Trigger Happy, or: Just How Many "Bad Apples" Are We Willing To Tolerate?

Ho hum. Another person of color killed by the police.

Could be a man on the streets. Could be a woman in her bedroom. Could be a child in his yard.

And, after all the usual excuses are made for the police, we hear the refrain of "a few bad apples." 

"A few bad apples." Over and over again. And yet, we never seem to throw those few bad apples away, which is what any competent grocer would do.

And what about the other apples? The ones we assume are "good".

Shouldn't they be offended by the presence of the bad ones?

They should. But it seems they rarely are. The "brotherhood of the thin blue line" and all that bullshit.

If you continually look the other way as the bad apples engage in whatever mayhem they please, up to and including murder, and then make excuses for their behavior, how "good" are you really?

Perhaps we should make every cop take a lengthy psychological evaluation to see if maybe, just maybe, they're racists with a strong tendency for violence. And summarily dismiss those who are.

But the police unions would never allow that, would they?

So here we are. 

The people we pay to "protect and serve" all of us are apparently so terrified of some of us that they automatically reach for their guns under almost any circumstances.

Imagine what a person of color feels every time they see a policeman. Imagine living your entire life with that kind of feeling.

It's really very simple: If you give a "little" man (or woman) a badge and a gun, all of a sudden he's a "big" man (or woman). 

And you better listen to him (or her), you better obey him (or her)...or he (or she) may kill you.

Of course, if you're black or brown, even if you listen, even if you obey, they still might kill you...because somehow, in their mind, you're a threat.

A Few Bad Apples

Every time a cop shoots an unarmed person--often in the back--or roughs up a bystander, or misbehaves in such an obviously egregious way that even a blind Tea Party Republican can see that it's wrong, we hear the same thing:

"Sure there are a few bad apples, but most of the police are professional and besides they have such a tough job that blah blah blah..."

Some of that might even be true.

But here's the deal:

The police NEVER willingly get rid of any of their "few" bad apples.

On the contrary, they fight like hell to justify the actions of any cop who does anything, no matter how heinous, to anyone.

And so, there's an ever lengthening trail of busted heads and corpses left behind by the seemingly endless supply of "a few bad apples."

An Observation

Isn't it interesting how most, if not all, of the really big money guys turn out to be "boot on their faces" law and order types?

I mean, it's not like the masses ever rise up here in the "Bestest Country There Ever Was Or Ever Could Be."

They're too busy watching various Kardashians cavort for fame and fortune, or the mighty NFL (aka Noted Felons League).

But a little bit of social unrest or the slightest protest, e.g. Occupy Wall Street or Black Lives Matter, and the billionaires get all anxious that maybe the cops aren't being tough enough on the rabble.

Could it be because they know, deep down, that they are guilty of looting the nation's riches?

By rigging the tax codes, buying the Congress, fixing the exchanges, subverting the laws, and all those other "free market" tactics beloved by plutocrats everywhere.

And sooner or later, if the people ever wake up, there won't be enough cops to protect them...

The Year In Confusion

Let me be the first to wish you a Merry...oh...uh...

Let me be the first to wish you a Happy New Year!

Things we learned in 2014:

If you can find a way to restrict minorities and younger voters from voting, you can win elections even with a collection of sociopathic morons for candidates.

The poor deserve to suffer.

Some Republicans are felons, and some Republicans are white supremacists. And I know I might be going out on a limb here, but some are probably both.

In general, dictators have very poor senses of humor.

It's always OK to shoot black men. No ifs, ands or buts. After all, it's one of our Second Amendment rights.

Cops have feelings, too. In fact, they can be downright whiny, pouty, little bunnies when they get their feelings hurt. But they can still get away with shooting you, so watch out! And always do what they say, especially when they're sexually assaulting you.

Unlimited money pumped into elections is exactly what the Founding Fathers had in mind.

A Democrat pretending to be a Republican will always lose to a Republican pretending to be a human being.

The Big Lie, that political tactic beloved by Republicans everywhere, still works.

The law of the land is whatever Antonin Scalia decides it should be at that particular moment. But don't worry, it will be applied as unevenly as possible.

Apparently, Kenyan anti-colonial socialism is the best thing that ever happened to the stock market.

And finally, now that noted semiologist Rush Limbaugh has told us, plainly and with his usual level headed good humor, what color James Bond is, perhaps he could tell us what color Jesus was.

Peace on Earth, Joy to the World, Don't Drink and Drive, blah blah blah...

See you next year.