It's as if they were reading my mind...
But I wasn’t asking for this.
I didn’t see the news broadcast firsthand, but I read on Evil Sandmich’s blog about an accident that happened in Cleveland involving a teenager hitting and killing a 9 year old girl with his car while fleeing from the cops.
While I understand their grief, I found it appalling that bystanders at the accident would immediately start blaming the cops for the death (why didn’t they shoot the fleeing subjects car?) What I found even more appalling was that the media would put these reactions on the news. These people were obviously distraught, and quite possibly didn’t realize what they were saying... And if they did, I can’t help but to think that the people saying it aren’t exactly the sharpest tools in the shed.
I mean, what is this, a movie set? Need I say it? Bullets are fast, and they don’t stop until they hit something (and sometimes not even then.) True, this was a tragedy, but could you just imagine what might have happened if the cops started spraying bullets at the moving car, from a moving car? I don’t even want to think about that happening in my neighborhood!
And, as if in response, I read this in the newspaper this morning:
"Toddler Slain by Police Buried.
Los Angeles - family, friends and sympathetic strangers shared handshakes, hugs and tears Saturday during the funeral service for a 19 month old toddler killed by police during a shoot-out with her gun wielding father.
The Spanish-language funeral service for Suzie Pena drew about 150 people, including new Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa.
Protesters have staged nightly demonstrations since the July 10 shooting, heckling police and waving signs calling officers involved in the shooting "baby killers.""
Just imagine what could be learned by getting these two groups of people together. Maybe they would begin to understand the extreme pressure that the police are under... But I doubt it.
Damned if you do, damned if you don’t.
I didn’t see the news broadcast firsthand, but I read on Evil Sandmich’s blog about an accident that happened in Cleveland involving a teenager hitting and killing a 9 year old girl with his car while fleeing from the cops.
While I understand their grief, I found it appalling that bystanders at the accident would immediately start blaming the cops for the death (why didn’t they shoot the fleeing subjects car?) What I found even more appalling was that the media would put these reactions on the news. These people were obviously distraught, and quite possibly didn’t realize what they were saying... And if they did, I can’t help but to think that the people saying it aren’t exactly the sharpest tools in the shed.
I mean, what is this, a movie set? Need I say it? Bullets are fast, and they don’t stop until they hit something (and sometimes not even then.) True, this was a tragedy, but could you just imagine what might have happened if the cops started spraying bullets at the moving car, from a moving car? I don’t even want to think about that happening in my neighborhood!
And, as if in response, I read this in the newspaper this morning:
"Toddler Slain by Police Buried.
Los Angeles - family, friends and sympathetic strangers shared handshakes, hugs and tears Saturday during the funeral service for a 19 month old toddler killed by police during a shoot-out with her gun wielding father.
The Spanish-language funeral service for Suzie Pena drew about 150 people, including new Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa.
Protesters have staged nightly demonstrations since the July 10 shooting, heckling police and waving signs calling officers involved in the shooting "baby killers.""
Just imagine what could be learned by getting these two groups of people together. Maybe they would begin to understand the extreme pressure that the police are under... But I doubt it.
Damned if you do, damned if you don’t.
posted by RT at 5:00 PM
6 Comments:
Somewhere over the past decade or so, our society has begun to shift to more of "victim mentality" thought process vs. one of accountability.
In other words, these people were victims of the police, vs. examining the real issue - the driver.
My favorite victim story comes at least once a week in school. I'll tell a student that work is due in three days after an absence, or they will get a zero. Three days later, no work. I tell them they are getting a zero.
Their response? "You didn’t give the work to me."
My response? "Take charge of your life, be accountable, and sit on my desk until you get it."
I have a really hard time with this as well. I feel sorry for the poor baby that was killed, but I blame the dad not the police. How could a "father" use their own child as a shield?
Fred I know exactly what you mean. Since I teach 4th, I tend to baby them a little more and leave an absent folder on their desk with all their missed work. If they do not turn it in, in 3 days it is a zero as well. Kids do not take responsibility. I get frantic calls from the parents when their child is getting an unsatisfactory notice. They ask me to make copies of every single assignment their child missed for the whole semester. Uhh sorry, no.
Its too late at night for me to wax philosophical, so here it is in a nutshell. The dad in LA was a moron and didn't deserve to be a parent. The cops in LA are morons and are so scared of getting shot that they shoot first and ask questions later. Put the two together, mix, and get instant controversy.
I definitely think that taking the side of a silent victim is pretty easy sometimes. If there is anything that I could blame the police for, it'd be that they didn't aim for an extremity which might require target practice. But even that's really pushing it. There are a lot of people that do not value or respect the lives of others including their own children.
Had the cops shot at him and killed him the people would have complained that they didn't have to shoot.
Had they shot and killed him, his car would have went out of control and who know then who else could have been hurt or killed.
I couldn't say it any better than the way you ended it...
Damned if you do, damned if you don't.
Either way, destiny will take it's course.
My heart goes out to the toddler. May God bless.
Also, to those who are being said to have slained a little girl when in they were trying to take a bad guy of the streets for the safety of little girls just like the one who was killed.
It's just all around sad.
Fred: I am so glad you said it was the driver, and not the car. I am with you one hundred percent! Personal responsibility and accountability seem to have fallen by the wayside, but I suspect there is a reason for that. (Please see next post.)
It's been said before that hindsight is 20/20, and it's true. It's also true that it's easier to sit in judgment on someone else, than it is to judge yourself. Personally, I think the cops did the best they could to minimize the death toll in both cases. Which, when in the heat of that type of situation, is all you can hope for.
Along those lines, I'm going to play a bit of Devil's Advocate with myself (seeing how no one else mentioned it...)
I made the comment that shooting at the car could have possibly caused more deaths and would therefore be pretty stupid. But that's not right. I feel that it was the right course of action is this case, but it was a bad comment to make in general. For instance, if you change the situation, say to a car speeding through a crowd, hitting people left and right, then shooting at the car (and hopefully the driver) would be a better solution. Granted, you may hit a few of the people you're trying to save, but the overall effect is that you've saved more than you've hurt or killed.
Two very similar situations, with very different results. And a perfect example of why we should try to see all sides of the story, instead of just the popular side.
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