My 2-3 cents worth

I think we owe it to ourselves and to those around us to think before we speak. I know from experience that doesn't always work. It's hard to do sometimes. And I mean it when I say some days it's nearly impossible. That's why I use this site as my platform and not Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat or any other BS site that easily fuels anger. But we all have a breaking point. We are human. Let's keep that in the forefront of our minds. Another thing to remember is that what I type is MY OPINION. Mine and nobody else's. I can not and will not speak for anybody else.

I want to put this out there right now for anybody that may think different. Mainly because I have been accused of one or two of these. I am not privileged because of my race, my status, my bank account, or my name. I, myself, have felt like I have been “wronged” in my life for whatever reasons but clearly, I am not privileged. I work hard at what I do; whatever I do. I like to get good results and if that means I have to give a little sweat and tears, so be it. I am always up to learn and I am not afraid to ask questions to be a better dispatcher or a better person. But, if that is your idea of me, get it out of your mind and if you can't, get out of my life. I refuse to spend my time trying to make you understand. I have a life to live and I just want to be happy. There is a reason for this paragraph and I will get to it soon.

It's hot in here. Do you think it's hot in here? Maybe it's just my blood boiling over so many things. Maybe it's just hot in here. I don't know. What I do know is that an air conditioner is about to go in my bedroom window because this menopausal-pain-in-the-butt-grouchy-ass girl needs to get some sleep. Some nice cold, deep sleep with a ceiling fan, box fan, and 2 blankets. That is with the air conditioner. Yeah, I like to live on the edge like that. Let's go back to the blood boiling thing. It's much more colorful.

By now you have all heard or read about the 4 Minneapolis, MN police officers that were fired over the case with George Floyd. When I turned on the news that day and saw it, I was shocked, appalled, sick and very angry. I sat there and shed tears for the whole situation. I watched the video and could not believe what I was seeing. I was literally yelling at the tv, “He can't breathe! Get the hell off of him!”

I know, I know. If you can talk, you can breathe. But what about when his talking started drifting off and when it stopped? What about when he involuntary urinated himself? At what point did these guys not see what they were causing? Were they having a really bad day? Did they have prior dealings with this guy that made them be more aggressive? Were they on a power trip? Did they care? It is senseless to me. Senseless and stupid and the whole thing could have and should have been avoided, in my opinion. I do not care what the situation is, you take the ability to breathe seriously. For every single person. Maybe that's the 911 dispatcher in me talking, I don't know. I'd like to think that's the ethical part of my being talking.

Every single cop that has went through an Academy has been trained how to properly take down and detain a bad guy. Smashing their face into the ground for several minutes and holding the weight of your body with your knee on their neck, back or front, is not the way to do it. I keep thinking about the people standing around taking videos and watching this happen. But then, how do you make a cop stop doing what he is doing?? Rush them and force them to at least take the knee off the guy? Take a risk of being shot? In the least, take a risk of arrest. Pictures of a crowd of people rushing the cops keeps coming to mind. I'm not saying it wasn't a good thing there is video evidence but what were the reasons for stopping and just watching? 5 minutes of fame? A few bucks to be made by the networks? Whatever the reason, we all saw what happened in the end. I would love to know what happened before anyone started their videos. We haven't heard that part of the story yet. I don't know, the whole thing makes me sick.

I keep asking myself, “What would you have done if you were witnessing this situation?” I don't have a good answer. Maybe I would have blown up 911 and told them to get someone there FAST because they are killing this man; that they are holding his face down in the concrete and he is bleeding and saying he can't breathe; given every detail I could have given. I know there is a record of the call then. Not on my phone, but on theirs. I don't know. In the area we live in, we don't see this kind of BS, thankfully, and I hope we never do. Tell me, in the comments, what you would have done. There's no right or wrong answer.

And if the situation isn't bad enough, now there are riots and death threats and who knows what else! These 4 cops have been fired and they WILL go to prison for what they did but remember, before your social media law degree gets rolled out (we all have our own opinions and most of them are probably the same), keep in mind they also get due process. Just like any other criminals. I would about bet those guys are saying goodbye to their loved ones right now. You all know how I feel about law enforcement and I will never apologize for that. But this....this can not be condoned. This is a huge example of “bad cop.”

I know I shouldn't have an opinion until all the facts come in...and I still want to know what led up to this take down...but I'm just as human as you are. I have my thoughts and I have my opinions. But as I watched this story...this video, being talked about on CBS This Morning, I was disgusted by Gayle King and her reaction on National television. She is supposed to be better than that. She is supposed to be held in higher regard because she is supposed to be a fact-giver, a reporter, not an opinion-giver. I have never cared for that woman and if it weren't for Oprah Winfrey and her connections, that woman wouldn't be where she is today. I doubt I ever watch that show again. It's okay for her to go on live tv and say “It's open season on black men in America...” She literally had to excuse herself from a segment and “hand it over” because she was so upset. If she was upset, she should have excused herself from the beginning.

Hey Gayle, instead of fueling the problem, try being part of a solution. You have the best platform there is so start educating people instead of condemning those you don't agree with. She needs to read some statistics on racial crimes. Another senseless and stupid thing we have going for us. I don't care what color this man was; he didn't deserve what he got. But I'm not going to get into that because this country is fueled enough by race. That would be a whole other blog that I'm not willing to get into at this time.

So, because some cops made some clearly bad choices, I am not going to hold that against all the good cops out there. And there are far more good ones than there are bad ones. The same goes for doctors, nurses, educators, and clergy men. There are good ones and there are bad ones. But I am not going to hate all of them for the actions of a few.

Now that I have that off my chest, I will address that second paragraph from the top. Good ole Facebook. You do make me dislike people. Some days I think I need to get off of it for good and then I remember all the people I love that I don't get to see on a day-to-day basis and how it keeps us in touch. So there's that. There was a girl that I went to school with and we were good friends. She was always fun to be around and we may or may not have gotten into our fair share of trouble. Key word there “MAY.” Over the years, we lost contact with each other and went on about our lives. Several times I contacted family to try to get back into contact with her and each time was met with “She doesn't want anything to do with Bedford people.” That hurt.

For years, I wondered what her real friends had ever done to her that was so awful. I LOVED hanging out with this gal! So now, thank you Facebook, we have become reconnected. She has a good job and a great family and loves her God “faithfully.” The reason for the quotation is this. Whenever something comes up in the news about a racial crime, she is the first to throw out words of anger and heat. She wants justice and she wants it now. She doesn't care that there's a due process to go through because she is sickened by anything that makes “her people” look like the bad guy. And they aren't always the bad guy. But sometimes they are. Sometimes “my people,” as she might say, are the bad people too. Anybody can be good and anybody can be bad. The color of your skin doesn't decide that. Actions do. How is that faith working out for you? Don't preach it if you can't live by it.

Needless to say, we are no longer Facebook friends because I just don't want to see that hatred all over the page when I am there to have fun and laugh with my friends. There is so much negativity in our world already. I don't want it shoved down my throat every day. I have already lost one friend from childhood over politics and I'm not willing to risk it again. It's easier to unfriend and love the person than it is to hold my tongue for months and then say something out of rage. And I do still love her and love our memories. I always will. Just like the other gal that doesn't agree with me on politics. But I hope, since this gal is an educator, that she would think twice about what she posts in a very public forum because she too, is held in higher regard by many people.

I have another friend, whom I have known practically his whole life and he is super impressive when it comes to writing so I hope he addresses the issue about this whole mess in Minnesota. I am patiently waiting. You know who you are.