Don't Shoot The Messenger

WARNING: If you except things blindly, don't read this article. Those of you who have read my articles know that I feel the attack on the police officers in Dallas and Baton Rouge were cowardly. You also know that I feel the killing of unarmed Black men is also cowardly. However, the last shooting takes the cake. And luckily there is video footage to verify what happened. According to a story written by the Associated Press Wednesday, and the accompanying video, a Black therapist in North Miami who was trying to calm an autistic patient in the middle of the street says he was shot by police even though he had his hands in the air and repeatedly told them that no one was armed. The moments before and after the shooting were recorded on cell phone video and released to local media. The video shows Charles Kinsey lying on the ground with his arms raised, talking to his patient and police throughout the standoff with officers, who appeared to have them surrounded. "As long as I've got my hands up, they're not going to shoot me. This is what I'm thinking. They're not going to shoot me," he told WSVN-TV from his hospital bed, where he was recovering from a gunshot wound to his leg. "Wow, was I wrong." The shooting victim, from his hospital bed said that he asked the policeman, "why did you shoot me?" He said the policeman replied, "I don't know." But before I get into what I'm going to say, I believe eventually this recent shooting will give anti-violence groups and "Black Lives Matter" their smoking gun. There's no way the "All Lives Matter" movement can blame the victim for being shot. He was truly a therapist. The young man he was helping was really an autistic patient. The shooting victim had his hands up, while laying on the ground, on his back. For whatever reason the police had him surrounded, with their guns pointed at him. For what appears to be no reason at all, the police shot the man while his hands were up in the air. Luckily they only shot him in the leg. Again, there's no blaming the victim. This guy was no threat to the safety of the policemen. Yet, they still shot him! So, my question to you is, why are the shooting and killing of unarmed Black men happening? As wrong as these reasons are, revenge and retaliation are the reasons policemen are suddenly getting shot. I say suddenly and I will back up using that word in a second. The problem with most people in America is that they are victims and they don't even know it. More often than not, those who are unaware that they're victims, do a fair amount of damage. Sometimes when that damage is done, it causes a ripple effect. That's when things get confused and all hell breaks loose. This is exactly what has happened with the shootings of unarmed Black men and now the shootings of policemen. Misinformation is the culprit that makes America act stupid. We're all full of misinformation. That's because we allow the television news to educate us. Back in the days of Walter Cronkite, or the Huntley and Brinkley Report, we could depend on the truth. Today news is entertainment, designed to get ratings, not truth. It has gotten to the point where we are addicted to this brand of entertainment and have come to dislike true facts. We want drama, not boring facts. Facts make us think and we don't wanna think. We wanna be told what to think. Television news has done what drug dealers do. They tease you with a little, until you're hooked. Then they jack the price up. The American public has sold its soul to drama. If someone attempts to enlighten us with truth, we'll shoot the messenger. In an article dated December 9, 2014 Eva Decesare writes, The latest data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), recorded a preliminary total of 4,405 fatal work injuries in the US in 2013. The BLS compiled that data to make a chart of the top ten most dangerous jobs. Guess who’s not in the top ten. That's right, policemen. A report put out at the beginning of the year by the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund, highlights that lack of danger by showing that 2013 has had the “Lowest Level of Law Enforcement Fatalities in Six Decades” and the fewest officers killed by firearms since 1887. Here's the list of the most dangerous occupations. 10. Construction Laborers Total fatalities for 2013 (based on preliminary data): 215 9. Electrical Power-Line Installers And Repairers Total fatalities for 2013 (based on preliminary data): 27 8. Farmers, Ranchers, And Other Agricultural Managers Total fatalities for 2013 (based on preliminary data): 220 7. Driver/Sales Workers and Truck Drivers Total fatalities for 2013 (based on preliminary data): 748 6. Mining Machine Operators Total fatalities for 2013 (based on preliminary data): 16 5. Refuse And Recyclable Material Collectors Total fatalities for 2013 (based on preliminary data): 33 4. Roofers Total fatalities for 2013 (based on preliminary data): 69 3. Aircraft Pilots And Flight Engineers Total fatalities for 2013 (based on preliminary data): 63 2. Fishers And Related Fishing Workers Total fatalities for 2013 (based on preliminary data): 27 1. Logging Workers Total fatalities for 2013 (based on preliminary data): 59 I've read several reports on dangerous occupations and the closest to the top ten policemen rank is 14. Therefore, I'm not saying there's no danger in being a policeman. What I'm saying is that everyone, citizens and policemen alike have bought into the notion that every policeman has to worry about getting home every night. And in our society, this fear of getting home, has become the theme song and excuse for shooting unarmed Black men. Yes, I know there are almost twice as many White people who get shot by policemen, but there are ten times more White people in America. If you do the math, you will realize that being Black in America highly subjects you, even though Whites outnumber Blacks, to the possibility of being shot by a policeman. The police are the victims because they are put out on the streets suspect of damn-near every citizen they meet. Citizens are victims, especially Black citizens, because any move we make could get us killed. As citizens we should respect the police. We shouldn't have to be afraid of the police. I remember the days you could flag down a policeman, when you were in trouble. The way things are going now, you'll end up on the ground cuffed. If you resisted you could end up being shot. That isn't "To Protect and Serve". And to be honest it is probably difficult to protect and serve people if you're unreasonably fearful for your life. That is why truthful information is important and shapes the way we think. It shapes our attitudes about how we go about our days and how effectively we communicate with one another. CBS News, Bruce Kennedy, MoneyWatch July 22, 2015, in regards to police danger: But the trend has been clearly downward in the last 40 years. Police work is getting progressively safer compared with historical averages: The fact is: being a policeman is not one of the most dangerous jobs you can have, according to statistics from the Bureau of Labor. In five years, 2008 to 2012, only one policeman was killed by a firearm in the line of duty in New York City. Police officers are many times more likely to commit suicide than to be killed by a criminal; nine NYC policemen attempted to take their own lives in 2012, alone. Eight succeeded. In 2013, eight NYPD officers attempted suicide, while six succeeded. 2013 had the fewest police deaths by firearms since 1887 nationwide. The national figures vary widely from year to year. In 2014, police deaths in the line of duty, including heart attacks, spiked upward from 100 in 2013, to 126 in 2014. (the most recent numbers available) From 1970 to 1980 police deaths averaged 231 per year. 1980 to 1989: police deaths averaged 190.7. 1990 to 1999: police deaths averaged 161.5. 2000 to 2009: police deaths averaged 165. 2013 to 2014: police deaths averaged 113. So how many policemen are there? Nationally, in 2008, state and local law enforcement agencies employed more than 1.1 million persons on a full-time basis, including about 765,000 sworn personnel (defined as those with general arrest powers). Agencies also employed approximately 100,000 part-time employees, including 44,000 sworn officers. In Boise, where I live, there has only been one policeman, Officer Mark Stall, killed in the line of duty, in the history of the Boise Police Department (1903). And even that's one too many! I know the Chief of Police is out in the community, trying to get to know the leadership of the people of color here. That's a great step towards making Boise safe for everyone, citizens and policemen alike. America needs to sit down and stop pointing fingers. We need serious discussion about misinformation and false perception. We need to discuss how misinformation and false perception has made both policemen and citizens victims. Shooting it out isn't gonna work. Old procedures need to be updated and changed with the times. I want with all of my heart to value good policemen. I also want policemen to know that I matter to my family and friends.