“At the rate we’re going, the 21st century looks pretty clear. It’s going to be pretty violent.”
……………………………..Edward James Olmos
“I would, without any hesitation, shoot a violent criminal again.”
——————————-Bernhard Goetz
“The most violent element in society is ignorance.”
——————————-Emma Goldman
The recent tragedy in Sanford Florida, where last month a young, gifted African American teenager was shot and killed by a self styled Wyatt Earp prototype who fancied himself a peace officer, but was neither an officer or an agent of peace, this incident was not as atypical as we’d hope, and certainly did not occur in a vacuum. Last week we commented on the great national shame over the stark revelation that too much of what happens in this country is still race based; justice, sadly, is not blind, and surely is not color-blind. George Zimmerman, the alleged assailant, a white man, had, by most accounts, hunted down 17 year old Trayvon Martin without provocation; but a month after the killing Zimmerman had yet to be arrested, charged, or arraigned. He walked free and clear, and, ridiculously, was still in possession of the 9mm automatic that took Martin’s life. Martin’s conduct that ill fated evening had come under more scrutiny from certain commentators than had Zimmerman’s; after all, Treyvon was walking through the shooter’s neighborhood, apparently committing the unforgivable and heinous crime of being young, black and wearing a “hoodie.”
With time and national media attention, authorities finally began mobilizing for some semblance of justice, and on the heels of demonstrations and community outrage, it is hoped that Zimmerman will soon be arrested. Is he guilty? Ne cannot enter his mind or his heart, but Teyvon was unarmed, Zimmerman pulled the trigger, and, at the very least, a thorough investigation is warranted. But, as we indicated, this has not taken place in a vacuum. This incident, outrageous and ugly as it certainly is, and likely motivated by racial profiling and xenophobia, can also be attributed to the reality of the climate created by the great economic turndown. In this Presidential election, when they are not preoccupied with curtailing contraception and alleging that President Obama is a Socialist Muslim terrorist, the right wing radical fringe has screamed long and loud for tax cuts, budget cuts, spending cuts, entitlement cuts; cuts in everything, apparently, but defense spending and increased oil drilling. As the old saying tells us, chickens eventually come home to roost; and like the lifelong smoker who is shocked when a chest x-ray finds a lesion in his lung, we cannot hope to feign to be ignorant of the storm that was gathering. There is a dark side to reduced government spending, and maybe this is just a horrible example of what may occur.
Various segments of the political divide maintain that the government has never spent a buck that was worthwhile unless, of course, it was to build faster fighters, larger battleships, sleeker nuclear submarines, and bigger bombs. They rage against government regulation of any kind, and deplore government oversight. I understand they have an easy argument to construct when using examples like the DMV, or Unemployment offices. But for each overgrown, bloated bureaucracy, there are necessary governmental oversights. How many of us would feel comfortable flying in airplanes that did not need to adhere to FAA standards? Would anyone feel confident buying meat, dairy or produce that had not been tested and inspected by the USDA? Would we be likely to accept prescription or over the counter drugs, vaccines, etc., that had not been vetted by the FDA? Severe cuts in government spending do not affect only those receiving public assistance. Yes, we have a crippling deficit that is in dire need of being addressed, but in doing so we must be diligent not to throw the baby out with the bathwater. Budget cutbacks and dramatic austerity measures portend a reduction in almost all public services—firemen, teachers, road and bridge repair, federal regulation of interstate commerce and transportation, sanitation, stop lights, safety inspectors, food inspection, environmental protection, and, sadly, police protection. Today, the vast majority of law enforcement agencies nationwide are woefully undermanned, and the impact of this realityis just beginning to be felt. [click to continue…]
