6 things that are worrying me.

Frankly, the fact that they are all going on right now, should worry you too. Some of these overlap each other and you'll know them when you read them. Even so, this is just the tip of the proverbial iceberg. They are beyond my personal concerns as they are set to affect so many people.

1:The War on Police: Never mind the joke that these issues always seem to come down to someone refusing to bake a freaking cake. Why is that anyway? What is it about ordering a cake that people think is the way to protest serving someone they don't like? I realize that all businesses have the right to refuse service to anyone, but that doesn't mean it's a good idea for your public image. No, now it's come to refusing service to police officers in restaurants and other places. Are churches going to refuse to marry cops now too? I mean, come on. Are there bad cops out there? Sure there are. But that doesn't excuse total discrimination on them any more than any other walk of life.  This whole "refuse to serve people" crap is way out of hand. Hope your business never gets robbed and you actually need them for anything. Bet you change your tune when you're hurting. Figures. Still, this worries me. Our police may need more training options (and the weeding out of bad apples), but they are already underpaid and low on morale.

2:Racism/Bigotry: Hand in hand with our police problems is no joking matter. It's way past being a hot button topic. It's an oversensitive hair trigger on a 20 megaton bomb.  And it's way more than just a black and white matter. Our nation's bigotry has bloomed into a noxious cloud that engulfs us from coast to coast. It's so hot and people are so outraged, that even agreeing with some people will still get you shot down by them if your words aren't identical to theirs. Think about that for a second. If you agree with someone about racism (as in you are against it) but you simply use different words, you can still become the target of their wrath. It's more than a little dangerous to say anything about it. Then there's the Muslim issue attached to the refugee issue. People actually want to mark Muslims somehow and basically repeat history just like the Japanese internment camps and black segregation. What is it going to take to get it through people's heads? I fear the riots are only a sign of what is to come. It may start out as something akin to Black Lives Matter (not to point fingers at them), but it's going to spread to far more than that. Look over the year, gays, bathrooms, cop shootings, riots, Muslims, refugees, and I'm just waiting for the next incident. So are you.

3:Send in the Crazy: So, across our country, in several states, people are dressing up as clowns in order to spread hysteria and fear. People have been threatened, kids lured, and authorities alerted. One person has been shot so far. I doubt that will be the end of it. What the hell is going on out there? What kind of new criminal madness is this? As trends go, it's one of the worst I've ever seen. And what made it happen so wide spread? Clowns? Really? There must be a dark web location out there where this new trend of clowning was born. People in multiple states don't just all decide to do the same deranged activity all at the same time for no reason. That alone is reason to take caution and pay attention. This is happening for a reason and we need to find out what that is.

4:The Media: See issues 1 and 2 up there? Guess who isn't helping calm them down any? Yeah. Our media. If there were one thing we were supposed to be able to count on for what we need to know, it would be the media. But that isn't the case anymore and hasn't been for some time. Media embellishment incites riots. Yes, it does. Let's be honest, the media, on a few of this year's shootings, made it look like the persons shot were unarmed and law abiding. While innocent people have been shot (see recent news), those persons were later found to be less than innocent. The reporting that they were innocent caused the rioting to some degree. Even now, there are people who say that ALL of the shooting victims were innocent when that isn't true and the media isn't helping to correct it much at all. For that matter, they only help fuel the fire. And that doesn't include all the secondary and fake media outlets bamboozling everyone across the internet because NO ONE fact checks anything they read anymore.  We need to hold the media every bit as accountable as any cop. Fat chance of that happening and I'll get to why soon.

5:The Election: I've said before how this is the worst election I've ever seen in my life and it still holds true. Gary Johnson's ship is sinking fast and it's leaving us with the horror of our day and age between Hillary and Donald. What's going to happen when either one of these people get elected is hard to say, but I don't think it will be pretty. Considering that we've had political riots as well as racial ones this year, I'm not holding my breath. And all of you should save your breath on telling me who to vote for too. There's another write up on that to come. I will not vote for Trump. Period. That's for another time. Today is the fact that, in either case, I fear there will be violence. Worst ever.

6:American Values: Where are they? All I see out there is a me first attitude coupled with apathy for the fellow man. Everyone is taking the greatest personal offense at everything they simply don't agree with instead of just living life. For example; someone didn't stand up for the anthem. Did your life end that day? Did anyone else's? Did you lose your home over it? Did you starve? Did you lose your job? Stop and think about why anyone is letting that man's personal actions burrow their way so far up their asses. People act like he's the greatest serial killer of our time and all he did was kneel. And that's just one example, so don't jump all over me unless you want to prove me right. And if all this isn't the case, then it's wide eyed gullibility for anything anyone using the word "media" wants to shove down the ol throat hole. Need an example of that? I saw an article circulating (meaning that people are actually sharing it) that claims the State of California has made child prostitution legal. Let me tell you something about that:

NO THEY FUCKING HAVEN'T

Still don't think we have a problem or two? Stop sharing sideline news sources that nothing but click bait. Stop believing everything you read at the drop of a hat just because someone claims to be media. Stop the bigotry. We all deserve to live here. Support each others rights. Stop getting offended at stupid things (remember red coffee cups?). Learn to accept that others don't think just like you do.

Please people, I'm begging you. If we don't fix this, we will regret it and soon.

The tale of the Texas pool party

Just before I went in for dental surgery I shared the following video to my Facebook page. At the cursory look (that I'm just as guilty of getting sucked into as anyone) I looks like Officer David Casebolt had seen too many action movies. But, like everything, there is more to the story and it begs your attention and mine. If the video below is gone, you can google it. It went more than viral enough.

LINK TO FULL VIDEO

This has sparked cop hatred on all levels. It's sparked demonstrations that filled the private neighborhood with over a thousand people for picketing. All anyone seems to care about is what races were present and the video gives you that slant instantly. But they all ignore some very simple basic facts of reality:

1: If you run from the police, they will chase you. FACT.
2: If you refuse to follow basic instructions in an already super tense situation, you will get taken down. FACT.

Please feel free to do your own deep research on these and I don't mean go read all the memes people make. Find the real facts.

The first thing that initially got me in the video was the whole Hollywood tuck and roll thing. But watch the vid a few times and you see staggering in his steps. He may have tripped. And with the stress he was already under, I can understand.

Second, I didn't care for the cursing and swearing out of the kids, but again, now I get where it came from. Doesn't make it right, but he is only human and I challenge any of you to go through his full day and come out grinning.

Finally, he pulled his gun at one point. When I was blinded to the facts by the infectious mob mentality that hits us all, I was astounded. I still don't think he needed to draw the weapon, but I also note that he was outnumbered at least 10 to one (by people rushing him when he had given clear instructions to LEAVE multiple times) before the other officers could move in to back him up. Once the rushers were cleared back, he put his weapon away.

His day: Here is a LINK to the article.  Now to explain directly. The two prior calls before the pool scene were as follows:

Suicide by shotgun in front of children. Do I really have to spell that out for you?

Attempted suicide by a minor girl on a rooftop. So after seeing a man with his face blown all over the room, he had to talk a young girl into living.

Now go to a scene where you're trying to sort out a massive crowd of people who aren't listening, won't follow basic directions, and even rush AT YOU while you're trying to do your job. Explain to me how you would be just peaches and cream and cool as a cucumber in the whole ordeal. Please try. I really want to see that.

It is NOT a matter of race. It is a matter of basic human stress levels. But it doesn't stop there.

Casebolt's family is under constant death threats. He resigned. The family of the bikini clad girl are running a Go Fund Me for a bruise and scrape they want to sue for. David Casebolt doesn't deserve what he's getting. He resigned, leave him the hell alone.

People, I agree that there are bad cops out there. I worry though, that people pulling out the video cameras on every single thing they see involving police is doing more harm than good. It's making us ignore what these officers live with daily. It's making us forget that they risk their lives every day and have to see the worst sides of humanity every day. Any of you who think you can do a better job, are welcome to sign up, I'm sure. We should really know better by now, but no.

So, how would you like to work a job where your every move is being dissected by someone with a video phone? How would you handle that pressure on top of everything else you have to do in one day? Have people just itching for the right time to make your whole life go viral?  And while you're doing that, you still have to get the guy with gun in his mouth to try and live again. You still better protect and serve or die trying. Because you know, you're a public servant and all.

My thoughts on racism after the Zimmerman trial

The purpose of this post is not to debate the Zimmerman trial. So please, I'm not looking for any rage on my page. Okay? However, all the raging and debating I have seen has finally brought me to writing this. Also, I was inspired by a fellow on Facebook. Time to bring this to light.

Racism is wrong.

Now that I've said that, let me point out that it's wrong no matter who it's against. It's time to get past the idea that the color of a person's skin makes them what they are. It's time to get past the idea that color is a reason to condemn. If you stop and actually think about it, what you really don't like about anyone is their behavior. It's time to cut away the link of race to behavior.

To me, the color of your skin is nothing more than a means of physical identification. That's it, that's all. I prefer not to mix the color of your skin with your culture either. Let's go with Black Culture for a second. What is that? And better yet, which one? African Culture? Hip Hop Culture? Yes, I've had people tell me that Hip Hop is a Black Culture, so I'm only quoting them (and they were African American people too, so argue with them). The point is, that if you just say Black Culture, you could be referring to several ways of thinking on several ways of life. I've seen this first hand. Isn't it interesting that in all the persons of any one color of skin across the whole planet, there are still dozens of cultures? Hundreds even. That's why I don't care to use the color of your skin to associate with your culture.

When it comes right down to it, it's the cultures that clash, not the color of skin. Behaviors and beliefs clash, not the color of skin.

Here's what we all are above all. We are the Human Race. We are a species. Once you look past the color of skin; we all have the same types of organs. We are inter-mixable. A man of any color can make a baby with a woman of any color. We all get the same diseases, have the same emotional capabilities, and can commit the same atrocities. So, when the most powerful forces in the universe don't discriminate, whey do we? I'll tell you why.

Because the human race has a lot to learn to accept itself as a species of intellects instead of just a bunch of colors.

Here's another thought for you: Polar bears are white and Kodiaks are brown. Neither of them give a damn. BOTH of them will KILL you no matter what color YOU are. You see, while we use color to identify them for science; all we really need to remember is their behavior. In the case of bears, we need to remember that, no matter what color they are, we need to stay the hell away from them or risk getting mauled.

I can even take it to the inanimate. If I pick up two rocks that are the same size and weight, but are different colors, and I throw them at you; can you tell me which one hurt more? Probably not, but I've just assaulted you with rocks. That's a behavior that lands me in jail, regardless of why I did it.

I'm all for abolishing racism. Unfortunately, if you go at it too hard, you can become a racist yourself. It's a vicious double edge sword that will poison you if you aren't careful. So I'm going to make a risky example:

If you go around saying: I hate all  you white supremacists. That's a racist comment. As soon as you interject color as the basis of your anger or hatred, it's racist. What you really hate, is the behavior of some people in profiling others based on color. Behavior, people, that's what the deal is. Remember that or risk being a hypocrite. I also don't think they should be called "white" supremacists, just racial supremacists. Take the color right out of the equation and the wind right out of their sails.

So, there it is. My thoughts on racism as spurred by the riots and rage. (Come on, looting a Wal-Mart? Really?). Also spurred by people hating on each other on Facebook. What are you really achieving with that? Nothing.