As violence erupts across America with shootings on one campus or another, many of us wonder, “What is going on in the Country?” Then yesterday, November 13th, 2015, a new wonder fell across the nations, with Paris, France in our hearts. Pray for Paris became the hashtag spreading across the social media pages, the borders closed, and people wondered why it took so long, and why the US isn’t taking notice of this? Still the pages turn with the days as we grieve with those there, and vow to remember, not to forget, never forgotten or “Jamais Forgoteen” for years to come. Some worry the years are few, if the leaders of the nations don’t realize the threats are not idle. Will they pay attention? Is this what it took, and did this have to happen? All questions we may never have answers to.
Yet here in America, a lady with child, killed n her home for money. An eight-year-old left in charge of a one-year-old sibling, beats the child to death for crying, while the mother is out with friends. College campuses were disrupted because of more riot activity by the growing “Black Lives Matter” activists on as many as 20 college campuses around the country planned marches last Thursday. Although, these activists began over one incident, they have grown over many others. Some of them are “abuse of force” from police issues against blacks who are male, during a crime; however, other incidents not “abuse of force” police issues, have instigated into black male/female against police officer all nationality male crime issues. Many of which are branching off, and causing more problems, and causing escalated crime to ensue; yet, very few people want to get involved. Police agencies and departments are just letting it go, as they feel they will not get a fair hearing, and a hearing, there will be.
When these events with “Black Lives Matter” began, it was a wake up call for everyone. Races divided once again. Even families divided, depending on the depth of their blood lines. The first rally was “peaceful”. However, rallies are only peaceful for as long as that rally under the same person? Then the initiative behind that rally changes with the leader. That has just what has changes over the months of “Black Lives Matter.”
The students behind these rallies have an agenda. The faculty and staff who work at the universities? They too, have feelings about the matter. Have the students talked with those people for how they feel? Obviously not, if you read the comments from members of faculty and staff from the University of Missouri. Across the campuses, teachers were tendering resignation, Deans were as well. The Dean of Students at Claremont McKenna College in California, Mary Spellman, resigned in a letter to the community Thursday, after some at the school called for hunger strikes over what they perceived as a lack of support for students of color. What lack of support? How many times have students of color been turned away from Dean Spellman vs. students not of color? These are all unasked questions. Spellman resigned due to hunger strikes? I understand she may worry for the well-being of students. This I can assure her, was not her doing. These are adult students who decided not to eat. Many people fast for religious purposes, or blood tests. twenty-four hours later, they would go eat. If not, they will eat when they get hungry, or when the paramedic says, “I am putting this IV in your arm, because you will not eat.” They will eat.
What happened to “peaceful”? What happened to just a harmless demonstration with no harm? We have people resigning, because students are threatening themselves? We also have others, who forewent the “peaceful” rally altogether, like the disaffected students at Loyola University in Chicago and the University of Michigan who according to the Seattle Times, were preparing a list of demands and threatening action, Black alumni at Georgia Tech were crafting a letter to that university’s president, urging a continued commitment to diversity. These are grown, adult faculty members. This is what happens when you go so long with demonstrations, and you let things go. Georgia Tech has had years of grievance policies in effect. Why now? Why wait until now? That’s simple! They have anarchy behind them. That is what this is coming to.
I was reading about President Obama’s schedule to see what he is doing about any of this. However, he is “business as usual.” I guess that is because he either doesn’t take it seriously, or feels it will just, go away. It appears the Presidential Elects aren’t taking any of this lightly. Donald Trump lashed out about the citizens in France not to protect themselves because of gun control. He also claimed the borders needed to close, and the refugees were the start of this. During a sitting, Megyn Kelly and Ben Carson were discussing such, and he responded, “Well we’re being too tolerant, I guess you might say, accepting infantile behavior. I don’t care which side it comes from. To say that I have the right to violate your civil rights because you’re offending me is un-American. It is unconstitutional,” Carson reacted. “And the officials at these places must recognize that and have the moral courage to stand up it. Because if they don’t, it will grow, it will exacerbate the situation and we will move toward anarchy than anybody can imagine, and much more quickly.”
I think maybe Ben Carson was on to something. The activists have grown, the rallies have grown, the demonstrations have grown, and there is nothing peaceful about terminations, threats or self-sacrifice. The continued presence of ISIS in our country and other countries has grown and is continuing to grow, and you guessed it! The terror and the violence is growing with it. Someone needs to do something. Someone has to do something. If not today, when? There is enough violence right here with our own people being killed by our own people, and even our children turning into murderers at young ages while their parents run the streets, neglecting them. We need, no we have to start taking responsibility for really is our problems. We let ourselves live with a false sense of security, and it happened with the World Trade Center. It happened when they sent the video in July about Paris. It happened yesterday. And today, we pray for France. We pray for us. We have Paris in our hearts, and they will be “Jamais Forgetten!”
Touring from the Park Bench 