I’ve been following the recent troubles in Ferguson, Missouri as I am sure many of you have and no matter who has come to speak before the public, whether it has been the police chief or Governor or any other representative of the local government, I have yet to hear anyone say, “I’m sorry” or “We’re sorry”…Have you?
Saying that you are sorry is at least a good place to start, especially when you represent or speak on behalf of government forces who are empowered to “Serve and Protect” the public good…and even more so when you claim that those forces need to be heavily armed in order to properly do their job, with weapons and equipment that are paid for with monies of the people, by the people and for the people that you have sworn to serve.
But instead we have heard everything but sorry. When a man with a gun shoots a man without a gun there should be a whole lot of sorrowful forgiveness asking on the part of the shooter and those who represent him or her. And when a person shoots their gun 6 times into the body and head of a helpless victim there should definitely be a whole lot of sorry going on.
And implying that ones victim wasn’t helpless, or wasn’t obedient to authority, or wasn’t the picture of virtue and goodness, or was frightening, or was very big is a waste of everyone’s time and insulting to intelligent human beings.
I often write about gun laws and gun control and the dangers of gun usage and ownership and when readers disagree with me they always cite the high level of violent crimes in our country or how they feel a real need to be able to protect themselves against those who have guns and who mean to do harm with them.
Well then fine, it is a free country…but with your gun ownership comes a tremendous and incredibly serious responsibility. You can defend yourself, your home and family but you had better not shoot someone who is unarmed and then say that it was because you were afraid or for any other reason other than he/she had a gun and was using it or going to use it to kill you or someone else.
If you have a gun and you find yourself still afraid of someone who doesn’t have a gun, then not having a gun was not your problem in the first place.
And if you are a policeman then you have no excuses to offer nor any that need to be heard by a decent and law abiding society and you had damn sure better never ever use it unless you are defending the public’s safety and/or your own and in a manner that shows that you have been trained and serious minded about your civic responsibility… that you signed up for and took an oath to uphold!
As far as I’m concerned just about all of those who I have seen representing the side of law enforcement in this societal fiasco have absolutely no idea how to properly use their guns in the protection of the general public, of whom they are supposed to serve, and they should have all weapons removed from their persons immediately…and not allowed to have them back until they can demonstrate their proper use in public…
and at the very least learned how to apologize and say that they are sorry.
Because we all know how this is going to end anyway don’t we?
A few months or a year from now there will be a trial held in an impartial venue far from Ferguson and St.Louis and after much deliberation and hand ringing a verdict of not guilty will be announced and the little town of Ferguson will go up in flames.
So I would at least like to see someone who is in authority, say that they are at least sorry about what has happened. It may be the least place to start but it is at the very least a place where fair minded and democratic justice should and must begin.
ipledgeafallegiance 
This is such a crucial observation! Violence always escalates when those who make a “mistake” in a flash decision can’t admit it. Instead, they try to justify it by demonizing the victim. In this case, it cost a life and may cost many more before this ends. I suspect your prediction for the future outcome is all too likely.
Perhaps if schools emphasized the prowess of debaters rather than competitive sports heroes, we would see fewer guns and shootings?
Ah yes, but no one will apologize. Honestly accepting personal responsibility is a liability trap.
Reblogged this on I am an Author, I Must Auth and commented:
Can’t disagree with this.
Forceful, eloquent, absolutely correct. But you know that their lawyers are telling them that saying they’re sorry is an admission of guilt that can be used in court, especially CIVIL court, where they would have to pay up big-time. So their lips are sealed. As AV Walters says, a “liability trap.” So first, let’s kill all the lawyers…..
Thank you my friend. An article to share with my friends for sure.
God bless you
Doreen.
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Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes.
One addendum, more than correction, for it does not apply at all in Ferguson, nor in any case I have seen where an armed police officer faced a person out on the street armed with a knife:
“…you had better not shoot someone …for any other reason other than he/she had a gun and was using it or going to use it to kill you or someone else.”
A knife-wielding assailant–particularly one familiar with knife-fighting–can, in close quarters, cross a distance and kill or seriously injure her/his target fast enough in the time one says “STOP” and waits for results that it is too late to interrupt the action. Harm will be done.
Were someone with a knife to break into my home and run at a member of my family, before or after I said anything similar to “STOP–I HAVE A GUN”, I would not hesitate to shoot, and I don’t believe anyone should be faulted for doing the same.
Reblogged this on Resident Alien — Being Dutch in America and commented:
I’m going to put my two cents in tomorrow. Or rather my one cent, because half of what I think of the whole Ferguson thing is right here already.
A simple sorry, said at the right time can flush out a well of hate, and restore peace. Unfortunately few know the power that lies in that word. Thanks for sharing and thanks for the visit.
Happy November!!!