I'm still trying to step around the vomit trail I leave everywhere I go.

 

We have not had a Mr. PotatoHead sighting. He may have gone and closed all 127 of his eyes and stuck his head back underground. Hopefully he'll learn that our harmless banter is just that. If he doesn't, well, it really is his loss.

 

Damn FakeWood......just damn. Did you at least offer to help a girl out and push them back in?

 

maybe his "winter home" is in Ferguson ????

 

 

Evening Woodsmen.

 

Ok, now that my pulse is back below triple digits, let me share my thoughts about what happened last night. Most importantly, I am sincerely distraught over this, because I thought I had found "a place". I appreciate some of the comments, and I assure you I'm not thin-skinned about anything. I do have my hot buttons, though, and racial bigotry is pretty much at the top of the list.

I'm old enough to clearly remember when the word ni**er was used as part of daily conversation. I'm sure many of you do as well. When people use that word it's usually because that's the way they were raised, and that's the way they heard their parents talk at home. I wasn't raised that way. Before he became an LEO my dad was a professional musician. I remember evenings when I was just a little kid and my dad and his buddies, several of whom were black, would have jam sessions into the late hours. Then, when he became a detective, his partner was black. I'm a veteran, and I spent a lot of time with fellow GIs of all colors, and I was lucky enough to spend my entire working career in a company that was serious about equality for all employees.

But, I know that not everybody feels that way. Ironically, I now live in one of the most racist areas in the country. My wife and I moved here to be closer to her parents who are getting older. These days, of course, the word ni**er is no longer acceptable, although there are plenty of times I hear locals slip. They refer to "those people". When I ask "what people?" I get the look, and a mumbled "never mind". I played golf every single Saturday morning with the same group of guys. Three years ago one of the group showed me a picture on his cellphone with the comment: "Look, Wal Mart has just started carrying a swing set for black people!". It was a picture of a gallows with a noose. I called him on it, and his explanation was: "It's just a joke!". Sorry, no. Now, I'm a realist. I wasn't going to stop playing with the rest of the dozen guys because of him. The core four of us go back almost 20 years. Make no mistake, though, I will never socialize with him by choice ever again. I'll smile and be perfectly normal, but we're done. He's got a five year old little boy at home. Guess how he's going to grow up.

I guess where a few of us disagree about Ferguson is that you're looking just at Ferguson, and I'm looking at the last half century. Was Michael Brown a punk? Yes he was. Was the shooting justified? We'll never know, because we weren't there. The only thing we know for sure is that everybody lies.

Here's why I was upset. I knew that if the grand jury's decision wasn't the "correct" one, there was a 100% probability that violence would result, and a possibility that utterly innocent people could die. That's never ok, that's always a tragedy. The violence and looting is wrong, it's always wrong, and it's always 100% wrong, because innocent people will suffer. Black people aren't looking at this in the context of Ferguson, though, or any single situation. They're looking at it in the context of a century of things like this:

http://www.nbcnews.com/news/investig...oroner-n185016

And it's not funny.

Ok, ok, I know what "gallows humor" is, (no pun intended), and I can joke about damn near anything, except shooting people to death.

So, that's where my head is at.

 

Well I'm glad you said your piece. I thought the right call on this matter was made. Can't stand thugs. Having a few black and Mexican friends our humor is often on the edge.

 

I don't intend to get into a discussion about rights and wrongs, what is justified and what isn't however you need to understand that your hot buttons aren't necessarily everyone else's. Quite a few of us who aren't inclined toward racism or bigotry can still have fun poking the subject and making wild generalizations in jest without being afraid of the perception by apologists. If you took off your judgmental glasses for more than a second you'd understand that.

Many people are afraid to approach this subject head on but I am not. I rely on the quality of character to demonstrate to me whether or not I should trust another man. Some are constantly looking for slights or perceive even the most innocent remark, door lock or purse clutch as a racist comment. It is sad when people go through life interpreting everything they are exposed to as a reason for not getting their *** in gear.

If you wish to continue this discussion beyond what I have posted please PM as this is not the venue for that discussion.

 

Suuup checkers and stretchers......