Sometimes It's All We Have
Trust is established over time through consistent
behavior, honesty, and estimable acts with our loved ones and the multitudes of
people we meet over our lifetime. Trust must prevail for a relationship to
survive and, furthermore, it is a blessing providing comfort to the soul and well-being to the heart.
Being respected is a gift that can only be earned!
I would venture to say there are many of our youth that have never known the
gratification associated with trusting and respecting someone. Sadly, for some,
that includes their parents. Nor have these youth experienced the emotions
associated with feeling trusted and respected. Self-respect is a gift only you
can give yourself by living honestly, by not taking more than you give, and by
respecting others.
The Bare Necessities
Sadly, some children, teens, young adults, and
adults have known nothing more than poverty, illiteracy, drugs, gangs and/or
violence in their lives. One of the causes directly attributed to the latter is
the lack of role models for these children along with the lack of any
accountability or consequences at home for unsupervised children.
When they indulge in questionable behavior, they are left to fend for themselves and forced to make decisions they are incapable of, and should not be making. Often, their path will be chosen for them if they are sucked in by the street life! Regrettably, many positive choices might not be available to them as they are denied a good education. If they are lucky to not be shot or killed in their teens, the probability of opportunities for gainful employment is few. These young people deserve more than life has offered them for so many are children that have been abandoned by all of us!
When they indulge in questionable behavior, they are left to fend for themselves and forced to make decisions they are incapable of, and should not be making. Often, their path will be chosen for them if they are sucked in by the street life! Regrettably, many positive choices might not be available to them as they are denied a good education. If they are lucky to not be shot or killed in their teens, the probability of opportunities for gainful employment is few. These young people deserve more than life has offered them for so many are children that have been abandoned by all of us!
We as a society must
respect and care for those
who have been neglected,
forgotten, and forced to go
without the simple
necessities of life.
Children need the guidance and the wisdom of adults
to keep them safe and secure! I know the debilitating fear a child can experience when left on their own. Many children who have suffered pain and
abandonment find it difficult, even after they are removed from their horrific
surroundings into a safe and positive life, to be able to give unconditionally
of themselves, for trust is not part of their emotional toolkit. It could
take years before they are willing to contribute the essence of a relationship,
unconditional commitment, and love!
It has been tragic observing the results of
generations of Americans forced to grow up in broken homes with no male
guidance. Many of these youth have found family in gangs with their role models
being drug dealers and pimps. In their world, respect is evaluated in terms of
power over others. Kindness, compassion, and understanding are virtues these
children cannot afford, for being respected is associated with how feared you
are!
Right now, somewhere in America, children are being
left alone. Some will be left all night long in a dark, cold room possibly with sporadic gunshots in the background or loud voices in the street freezing
them in fear!
How can we, as a civilized society, feel fulfilled
and proud of our countries' accomplishments and of ourselves when we have not
eradicated our greatest failure--poverty in America?
How can we give billions of dollars to other
countries, but allow thousands of our Veterans to go
homeless?
How can we turn a blind eye to the brave men and
women who put their lives and bodies on the line so
our families are safe?
Mistrust in Society
One should not expect trust from others before it
has been earned and feelings of security and well-being have been established
between said individuals. We all want to be admired and trusted, as well as
experience the ability to trust others in lieu of living with the uncertainty
and fear lack of trust necessitates.
There have been decades of mistrust in minority
communities directed at law enforcement who are often perceived as prejudiced
by engaging in inexact profiling practices, as well as fraudulent
rationalizations. When said officers exceed their authority, they attempt to
explain away the excessive force they seem to engage in far too often.
With that in mind please understand it will take
time to establish new avenues of trust with people who have been negatively
impacted by the few who should have never been given a badge and a gun. There
are communities all over the country feeling under siege by the very people who
are, or should be, there to protect them. How do we begin establishing trust in
communities where it has never existed?
How can we begin to trust and respect our public
officials, elected and appointed, when they lie to us? The aforementioned
entities no longer serve their constituents, but instead, blindly follow the
party line no matter how badly it affects the people who voted for them. Their
allegiance is to their parties ideology and/or the special interest groups that
own them!
The men and women in blue, who are expected to, and
do, put themselves in harm's way when they enter war zones of illegal activity
and heavily armed adversaries, must be concerned for their very lives. This
kind of stress, coupled with the presence of aggressive scrutiny and hostility,
is a breeding ground for overreacting, poor judgment, and unintended
consequences. Sadly, years of overzealous policing, partially due to
inadequate training and vetting of potential officers, has left relations
between minority communities and police strained to the breaking point.
With the advent of phone video capturing the
senseless murder and beatings of unarmed civilians, citizens have taken to the
streets to protest or riot. Citizens are outraged by the unconscionable actions
of some police. It is counterproductive and dangerous
politicizing these issues for common sense is replaced with the
party line, often skewing the issue or completely diverting it to a hot topic
partisan issue such as The Constitution, more specifically, The Second
Amendment. The criteria and procedures established for arresting citizens should
be closely scrutinized and definitely altered!
Poorly trained officers who have too much
discretion employ irrational and dangerous tactics to subdue suspects they
discern as being non-compliant. For an officer to establish non-compliance, the
subject in question need only assertively question or argue the veracity of the
charges against them, or not comply with every request from the officer, even
when said requests are demeaning or threatening, in order for the officer to be
warranted to aggressively attempt to handcuff the subject creating a
potentially volatile encounter. In some jurisdictions, the officer does not
have to explain to the subject why they are being arrested nor read them
their Miranda Rights when being arrested.
One universal rule law enforcement must follow is
they are not allowed to use excessive force or treat the arrestee cruelly!
(Some officers might have to go back to class and write that 1,000
times.) Excuse me for being curt, but this rule is disingenuous as the
officer can simply say he or she was in fear for their safety and used
appropriate force.
A course of action to follow when questioning a
perceived suspect might be to respectfully address the man or woman, ask for ID
if appropriate, and never intimidate them verbally or with any expression of
physicality, for people who believe they are going to be harmed will
instinctively defend themselves.
Questioning the authority and resolve of the police
can get messy. It can be having 50,000 volts of electricity administered by TASER,
being violently taken down for not responding quickly enough to
an officer's command, putting yourself in a situation to be shot
for non-compliance, or what is seen as aggressive behavior,
inspired in hopes of protecting yourself from the beating they are
receiving.
Why are there not specially trained men and women
that are prepared with psychological and sociological skills for these
hazardous assignments that can function under extraordinary conditions with
emotional control, patience, and civility?
Our Men and Women in Blue
Learning to deal with extremely agitated and
potentially aggressive citizens is a learned skill not everyone is capable of
mastering. In war, there are those who deal with gut-wrenching fear and
confusion while in battle while others unravel, paralyzed by fear. The
men and women who are able to function in all situations, with control allowing
them to accurately access what they are encountering, keeping their peers safe
are the people that should be on the front lines in volatile situations within troubled
communities. Only excellent training and education will bring these special
officers to the forefront. Needless to say people with prejudices, including
black, white, brown, yellow, and red applicants, are hopefully vetted properly and not
hired.
It is my belief that most Americans want to trust and
respect the police for they put themselves in life-threatening situations to
keep us safe from predators and criminals. I would think, with the abundance of
video footage made available on social media, that most citizens have been
enlightened to the fact that we have a problem with some of our men and women in
blue. A small portion of our normally courageous officers have let us all down and, more importantly, have abused and, in some instances, killed human beings who are of a different color, who are economically deprived, or who have been subjected to misguided
stereotyping. That is not to presume unfit officers haven’t tragically impacted
people of all ethnicities.
The Dire Consequences
One of the frightening consequences of unqualified
officers wreaking havoc in our neighborhoods is they have put a target on the
backs of all police officers everywhere!
In 2016, while writing this piece, no less than 32 police officers were killed and at least 61 were shot. In 2015, 123 law enforcement officers were killed. There have been 15,750 assaults against law enforcement officers and 1,165,383 violent crimes occurred nationwide. Many of these
were assassinations motivated by hate in the name of "Retaliation."
It is admirable and understandable that law
enforcement will close ranks and support one another in this time of pain,
loss, and bitterness. With that being said, we should not perpetuate more
revenge on our honorable men and women in blue, because we have yet to
eliminate all unqualified and dangerous officers!
The majority of our men
and woman in blue are honorable, circumspect individuals who need our support
and deserve it.
I have tried to comprehend going to work, not knowing if you will return from home safely from the black hole of murder and mayhem you are required to enter. What must it be like wondering if you will be outgunned when responding to a call, "Shots fired!"?
These people are doing a job that requires them to
be more than brave, selfless, impartial, understanding, intuitive, and compassionate
all while looking out for their partner, their citizens, and their own well-being! I
find it extremely unfortunate that because of today's hyper-politicized landscape, that the answers to the many problems facing
the Police Department will have little balance, or common
sense, but instead be driven by ideologies and winning!
My Personal Law Encounters
I must admit my encounters with law enforcement have been fairly consistent in the sense that I could have done without them. Although I have had the occasion to meet many helpful and cordial officers, whom I respect and appreciated, I also had an officer who assaulted me.
Frank Salazar, a man I love and respect who was my Manager in the 1960s, was also a policeman and later a detective. We have remained close since we first met. He is one of the best people I have ever known.
It only takes one bad encounter with the police to
leave a permanent negative opinion of all police. I would imagine most people
only encounter law enforcement when they are pulled over for possible driving
infractions, and in that isolated circumstance might form their opinion of law
enforcement in general.
From my own experience, treating citizens as if they had just robbed a bank while at a routine traffic infraction is counterproductive and absurd. I find the subtle, and at times, obvious intimidation tactics officers employ at routine driving violations inappropriate and stupid for public relations. You cannot strip a person of their dignity and sense of well-being without turning that individual into an enemy with total disregard for you!
From my own experience, treating citizens as if they had just robbed a bank while at a routine traffic infraction is counterproductive and absurd. I find the subtle, and at times, obvious intimidation tactics officers employ at routine driving violations inappropriate and stupid for public relations. You cannot strip a person of their dignity and sense of well-being without turning that individual into an enemy with total disregard for you!
As you have probably already realized, I am conflicted on
the extremely important issues pertaining to appropriate restraint versus the use of deadly force. If officers are making prudent choices in the split second, do they have to do so? We all expect law enforcement to use necessary
force to protect themselves and those around them without escalating the situation by using
cruel and unsafe practices on unarmed civilians.
The Highest Respect
With all of the aforementioned obstacles hindering the ability to trust the police, it will take time, understanding, compassion, and faith by all concerned moving forward if we are to make any headway. A foundation of trust can be difficult to acquire, for consistency of lofty acts can be elusive, and many people do not find it important to treat others with respect, compassion or kindness. For our police officers, this is a must!
Respect...being honored,
highly regarded, and held in high esteem.
I find the concept of respect has been diluted, and
possibly abdicated, by its evil twin--disrespect. In today's world many people feel
powerless, diminished, and disregarded by the government, their employers, and by society as a whole. Some violence is perpetuated under the guise of retribution
for being disrespected by an individual or group. More often than not, references to discord will be associated with individuals feeling they have
been disrespected.
It seems the psyche of some of the populace is
skewed and, therefore, not embracing the concept of respect, being respectful, and
becoming respected! Instead, they put forth a manifesto of threats
and demands meant to demean and create hostility.
Don't Let Hatred Obscure Your Rights!
Hate speech is a coward’s way of stimulating others to violence. Hate is a toxic poison that will infiltrate the mind and encourage the infected to commit unspeakable acts. We all should understand that hate only creates more hate. Inciting others to destroy, slander, lie, and fabricate information about another individual is evil and criminal.
We have the right to our Freedom of Speech--the right to articulate one’s
opinion and ideas without fear of government retaliation or censorship, or
societal sanction, but we must respect that freedom.
If someone is accused of being a
racist, bigot, sexual abuser, homophobe, or conservative, even though these
allegations might be based on nothing more than mere rumor, your participation by associating with these individuals could very well cloak you in the same
tainted garment they are now garnishing putting your social, economic, and
personal relationships in jeopardy.
The strength of character, the unquestionable support of
friends and family members who are being accused, with or without evidence, is
all but gone, replaced by the scared, blind lemmings pointing the finger from
their seat in the peanut gallery.
When did we become a society that destroys lives by
convicting and judging others before their day in court? Why do we
consistently turns our backs on the poor, the mentally ill, and the men and
women who have fought and died to keep us all safe…our Veterans and public safety officers?
Can a Society Flourish Without Respect and Trust?
Earlier generations were raised learning about respect, and being respectful, by their parents and family. Respect was an important commodity. The examples of its powers were evident in the successes and character of their fathers, mothers, and grandparents who were proud honest people that created a wonderful life for their children and themselves out of nothing. For that, they were respected.
Trust, honor, and respect were virtues once learned in the community and the teachers of these virtues were our family, neighbors, and friends. Other virtues like gratitude, courtesy, and kindness, and hard work are also disappearing in our cultural lives in America, which has greatly contributed, to our lack of trust in society as a whole!
We must learn to appreciate other's point of view, which could very well
be derived from their cultural heritage, not just from a political doctrine, but from a
moral and spiritual philosophy that truly guides their lives.
Who are we to disparage
and ridicule anyone’s belief in the teachings of a Higher Power, simply so we
can justify our position which might be founded on a lack of faith in a higher
power?
