All Lives Matter

It has been a rough week. None of these make sense. Take a deep breathe:

Philando Castile should not have died in Minnesota. A man announcing he has a permit is unlikely ever to threaten a police officer with his gun. To get a permit he has to prove his law-abiding status. Why was the officer so afraid? All because a light was burnt out?

Alton Sterling was selling home made CDs outside a store where he had been selling for years. There was a complaint about him. Why would a unlicensed business be penalized more than a fine? The most he should have gotten was a ticket. Not two police wrestling him to the ground and then shooting him. He did not deserve to die.

The Dallas police were there to protect a peaceful protest. How did a lone shooter choose to kill 5, wound 7 others plus 2 civilians? He did not surrender and wanted to die fighting the police to kill more. Why Dallas police officers? 

The Dallas police have an enviable record of community policing, deescalating situations, training officers, and crime rates Chicago and Washington DC would be jealous of in a vibrant international city. They did not deserve to die.

Lets not forget the most killings this week: Suicides take twice as many lives than all other gun incidents combined.

Nor let us forget the homeless people attacked and killed in San Diego while they slept.

Banning guns will not stop crime nor suicides. If anything crime rates go up. Dallas has a high number of permit holders, and the crime rate has gone down in the years since the law was changed to allow anyone with a clean record who takes safety training a permit. 

What we need to remember is most people are good. We count on our police to deal with difficult people, drunk or high, the mentally ill, and normal civilians. Bad cops exist like bad people exist in any organization. But by and large most people should be treated with respect.

We have to become We again. You may have different views, vote for different candidates, go to different churches or no church, have different ethnicities, grew up in other countries, dress different, or like different music. Under the skin we are all people who bleed the same, hurt when we lose loved ones, and love our children.

Greet your neighbors and strangers on the street. Show respect and care. It is time to make communities, not enemies. It starts with us.