<PART II> The 90%, Cowardly Cops, and Sanitation Workers

12) Drawing connections to past events that otherwise might never have been considered

Right after posting this initial piece, The 90%, Cowardly Cops, and Garbage-Men, I realized how I was trying to do too much with it, and yet I still didn’t do enough. Here's a “Six Point Breakdown” (with additional sub-points) of what I attempted to accomplish in my last piece.

POINT #1 - GUN REFORM

Sub-point #1 (on gun reform) :  90% of Americans’ support “Universal Background Checks”. This in itself is deemed as very controversial to a very large and very vocal minority of people. Can I prove if 90% of people support Universal Background Checks? To answer bluntly, No I can’t. I don’t have the time nor the resources to verify these claims. But other people, and other reference points do. 

Sub-point #2 (on gun reform) : Gun Reform is still a major issue in this country. A lawyer I know swears up and down that my continuing to write about this issue is my indirect way of saying I want to seize peoples guns. That is just flat-out wrong for him to make such an assertion, and quite frankly borderline slanderous. I will continue to write at length about Gun-Reform, as I see this is a plague on our nation. Twenty-three years of documented mass-shootings, just makes me sick!

Feeling Sick

Sub-point #3 (on gun reform) : For the record, this moment is about the politics of the time. It’s not about some 231 year old document that has only been amended 23 times, the last time being 30 years ago when adding the 27th Amendment. Despite the positions of power the people in society held at the time, the framers of the Constitution wrote it with the intention of it being adaptable and to be able to change with the times. This fact seems to now be frequently misconstrued, as no changes have been made to the Constitution since 1992.

To further clarify my last sub-point (#3), so nobody misconstrues what I’m writing; “Politics of the time” is a reference point to identifying the issues most important in this country. This is one of them, and I for one care first and foremost about saving lives! 

POINT #2 - COWARDLY POLICE 

Sub-point #1 (on Cowardly Police) : The Uvalde Police spectacularly failed in their duties to protect 19 children and 2 teachers who lost their lives in the local elementary school.

Sub-point #2 (on Cowardly Police) : As a parent, and as a teacher, and especially as someone who prides himself on naturally being a protector; This bothers me to such an extreme that I am still dumbfounded by how an organizational entity could get something so wrong, and cost so many innocent people their lives. Not to mention how countless families' lives have been changed forever from this horrendous day. 

POINT #3 - ON DRAWING CONNECTIONS

Sub-point #1 (on drawing connections) : Some of the feedback I got from people is that since I was drawing connections between Uvalde Cops and Ferguson Cops, that there was some type of racial undertone in it all.

To clarify, one group of cops was cowards,  the other group of cops worked on a force that has a history of racially targeting certain communities. 

Sub-point #2 (on drawing connections) : Ultimately I tried to draw a connection between the Ferguson Police and the Uvalde Police. This might have been a bridge too far, and the end product of my piece wasn’t the quality of writing you could expect from me or I expect from myself.

POINT #4 - THE KILLING OF 18 YEAR OLD MICHAEL BROWN

Sub-point #1 (Killing of Michael Brown) : I didn’t get into whether Michael Brown was a criminal or not. But, what I will emphasize is the fact that Mike Brown was an 18 year old young man, still a teenager. We in this society infantile white people, yet exaggerate the age of young black youth. Obviously there were and still are a number of people sympathetic to the cop’s efforts in defending himself against Mike Brown. I don’t think my writing will convince them otherwise, but I still will present the facts as I understand them and as I study them.

Sub-point #2 (Killing of Michael Brown) : At no point did I say Michael Brown was innocent in this case. Having said that, MICHAEL BROWN DID NOT DESERVE TO DIE!

Sub-point #3 (Killing of Michael Brown) : This case obviously carries a ton of controversy, and goes right to the heart of the tension between mostly white police forces and how they interact with majority black/brown communities.  

POINT #5 - INVESTIGATING POLICE PRACTICES “FERGUSON” & “UVALDE”

Sup-point #1 (investigating police practices) : Much like there was an evaluation of Ferguson’s police practices, there was an evaluation of police practices nation-wide. It wasn't a good look for cops. 

Sub-point #2 (investigating police practices)  : After the investigation of Uvalde’s police practices is revealed, it would be wise to do a system wide investigation of other police forces across the country, and assess their ability or inability to act quickly after 9-11 calls. I am curious to see what other “life and death” incidents have cops actively avoided, when their number was called up to serve and protect. 

BONUS POINT #6 - SANITATION WORKERS MORE AT RISK

Sub-point#1 (Sanitation Workers more at risk) :  The fact that Sanitation workers are more at risk for losing their lives than police officers - was an interesting element I wanted to include in the initial story. But much like the other ingredients I put in the initial story, I realize it did not necessarily add to the overall quality of my writing, and hence part of the reason it was a bit of a disjointed piece.

<PART I> The 90%, Cowardly Cops, and Garbage-Men

 Sub-point#2 (Sanitation Workers more at risk) : When you “Thank a Hero” today or tomorrow, don’t forget to thank our Sanitation workers, also!

Peace & Love

-JPJ