An essential part of
Jewish tradition is to read a portion of the Torah-the first five books of the Old
Testament at each Sabbath so that the entire Torah is read each year. This
starts with Genesis on the first Sabbath right after the holiest day in
Judaism, Yom Kippur.
This coming week’s portion is from Deuteronomy 16:18–21:9 in
part: “You shall appoint magistrates and officials for your tribes, in all the
settlements that the Eternal your God is giving you, and they shall govern the
people with due justice”. - Deuteronomy 16:18
I mention this in view of the need to find true justice in
the cases of 18-year-old Michael Brown., and 400-pound asthmatic Eric Garner.
In both cases an impartial non bias investigation must take place before judgment
can be decided. We must trust that Americans do follow the teachings of the
Bible.
“If the matter is too difficult for you to decide, between
blood and blood, between right and right, between damage and damage, then you
shall come to the priests for judgment.”
Neither Caucasians nor Blacks should make a biased decision.
Hard as it may be. Most times Justice is just, and the last thing we need are
white or black lynch mobs.
As an example one must consider if Gardner was really in a “choke
hold” when taken down, or if the video just shows arms around the body above
the shoulders. Could a person being choked, cutting off the passage of air be
able to, repeatedly scream “I can’t breathe! I can’t breathe!” as has been
reported.
Yes the arrest and the violence of it may well be a
contributing caused of Gardner’s death, but his poor health was probably the
major factor.
As a matter of interest this is from a USA article last week:”Nearly
two times a week in the United States, a white police officer killed a black
person during a seven-year period ending in 2012, according to the most recent
accounts of justifiable homicide reported to the FBI.
On average, there were 96 such
incidents among at least 400 police killings each year that were reported to
the FBI by local police. The numbers appear to show that the shooting of a black teenager in Ferguson, Mo., last
Saturday was not an isolated event in American policing.
The reports show that 18% of the blacks
killed during those seven years were under age 21, compared to 8.7% of whites.
The victim in Ferguson was 18-year-old Michael Brown. Police have yet to identify
the officer who shot him; witnesses have said the officer was white.
While the racial analysis is striking, the database it's
based on has been long considered flawed and largely incomplete. The killings
are self-reported by law enforcement and not all police departments participate
so the database undercounts the actual number of deaths. Plus, the numbers are
not audited after they are submitted to the FBI and the statistics on
"justifiable" homicides have conflicted with independent measures of
fatalities at the hands of police”
A major flaw in such a report is that Florida and perhaps
other states will not participate in the reporting.
Was it just the choke hold or the combination of all those police kneeling on his boy including his head plus his poor health that led to his death. He was already down when he was saing he couldn't breathe. If you watch the show "cops" you will see the difference in what cops tolerate from white or Black offenders. It'S really tough being a Black man.
ReplyDeleteIf I had to pick, I would put my money on the combination of his poor health plus the Policed actions while he was on the ground. It is tough being a "minority" be it ethnic, religious, or racial. Or even being a weaker individual in our bullying society.
DeleteYes many minorities are treated with prejudice. But if dare say the Black man seems to be the bottom of everyone's shoe. Yet the world seems to revolve around what they do. Or should I say they add their flavor to the world and it is adapted/stolen and they get no credit or respect. This is why there is so much anger and frustration. Thanks for letting me vent
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DeleteIt's tough for everyone.
ReplyDeleteIt's tough being a woman. A large percentage are raped or molested by relatives growing up. Women have huge pressure to be "perfect" physically. Society pays women less for the same work. Women tolerate abusive relationships, primarily for financial reasons.
It's tough being a upper-50s white guy in the working world. If you lose your job, most struggle to find another job. If they do, it is almost always for less. In this economy, a lot give up and retire.
It's tough being disabled. The world says you're "special" -- code meaning that you don't matter, you shouldn't reproduce (because you are flawed), and not much is expected of you. If your disability is annoying to others, you get shut up in "homes". Having a disabled child 95% breaks up the home. If you are conceived with certain disabilities, it's okay to abort you.
It's tough to be elderly. The world thinks you should stay home, get out of the way because you're too slow. You're not relevant. You aren't sexy. Your physical realities - the aging process - are fodder for amusement.
We ALL are judged. Our society looks at the outside and makes immediate judgment. None of it is right. Poor black men share the "bottom" space with a lot of people.
Well said
ReplyDeleteIt is possible that I accidentally deleted a comment. If yours is missing please please resubmit.
ReplyDeleteTo Anonymous 8:41, you are so right, we all are subject to judgment for a whole host of inexcusable reasons. However , how often do you see fat or disable or white guys over 50 or Jewish (other than the holocaust, which didn’t happen here in the U.S.) people get murdered way to often by police offers and other no-blacks?
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