Life, Liberty, and the Right Not to Get Shot Down By The Police

BALTIMORE STAND UP!!!!!

Well, Baltimore is standing up, even if people don't agree with how they are standing up.
RIP: #RumainBrisbon #TamirRice #AkaiGurley #KajiemePowell #EzellFord #DanteParker #MichaelBrown #JohnCrawfordIII #TyreeWoodson #EricGarner #VictorWhiteIII #YvetteSmith #McKenzieCochran #JordanBaker #JonathanFerrell #CarlosAlcis #LarryEugeneJacksonJr. #KimaniGray #ReynaldoCuevas #ChavisCarter #ErvinJefferson #KendrecMcDade #WendellAllen #DantePrice #Sgt.ManuelLogginsJr. #RamarleyGraham #DerrickJones #DanroyHenry #AiyanaJones #StevenEugeneWashington #AaronCampbell #OscarGrant #TarikaWilson #DeAuntaTerellFarrow #SeanBell #HenryGlover #TimothyStansbury #AlbertaSpruill #OusmaneZongo #TimothyThomas #PrinceJones #AmadouDiallo #WHO'SNEXT?

Who are these people? People who were unarmed and killed by cops. You want to know why people are rioting and upset? It's because folks are tired of seeing their won people being killed by cops who take it upon themselves to be the judge, jury, and executioner. It is because nothing is being done to the killers. Justice is not being served.

You want to know what people say when the discussion turns to all of the African American people are dying at the hands of trigger-happy cops? Well, check it out:

1. They (the deceased) shouldn't have broken the law! Don't break the law, and nothing will happen to you. Well....blow me over with a feather! I wasn't aware that our Constitution said that cops could become judge, jury and executioner! I thought it was innocent until proven guilty...everyone deserves a trial by jury...apparently, America has rewritten the laws and no one bothered to inform the masses. Breaking a law, doesn't mean that a cop gets to kill you...it means that they get to read you your Miranda Rights and take you to jail.

Well, how about this: Derrick Daniel Thomas (armed and dangerous, even pointed his gun at the cops), Cliven Bundy (8 day armed standoff with police), Joseph Houseman (had a rifle, refused to put it down, said he was exercising his 2nd amendment rights), Dzhokhar Tsarnaev (Boston Marathon), Adam Kokesh (loaded gun in Freedom Plaza), Joseph Clifford Reel (rammed his car into the White House Gates, when Miriam Carey did it, she was shot and killed by the Secret Service), and James Holmes (Aurora, CO movie theater killer). Who are these people? Why, they're the folks who have actually shot at police officers and/or killed other people...but were taken in ALIVE!!!! Well, don't that beat all. You mean that people can be armed and dangerous (and breaking the law) and still be taken in alive?! Hmmm...but people who are not armed can be killed...and all is justified because they were breaking the law and threatening law enforcement...even though it has been PROVEN that they were not armed or threatening law enforcement. I'm confused...how is that possible? Yeah, I'll wait for you to come to that conclusion...

2. I don't hear Black folks condemning black on black crime! They just hate the police! Negative. Contrary to popular media coverage belief, African Americans actually do condemn black on black crime! Will wonders never cease! And...did you know that in the cases of black on black crime, the murderer actually goes to jail? Did you know that? So excuse us as we get upset that when our people are being murdered and justice is not being served because people act as if all cops are gods and therefore infallible. The other thing that ticks us off is that cops investigate cops and find themselves to be innocent and justified! An outside entity needs to investigate...not internal affairs.

3. If you want to bash cops and you hate cops, then don't call them when something goes wrong! Again, correction...people don't hate all cops...just the ones who take the law into their own hand and kill people with impunity. Stop making it about us hating all cops. We don't. We just dislike the ones killing unarmed people...and lying about it by saying they felt threatened..because someone with no weapons is way scarier than someone who is carrying a gun. We expect cops to do their jobs. ARREST the wrongdoers, not kill them. Some of the people listed above actually called the cops for HELP and instead were mistaken as the perp and killed. I support cops, just not crooked ones or ones who lie or break the law themselves.


You want to know why Baltimore is burning? It's because people are tired of being sick and tired. We've marched, we've gone to the polls (only to have folks trying to implement voting restrictions designed to keep them from voting), we've all but gotten on TV and BEGGED America to hear our pleas to stop the senseless killings...to no avail. People are still dying. People are fed up. I GET IT!

The media and some African Americans call them thugs and animals. They only show the riots. They don't show the clean up. They don't show the peaceful protests. They only show the bad. They see the gangs and automatically assume that they are banding together to kill police (even going so far to post it nationwide) when in fact, they're banding together to get people to STOP the looting. They show the riots, but not the cops throwing rocks into the peaceful crowds. They show what will incite the masses, and incite them they have done.

Yes, there are rioters and looters. They are in the minority, not the majority. Let's be clear: I DO NOT CONDONE THE LOOTING AND RIOTING. Let me state that before some people begin to try to tar and feather me. It's wrong...but I get it. I really do. The government wants people to just let the justice system handle it. They want us to be meek and mild. They want us to not cause a ruckus. Well, the justice system is failing, and folks are fed up. We're tired of waiting our turn. We're tired of being treated as if we are less than. We are tired of being sick and tired.

When the Colonists threw all of that tea  into the Boston Harbor, dressed like Native Americans, they were called Revolutionaries and Patriots. not terrorists and animals or thugs. They were too cowardly to go as themselves, so they went as minorities...hmm...catch that people.

When the students at Kentucky, West Virginia University, Keene State College, Michigan State University, University of Tennesse, and Arizona (just to name a few) they were college students upset over the outcome of a sporting game or a festival. THAT was perfectly okay...but let people riot over the unfair deaths of their own and they are branded as animals and thugs. I see that double standard is at work and is alive and well.

When the people in Egypt and other countries overseas rioted and rose up against their government they were called revolutionaries. Us? We're called thugs and thieves.

People get mad over animal cruelty and abortions. People get mad for parents spanking their children...but get quiet as a church mouse when it comes to police killings, brutality, and social injustice here in America.

I condemn all the riots and looting, whether it's over a game or a life. Violence should not beget violence. Stealing and rioting will enforce the negative view that many of the uniformed (who think all African Americans are alike) and ignorant have of our community. You are not helping the cause by tearing down your own community. You are not helping the next Trayvon or Tamir when you loot and riot because the next cop or wannabe cop with a complex and no conscious will not see the innocent, they will see the rioters and take action...and we'll be right back where we started.

What's the solution? I do not know. Violent protests and peaceful protests have not worked. I feel like African Americans are the Hebrews of our time....stuck in bondage (not the literal slavery, but the systemic one) and will spend the next 40 years after being freed wondering in the wilderness. We are a hurt people. We are a people who struggle to find our identity because it was ripped away from us. We are a people, whose ancestors helped to build this country that was stolen from the natives, much like their freedom and labor was stolen....but we are also a people who even after our freedom was won has still not been able to be seen as equal or treated as such.

I hurt. I hurt for my people. I hurt for my country. I hurt for all the injustice. I hurt for the confusion. For what is the correct path? What is the right way? Where do we go from here? Understanding is needed from both sides...but people are tired of trying to be understanding. Tired of not knowing that if we walk out the door (even following the law) we could be mistaken for someone else or killed. THAT is one of the things that frustrates African Americans, not knowing the why or even the when...but knowing that those who would harm us have a very good chance of getting away with their injustices.

You want the riots to stop? Treat us like humans. Hold people accountable for killing others and lying. You want us to be understanding, try being understanding yourself. Just because you understand the rioters, doesn't mean you agree with them. I understand, I don't agree. I KNOW change needs to happen, but it can't be just a few here and there who knows that...everyone has to know that and ACT on it.

WAKE UP PEOPLE!!!! We don't need Baltimore in flames and we don't need any other city in flames. We need unity, and that starts by acknowledging that people (both sides) are doing some things wrong and by working together, and holding people accountable...by not being the judge, jury, and executioner.

Freedom, Rights, Religion and all that Jazz

Freedom: the quality or state of being free; the absence of necessity, coercion, or constraint in choice or action.

Rights: something to which one has a just claim; the power or privilege to which one is justly entitled.

Religion: the belief in a god or in a group of gods; an organized system of beliefs, ceremonies, and rules used to worship a god or a group of gods; an interest, a belief, or an activity that is very important to a person or group.

What the law says about religion and freedom and rights: 

Amendment 1: Freedom of Religion, Speech and the Press; Rights of Assembly and Petition [1]

Amendment 9: Rights Retained by the People (Some feared that the listing of some rights in the Bill of Rights would be interpreted to mean that other rights not listed were not protected. 9th was adopted to prevent such an interpretation)  [1]

Amendment 10: Powers Retained by the States and the People Confirms that the states or people have all powers not given to national government. (ie: marriage) [1]

Amendment 14: “All persons born or naturalized in the U.S. and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the U.S. and of the state wherein they reside. No state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the U.S.; nor shall any state deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.” (section 1).  [1]

Religious Freedom Restoration Act: An act to protect the free exercise of religion.

So now that I have given you necessary information and research, let's begin talking about the latest stirrings in politics: the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA).

People are up in arms over the latest law that both Indiana and Arkansas have recently passed. But before I continue, did you know that the following states also have similar laws already passed? (Idaho, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, Tennessee, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Missouri, Kentucky, Virginia, South Carolina, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, and Rhode Island). [2]

So back to this RFRA law and what it means and what people are interpreting it as. Many are up in arms because they believe that it means that people will be denied services at businesses based on the owners or employees religious beliefs. The LGBT community are upset because it means that they could be discriminated against because of their sexual preference. People of different religions are upset because it means that they could be denied services from a business that has a different belief system than they do. ALL of them are right.

If you look at this law, it's all about protecting people's free exercise of religion. Meaning: if my religion is such that it does not believe in homosexuality or your god; then I am within my rights to refuse service. 

This is a discriminatory law! Do you know how many religions are out there?! We're not talking just the main religions of the world, we're talking about ALL of them. From Aladura to Zoroastrainism, and all of those in between. That's a lot of discrimination! 

But what does our Constitution say about this? Well, the Constitution is a contradiction. We keep making amendments to cancel out or improve upon or add to whatever is currently going on in the country. Amendment 1 says I have the right to freedom of religion (and speech and press and the right to assemble...like the Avengers). Amendment 9 says I have rights retained by the people; meaning that just because my rights haven't been formally mentioned in the illustrious Constitution, doesn't mean that I don't have them. Amendment 10 says I have powers that the national government may not have given me (like marriage). Amendment 14 says that government (state and federal)  cannot diminish my privileges and that I have the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. So, um, what does that mean?

On the one hand the Constitution allows me to practice my freedom however I see fit (short of murder or theft); on the other hand it allows me to pursue happiness in any way that I see fit (short of breaking the law). On another hand, I have certain rights that just because they aren't listed, doesn't mean they don't exist and that I don't have them. See where the confusion comes in? Everyone is justified in their beliefs, everyone is legally right...BUT WHAT DOES IT ALL MEAN?!?!

I'm still trying to find out. I mean I have questions! Why is it that everyone has the right to the pursuit of happiness, but only if they marry someone of the opposite sex? Why is it that it's OK to practice my religion, but really only accepted if it's Christianity...you Islamic people are soooooooo violent (that was sarcasm FYI)...because bigots and violence only ever occur in other religions. Christianity is the model of tolerance and love...which is why we discriminate and call it sticking to our beliefs, or why we used to justify slavery by using the Bible or had Holy Wars, or continuously invade Islamic countries under the banner of trying to improve their government....but I digress. Why is everyone so worried about other people's personal business?!?!

Listen, if you own your own business, kudos to you for helping to employee people and making your own way. But do we really need to discriminate? First, it's we can't serve the LGBT community because our religious beliefs don't coincide with their lifestyle (FYI: there are plenty of people in the LGBT community who are Christians). What if YOUR lifestyle doesn't coincide with someone else's religious beliefs (*gasp* because Christians lifestyles are the PERFECT model for how lives are supposed to be lived...assuming you are following Christ and leading a Christian life...in which case we wouldn't be having this argument). Next, it will be we can't serve this race or that race because my religion believes that we are the only pure race. Then, it'll be we can't serve this sex or that sex. Then, it'll be we can't serve teachers or police or POLITICIANS, or Democrats or Republicans, or whatever nonsense and foolishness people can and will come up with. Some of you will say, "No, that's ridiculous" and I respect your opinion...I just don't agree with it. It's a slippery slope, once you open the door to discrimination, someone is going to bang it wide open and let in the rest of the filth. 

I'm Christian and I firmly believe that Christ taught love and tolerance...you know, love thy neighbor as Christ loved the Church. There is no hierarchy of sin. If you believe that the Bible speaks out against homosexuality, then know that it also speaks out against lying, stealing, killing, envy, greed, drunkenness, lasciviousness, fornication, and adultery. Sin is sin, deal with it...and your own sin. Worry about YOUR salvation first. 

If your religious values will not allow you to service someone else because of how they choose to live or because of anything else that they cannot control, that is your right...but I also hope you refuse to serve liars, adulterers, murderers, rapists, fornicators, and all the other sinners that populate the world...because if you don't, then you ARE discriminating..and trying to hide it under your version of Christianity. Because if we're being honest and realistic, if you chose to run your business based on  your Christian values, you'd be out of business because you wouldn't be able to serve ANYONE because as Romans 3:23 states: "For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God."

[1]http://isite.lps.org/dhersh/webextras/amendments_overview.pdf
[2]http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/wp/2015/03/27/19-states-that-have-religious-freedom-laws-like-indianas-that-no-one-is-boycotting/