As an interested observer of our national landscape I can’t help but notice that we appear to be separating into armed camps – along the lines of the “bikers” and “tough people” the person in the White House claimed were on his side.
Today a 17-year-old carrying an assault rifle in the streets of Kenosha, Wisconsin like a soldier patrolling the streets of Kabul was charged with shooting and killing at least two people and wounding a third during protests marking another police shooting of an unarmed black man in that city the day before.
The alleged shooter said he was a member of Blue Lives Matter and that he supported local police. He was pictured walking the streets of Kenosha wearing gloves with his rifle slung – his weapon similar if not identical to one pictured on his hastily removed Facebook page. He fled the state after the shootings.
Interviewed by a local reporter before the shooting Kyle Rittenhouse said: “So people are getting injured and our job is to protect this business. And part of my job is to also help people. If there is somebody hurt I’m running into harms way. That’s why I have my rifle because I need to protect myself obviously. I also have my med kit.”
Video of the night’s protests show Rittenhouse and other armed people interacting with police – one officer opening the hatch of an armored car to throw the armed men bottles of water while another says: “We appreciate you” over the PA system while ordering protestors out of the area.
Perhaps this is what the nation is becoming? Those with guns and those without? Those who support police and politicians and those who question those institutions? Who could have imagined this scenario, that we would end up in this place? Not me. Not in a hundred years.
But our leader apparently did.
“I can tell you I have the support of the police, the support of the military, the support of the Bikers for Trump – I have the tough people, but they don’t play it tough — until they go to a certain point, and then it would be very bad, very bad.”
Respectfully,
Martin Critchfield/ Concord
An unarmed black man? Please. The report I read officers told him to “drop the knife.” He had his three young kids in the car. If you don’t cooperate with the police, and you have a ***k the police attitude, whose fault is that? The black men who are getting hurt or killed are thugs. There are more white men getting shot by police. Where is the outrage for that? And where is the outrage for black on black crime? Pathetic anti-police make my blood boil.
Trying to come up with a list of names of white men killed by police…. the only ones I can find are those shot after perpetrating a mass shooting – in most cases people of color or jewish people.
There’s been 1,441 white people killed by police since 2017. And 778 blacks.
Whites
2017 — 457
2018 — 399
2019 — 370
2020 — 215
Blacks
2017 — 223
2018 — 209
2019 — 235
2020 — 111
Where’s the outrage for whites killed by police? Where’s the media coverage for whites killed by police? Or Hispanics or Asians?
All 1,441 killed were mass shooters — people of color or Jewish? Give me a break.
As a percentage of the population, blacks are killed by the police more than twice as often as whites. Your data is highly misleading and you know it.
It’s NOT highly misleading. Since blacks commit a much higher percentage of crimes, they’re more likely to be in contact with police. Blacks are 13% of the population, and commit a lot higher percentage of crimes. Including 50-60% of violent crimes. Keeping in mind their contact with police, they’re killed at a lower percentage.
In California, Hispanics are killed at a higher percentage, yet you don’t see Hispanics complaining. They face discrimination too.
WTF happened to cooperating with police? And not resisting arrest? Blake had a history of abusing the police, including shooting an officer in a bar, after he shot a customer. He’s a career criminal, and has no one to blame but himself.
I heard 7 shots. Shot in the back 7 times while holding the suspect’s shirt and pursuing him into his vehicle. Is that how it’s taught at the police academy? Pursue and escalate. Execute the suspect!! Don’t accept anything except total submission. No need for due process. Don’t step away even for a moment. You, an officer of the law, were disrespected!! You can’t have that. Subdue the enemy!
WTF happened to due process and equal justice under the law? Obviously for some it never existed. And, obviously, some people who would call themselves Americans are just fine with that. A true American believes in the rule of law. No one is above the law. That’s one of the cornerstones of what makes us American.
To repeat myself. The Donald is a narcissistic sociopath. I don’t see a happy ending. Too many accomplices.
There does seem to be a double standard in play. A man is shot seven times in the back after….. what, maybe going for a knife in his car. In the same town a 17 year old carrying an assault rifle shoots two people and wounds another and then walks PAST police lines before he disappears and leaves the state. You have to admit the optics are not so good.
Pick up a gun, someone is going to catch a bullet.
If we haven’t this will do until the very very bad part comes.