A Cool Head

I realize it is not cool to have a cool head amongst all the boiling-hot emotion surrounding the George Floyd henious murder in Minneapolis recently. But, that’s who I am and I must live with it.

To summarize my uncool cool-headed thoughts:

- There is no question that George Floyd was murdered by Derek Chauvin in a particularly grisly and unforgivable way ... as the whole world could see from multiple bystander videos ... and that they have concluded that this murder was racially motivated.

- Because these two men knew each other for a year or more ... and because one of the other three policemen there was black ... there is reason to suspect that the motive for this murder could have been other than racial animus. We may never know this until Chauvin’s trial many months from now ... if ever.

- But the initial reaction of the Minneapolis police department and legal authorities there was suspiciously wrong-headed ... trying to minimize Chauvin’s culpability ... again fanning the flames of injustice.

- Be that as it may, the general perception that this was a racial incident has reopened this societal wound ... causing an enormous emotional outpouring determined to remedy prejudice against blacks once and for all ... particularly in law enforcement ... clearly a just cause ... which has resulted in mass demonstrations.

- Early on, these peaceful protests were hijacked by politically-motivated riots, opportunistic looting and misguided hot-headed anarchists ... which unfortunately besmirched the purpose of these demonstrations ... creating the cultural and political divide in which we now find ourselves immersed ... and motivating many solutions.

- Some of these solutions are obviously unworkable ... trying to either eliminate police departments entirely ... or severely limit their ability to enforce the laws (such as “taking a knee” in front of protesters) ... many of which, if enacted, will not produce happy results ... particularly within minority communities.

Bottom line: Societies seem to need to engage in such hot-headed group catharses periodically. I can’t find my way to participate ... for which I most likely will be burned at the stake.

Taking a Knee

The riotous mobs, when they are not looting and pillaging, are now confronting the defenders, police and soldiers, with the chant, “TAKE A KNEE!” This is, of course, a request for them to emulate Colin Kaepernick in his protest against his country (first) and  police brutality (second).

Unfortunately, many of those around the country who are charged with maintaining the peace are complying with this demand ... in the naive hope that the riotous thugs will be turned back into peaceful protesters, And of course just the opposite occurs. Weakness begets even greater problems.

Taking a knee translates as “all police are racists” ... just like the one who killed George Floyd. Not a good message to be conveying to a mob you wish to control. All compliers with this mob demand should be re-educated.

Afterward: If asked, will Joe Biden take a knee?

Stand Out

A bunch of Colin Kaepernick's fans at a NFL stands this past weekend "taking a knee" during the National Anthem  to honor his BLM cause and for his recent awards ... from the likes of GQ magazine and the ACLU. (Roger Goodell, in the upper Left, is seen leaving the game.)

Taking a Knee

Keeping to my pledge, I have yet to watch a single NFL game ... either on Sunday, Monday night or Thursday night ... and, you know what? ... I am beginning to know how to get along without this machismo palliative. I've gone cold turkey with my quixotic protest. Yes, I do Google the results of the Patriots' game after the fact ... but I no longer hang on Brady's passing performance (sorry Tom) or Gronk's receptions! And I have invested enough negative emotion so that I now intend to keep this up until Roger Goodell himself takes a knee and comes down hard on these anthem protesters. These highly-paid jocklets  need to realize from whence their pay checks come and learn that any gripes they have need to be settled in a more patriotic way.

If these crybabies insist on pissing on my flag, I, along with millions of other Americans, will piss on their hyper-inflated egos feed by their hyper-inflated pay checks. And, if they don't like our protests, then I suggest they volunteer for military service for a few years to understand what this meta-game is all about. The risk in this superior bowl involves their lives ... not just their ACLs.