could endanger her life by having the child, or if she was raped? Yet some of these very same people find ways to justify killings of unarmed people by cops and want to be cops over things as small as parking in a handicap spot. Why the difference? It's possible to feel mournful for an unborn child. I get it, but for people who were already established and were apart of, or even had their own families it is a much more meaningful loss for their loved ones. An unborn fetus hasn't created memories and hasn't had a chance to impact others with the exception of the mom they were carried by. No person, including me is above reproach. Modern day society allows us to be more expressive than ever,  but if somebody dares to push against the old guard, they are hit with ridicule. I can't give you the most poignant explanation, but is this God's best for us to always be at odds? I don't think so. Differences of opinion are natural,  but it shouldn't cause  such a toxic environment. I believe we all desire a blessed and prosperous livelihood. One were our families are safe and we can live our lives in a harmonious fashion. Let's put differences aside and work towards that common goal.