More On The Police Shootings and the Dallas Ambush

Earlier, a Facebook friend had this to say about the recent police shootings and the deadly police ambush in Dallas.  He articulated his thoughts on the events a hell of a lot better than I did.....

"This morning, I mourn everyone in Dallas. AND I mourn Philando Castile.

Here is my problem: many of you are going to use this as evidence to say that black lives matter and their followers are warping our values by saying that somehow black lives matter more than blue lives or however you want to put it.

What you fail to understand is that black lives matter LITERALLY MEANS "BLACK LIVES MATTER TOO" in other words "all lives matter". And yet the apologist argument seems to suggest that we should divide our mourning, that there is only room enough in our national consciousness to mourn EITHER black lives OR blue lives. This is foolish, but it is the effect of the recent tit for tat. If you believe that all lives matter, then black lives must matter, so why then would you use one phrase to argue AGAINST another that is supposedly suggested within your counter-slogan?

Why be outraged AT black lives matter for not posting or protesting when ANY life is lost? They are not to blame for the loss of that life. Should you not blame the life-takers and join together in your outrage that lives have been taken without cause? Why compete? We ask that you pay attention, YOU may ask the same, because that is your right. But recognize that your right has NEVER NOT been your right. Thus why is it suddenly a "privilege" to be outraged?

It makes NO sense to diminish the loss of one life over another. Period. The fact that we have to point out that black lives matter is because we live in daily fear for our lives, and that, should they be taken (yes even by our own) that there will be no consequence for doing so.

This protest was peaceful. Protesters took selfies with police officers. Whether or not everyone within the crowd marched with the same view of the issue, there was respect between them.

ELEVEN people were shot and that is outrageous! POLICE OFFICERS were shot and that is outrageous. But do not fool yourself into thinking that these are unrelated problems or unrelated motivations for those who choose to prey upon us.

Lives matter. That is not a political stance. It is a human stance. I mourn the loss of EVERY life. And I would never DISRESPECT one of those lives by USING THEM to diminish the loss of another.

Mourn the blue. But do not ignore the cancer that is hiding within the sanctuary of what Is SUPPOSED TO BE a sacred uniform.

So from now on when I say "black lives matter", understand that it isn't special treatment or exaltation or even martyrdom that I seek, it is equality.

I seek the rights that mean not having to say "black lives matter." I want to know that I will not be slaughtered without reason. OR that if you cannot promise me that, that there will be justice so that my murderer will not be free to pass his cancer onto someone who might use that prejudice on my children, even if my murderer is sworn to serve and protect me.

You SHOULD fear for your police officers. Their job is difficult, and dangerous and vital. And Chances are, if you're reading this, you know at least SOME if not ALL good ones. I fear for them.

But ask yourself this, as my friend, after seeing what can happen to innocents, who do nothing more than attempt to comply with the orders of those who fear them for one reason or another...

Do you fear for me? Because I must confess, I AM AFRAID."

Special thanks to my Facebook friend for allowing me to share his thoughts on my blog.

On The Shooting Deaths of Alton Sterling, Philando Castile, and the Texas Ambush of Police Officers

It has happened yet again.  Two black men shot to death by police officers, one in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, the other in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

The deaths of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile have once again brought to the forefront the treatment of people of color by the police.  Sterling was killed outside a store where he was selling CDs, and the owner said that Sterling was not motioning for any weapon, though cops found a gun on him.  Castile was a licensed gun owner who was shot after being pulled over for a broken taillight.

The shootings are upsetting, as they all are.  And I am angry as well.  It makes me wonder about my own safety.  When I was living in New York City, I was stopped twice by police, for differing reasons.  I believe that I was a victim of racial profiling.  If I didn't remain calm or acted in a belligerent manner, who knows what would have happened to me.

Not to say all police officers are horrible racists.  There are good cops; unfortunately, all the good work they do is overshadowed by these shootings of unarmed "minorities."
We need to see the good officers speak out more.

However, the latest shootings of people of color is absolutely NO EXCUSE to go after other officers, which brings me to the deadly ambush that happened during a peaceful demonstration of the shootings in Dallas last night.  Five officers were killed and seven others wounded when snipers opened fire.

Let me just say that I get it.  I really do.  I hate the fact that people of color, some of them unarmed, are being killed by police.  But what does taking the lives of five officers solve?  NOTHING!  It only adds to the bloodshed, it only means more families are grieving losses.

I agree with the Mayor of Dallas when he says we need to come together.  We, as citizens and police officers, need to work with each other, and not against each other, to solve the problems plaguing our communities.  Otherwise, the bodies will keep piling up.

Comment....as you see fit.

On The Orlando Nightclub Terror Attack

There are really no words for what is now the worst mass shooting in United States history.  I am still trying to understand why the gunman, who supposedly had mental issues (go figure), but pledged allegiance to ISIS, did what he did.  I heard also that he was enraged by the sight of two men kissing.

Which brings me to my next thought.  Why target a gay nightclub?  Though I believe I answered my own question before, why gay people?  What could they have possibly done to this man that he felt the need to shoot dead 49 people?  If it is indeed true that he was not just motivated by other terror attacks, but also hatred of gays, he will be answering for that in the afterlife, as he was shot dead by SWAT teams.

The shooter was known to the FBI, and should not have been able to get a gun.  He purchased his guns legally, he had licenses.

But I'm not going to focus on the thorny issue of gun control.  I'm confident that there are those in the media doing so already.  I will focus, though, on hate.  It has no place in our society, whether it's against gays, Muslims (who are feeling the heat yet again from this attack), or any other group of people.  An attack on one group is an attack on everyone.

We need to rise above hate, period.  As one Facebook friend asked after learning of the shooting, "Where is the LOVE?"  Hate led to this heinous act, and hate is very likely driving the reaction to the shooting.  We all need to come together for the victims of this tragedy.  And we must do everything in our power to make sure that something like this never happens again.

On The Brock Turner Rape Case

Think about what a Facebook friend had to say about the case of Brock Turner.....

"The whole Brock Turner case has been bothering me for days. I've got nieces, coworkers and friends in the same age group, after all. The more I read about it, the more incensed I get.

Rape is sexual assault. If you have sex with someone without their consent, that's rape. If someone isn't aware of what you're doing to them sexually because they're drunk/unconscious/drugged, that's rape.

It doesn't matter whether it was "20 minutes of action", or five minutes or ten. How long it lasted does not lessen what it is.

You've probably read about his amazing swim times, then 20 minutes of action. Are we supposed to applaud that 20 minutes or feel sorry that it was just 20 minutes of action?

Dude redefined "dumb jock" all the more and made it worse.

Friends with children, say "yes" and "no" to your kids within reason. I know you love them, but not teaching them what "no" means is doing them a disservice. Teach your kids how to say yes and no, even if it means they'll say yes and no to you every now and then.

Once they become teenagers and young adults, they need to know when a yes is a yes and a no is a no."

Brock Turner is the Stanford University swimmer accused and then convicted of raping an unconscious woman.  The judge in his case sentenced him to very little prison time, believing that jail would have a negative impact on him.  Turner's father then said his son was jailed for "20 minutes of action."

What Turner (and his father) obviously fail to understand is that he committed a crime, for which he should have received a harsh prison term, and probably would have, if he was less well known, or well off, or especially if he was a person of color.

If a woman says no to sex, and a man forces himself on her, it is rape.  If a woman is incapacitated, and cannot consent, and a man forces himself on her, it is rape.  How many ways can one possibly say this?

Brock Turner practically got away with committing a crime, when he should have received the same treatment and scrutiny given to Bill Cosby.  Rape is wrong, period.  No means no, period.  If a man doesn't understand this, he has no business going near a woman.

Comment....as you see fit.

THE NO CHILL ZONE Oscars Report

First of all, let me say that I did not watch the 88th annual Academy Awards on ABC last night.

However, it was less because of an intentional boycott, and more because of an inability to pick up the local television station(s) in my area, and no access to cable.

However, thanks to the Internet and social media, I know some of the highlights from last night's broadcast.

Alejandro Inarritu won the Best Director Oscar for "The Revenant."

Leonardo Dicaprio (finally) won his first Oscar for Best Actor, also in "The Revenant."

Brie Larson won Best Actress for her role in the movie "Room."

"Spotlight" won the Oscar for Best Picture.

"Mad Max:  Fury Road" won the most Oscars last night.

Vice President Joe Biden made an appearance, along with Lady Gaga (who performed "Til It Happens To You"), to talk about rape culture in Hollywood.

But the night belonged to host Chris Rock, whose opening monologue raised a lot of eyebrows.

And we even had a brief appearance from controversial actress, FOX News personality, and Patheos columnist Stacey Dash.

Congratulations to all the winners at the ceremony.  Many will say that your trophies are well deserved.

That being said, do I wish that the nominees were more diverse?  Absolutely!  But was I really surprised when they failed to nominate people of color for two years in a row?  No.

The unfortunate fact is, the people who have been nominating films and individuals have been reflected in who even gets a shot at a trophy in the first place.  Most of them, according to many figures (you can Google them if you'd like) are white, male, and old.
New Academy president Cheryl Boone Isaacs has promised to diversify the nominating body of the Academy, and I hope she follows through. 

There are good actors and directors of color there; the Academy (and Hollywood, generally) just have to give them a fair chance.  There have also been some good films with actors of color.  Again, just give them a chance, not just because they are black or brown, but perhaps because they are worthy.

Maybe at next year's Oscars we will see some progress, if not necessarily wins, for people of color in Hollywood.  Until then, we must keep up the fight to be seen and heard.

Are there any other major stories from last night's broadcast that I may have missed?  Leave them in the comments section.

News Wrap Up, February 24th, 2016

It's time for THE NO CHILL ZONE News Wrap Up.

First, I had the (dis)pleasure of reading a piece on so called "white guilt," by FOX News contributor and Patheos columnist Stacey Dash.  Apparently, a school showed a video on "white guilt," and not surprisingly, people were not happy, including African American conservative Dash.

I will spare you what she had to say, but if you ask me, there is NO SUCH THING as "white guilt."  When I lived in New York City, and even living here in Connecticut, when I pass by white people (especially white women), they look at me as if I am a physical threat.  And when I worked as a cashier last year, I dealt with white customers who acted as if they were superior to me.

And let's not forget that racism and bigotry are still a huge problem in America, as shown by recent events.

White guilt.  WHAT white guilt?

Second, I read an article on SpoiledNYC that said that The Bronx was the least friendly of the five boroughs.

Well, you could have fooled me.  I think ALL five boroughs are unfriendly, but whatever.  I don't have to live there anymore, so I really shouldn't care that much.

Finally, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump won last night's Nevada caucuses.  But he also made headlines for saying that he loves "poorly educated" people, who in part delivered the win for him.

I suppose that Trump does love the poorly educated.  Those are the people that he easily can get over on.

But it's not these people lack education.  It's more that they lack information, getting it only from a few sources.

In any case, there is an old saying..."When you stand for nothing, you fall for anything."  That can pretty much sum up ALL of Trump's supporters.

Comment...as you see fit.

On The Recent New York City Slashings

Over the last few weeks, innocent people, minding their own business, have been the victims of random slashings in New York City.  These attacks obviously have a lot of residents concerned for their safety, and wondering who is going to be the next victim.

These attacks are not being carried out by one person.  It seems that every other day, there is a new victim, and another unhinged person that is responsible.  I see the stories on the local newscasts about this wave a slashings, and wonder, What the hell is going on?

What boggles my mind as well is that so many attacks happened in the neighborhoods of Manhattan, such as Greenwich Village and SoHo.  I always believed those enclaves to be safe, and well protected.

The Mayor of New York City,  Bill de Blasio, says crime is at its lowest levels in a long time.  Yet, these slashings are trending upward.  It might be time to address the problem.

A few of the individuals arrested for the attacks have mental illnesses.  They should be getting treated for their issues.  But I think these folks are falling through the cracks (Correct me if I'm wrong).  I would certainly hope that they are getting help now, although they should be held responsible for their crimes.  There is certainly no excuse for attacking innocent people.

Hopefully, this is just a phase, and as the days and weeks go by, we will hear fewer stories about someone getting slashed for walking down a street.  To have to fear for one's safety, or that of a loved one, is insane.  I hope this nonsense stops sooner rather than later.