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.
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