Omar Ozbek
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”
Except if you’re an average class African American.
- Trayvon Benjamin Martin. The 17 year old African American teen from Florida who was murdered by a neighbourhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman on February 26, 2012. George Zimmerman claimed that he murdered Martin for self defense. Initially, the cops who arrived at the scene did not charge Zimmerman thanks to the “Stand-Your-Ground” law of Florida. He was later charged due to public outrage, was put on a trial and unfortunately was acquitted by the Jury.
- Michael Brown. An 18 year old African American man from Ferguson, Missouri who was murdered by the 28 year old Darren Wilson, a white police officer. This happened when Darren Wilson spotted Michael Brown and his friend Dorian Johnson walking down the sidewalk. He drove up and told them to move to the other side of the street. An altercation started between the two parties until Wilson fired a round. Brown and Johnson then scattered in different direction but Officer Wilson had none of it. In pursuit of Brown, Wilson fired a total of 12 rounds, 7 or 8 of them landed on Brown. The Jury did not indict Darren Wilson.
- Eric Garner. A 43 year old African American father of six from Staten Island, New York who died as a result of a chokehold by NYPD officer Daniel Pantaleo. Garner was approached by Officer Justin Damico for “selling cigarettes without tax stamps”. When Officer Damico tried to put Garner under arrest, Officer Pantaleo quickly came from the back and put Garner into a chokehold despite it being a tactic that is banned by the NYPD. As he was choked, Garner said that he “can’t breathe” 11 times but Officer Pantaleo did not seem to care. Eric Garner died shortly after that and the grand jury decided not to indict Officer Pantaleo.
- Tamir Rice. A 12 year old African American boy from Cleveland, Ohio who was killed by police officer Timothy Loehmann. Timothy Loehmann and Frank Garmback arrived to Cudell Recreation Centre after receiving a report of a 12 year old boy armed with a gun. Loehmann fired two rounds at Tamir Rice, when Rice was trying to reach for his gun. The gun turned out to be a toy airsoft gun. The grand Jury decided not to indict Officer Loehman.
There are also numerous cases of cops arresting black citizens for “looking suspicious” or “trespassing” public areas. But why African Americans? And why do the cops feel so easy to kill? The first question is covered with strong theories of racism, discrimination and profiling. The second question has a rather fixed answer. It is rooted to the training program of Law enforcement personnel. Both police officers and security guards learn one thing. Do not take chances! Which explains the case of the 13 year old Andy Lopez from California who was shot by deputy Erik Gelhaus for playing with a toy gun that resembled an AK-47. The Sonoma County District Attorney said that it was a tragedy but “it was not a Criminal Act”. The sheriff did not receive any charges. Shooting a 13 year old boy for playing with a toy gun is Immoral! But this statement holds no legitimacy in a secular judicial system. The justification of the sheriff was along the lines of “I was not sure that it was a toy gun” and therefore, did not take his chances.
A law enforcement personnel training program that was designed according to the secular criminal code of the U.S, seems to create remorseless murderous robots whom are free of any rational thought and reasoning. They will shoot any unarmed citizen, whom they swore to protect, without thinking twice. The American people have more to fear from those that are supposed to be protecting them, than those that are portrayed as evil, savage terrorist that kills the infidel. Those that they feed with their tax money to protect them are right now the number one threat to their “Life, Liberty and pursuit of Happiness”.
Every secular group will defend secularism under the pretext of “creating a progressive society with rational thought and reasoning”. But the problem is, rational thought and reasoning differs from person to person. These two things are not standard. They vary and because of that, they are wide open to interpretation. Zimmerman was acquitted. Wilson and Pantaleo received no indictment. These are all results of a constitution and a criminal code full of loopholes. This is what happens when you build a constitution, a judicial system and a legislative body with the irrational philosophy of “rational thought and reasoning”. Who is now to blame for these murderous racists with badges, interpreting the laws as they see fit? It’s called reasoning. So why the uproar? Is this not what the secularists wanted? Did they not take all possible outcomes and long term effects into account when they championed this philosophy?
Let’s give an example of significance of having a society built on a code of morals and ethics. Yemen. A religious society. The poorest country in the Middle East, due to lack of natural resources unlike its Arab counterparts. Ruled by a dictator. Torn between a separatist insurgency in the south, A Shiite insurgency in the North and a strong Al Qaeda presence in the centre. Machine guns, rifles, and hand guns are sold illegally in open market with no law enforcement. There is a law which prevents firearms ownership but there is no law enforcement behind it. According to an Al Jazeera report, the country has a very low gun related crime rate than U.S. does. How could that be? A religious country with a dictator and fundamentalist militant groups? With guns sold openly? How can such a country have low gun related crime rate? The answer is simple. Yemen is a society that is based on the Islamic code of morals and ethics. The situation they’re in is never an excuse for them to become savages. Nothing stops them from being a civilized society. Principles of morals, ethics, and respect make up the backbone of the Yemeni society. This is the fruit of having a society built on morals and ethics. Secularism contradicts this idea.
So when the public talks about the problem behind cop killings, they outline a number of factors that could be contributing to this tragedy. But in cases like these, it is fair to take a wide look at the ruling doctrine of the country, the mindset of the society and the judicial and legislative body to at least come to a proper understanding.
Last Mod: 11 Aralık 2014, 14:49
