Police Brutality

Baltimore. My city. Gearing up for reaction to the first verdict in the trial of the officers involved in the death of Freddie Gray. To say things are tense here would be an understatement. No one knows how people will feel, how people will react.

I had the misfortune of watching Faux News yesterday in order to ascertain how the conservatives plan to defend the indefensible: The Killing of Freddie Gray. Many vicious, hateful accusations and talking points were spewed to justify the use of excessive force by police to "subdue" African-American males.

A lot of tough questions have to be addressed if we are to have a real conversation about race. And all of us have to face realities without excuses.

In the end, no one can maintain their power because of the inverse property of power, every action creates an equal and opposite reaction. And that is our eternal job as the majority of human beings on this planet, to be that equal and opposite reaction to those who accumulate power and use it to gratify themselves at the expense of the lives and well being of others.

It's that time of year when magical wishes are in the air and people believe that fantasies can come true...no, it's not Rand Paul's Presidential campaign launch, it's Christmas!

Instead of seeing a psychotic cop-killer for what he was, some NYPD officers, their police union and prominent Republicans are exploiting this tragedy to validate the righteousness of their racism.

For some strange reason, police invoke some unwritten rule whenever they encounter a Black man or Woman. The circumstance of the encounter is immaterial. It is as if those who are Black, Brown are instantly dismissed as less-than. Or what I call negation of the concept of being created in the image of God.

Almost in parallel with Climate Change, the climate of politics and world events seems to be intensified by human events, we see extremes happening more often and more swiftly than in previous years.

ICE and the D.A. endangered small children, after planning for months, and never thought of the safety or welfare of the kids that would obviously be traumatized and left without care providers! Whether or not the District Attorney had a valid legal goal or purpose; they behaved monstrously to attempt to achieve it.

Selma received nearly universal acclaim from film critics. It got tons of publicity. So where are the crowds? Well, I live in very conservative Missouri in an area where there are few blacks but "12 Years a Slave" did rather well here. It was made for $22 million and made $188 million. So???