A far cry; fair and reasonable; Christmas lesson; all lives matter
A far cry
My late wife’s Dad, Norris, was U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Harry Collins’ (42nd Infantry “Rainbow” Division) driver during World War II. I still take her dad to lunch every week.
When the Rainbow Division overran the Dachau concentration camp, the soldiers and sergeants arrived first and were extremely angry at what they found. So they were executing the staff of Dachau one-by-one when the first officers arrived.
Collins sent one of the officers to stop the executions. His words to the officer were “We are not them (Nazis)!”
Whether assessing the interrogation methods used on suspect terrorists or the acts of our own police, these words are applicable now just as much as during World War II.
CIA officials, hired professors and operatives, President George W. Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney and any mayor, prosecuting attorney or police officer who violates the principles that founded our country should spend the remainder of their days in the Leavenworth penitentiary. That is, after all, where they belong.
Our federal government is most certainly not anything close to being similar to the Greatest Generation’s.
— Leonard Jensen, Benbrook
Fair and reasonable
Most people are eager to support law enforcement actions that are “fair” and “reasonable.”
Assuming a citizen is unarmed, is it fair and reasonable to:
▪ Direct deadly force at a person within a few seconds of encounter?
▪ Choke a pedestrian to death for selling an untaxed cigarette?
▪ Shoot a person who was detained for not walking on the sidewalk?
In each case, the police claimed that after encountering the subject, he did “something” that was threatening, and therefore deadly (or potentially deadly) force was justified.
Body cameras are necessary to help determine that such police actions deserve our support.
There must be independent investigation of such incidents.
District attorneys rely on the testimony of police officers in their normal procedures to achieve conviction records supporting their own promotion. This creates a potential conflict of interest.
Conflicted DAs cannot be relied upon to gain a judicial review of potential “bad acts” of those same officers.
Simply stated, killing unarmed black men by police (without consequences) under circumstances that are not clearly “fair and reasonable” is a stain on our country’s reputation that can be avoided.
And it should.
— David M. Sanderford, Granbury
All lives matter
The news media, the president, and the attorney general have made this the year of racial unrest.
Why? Because three unarmed black men have been killed by police.
There are people who have taken to the streets with signs reading, “Black Lives Matter!”
My question is, which ones?
Are the only black lives that matter the ones killed by white police officers? What about the few thousand needlessly killed year after year in urban crime?
I guess not, because you don’t see protesters or leaders complaining about these poor souls.
— Larry Hathaway, Grand Prairie
Christmas lesson
“Christmas light fights” have gained notoriety as entertainment.
In the past we observed, marveled over and to a greater or lesser degree enjoyed the tradition. Television has captured the extravagance of today’s more-is-better creed.
This brings back memories of a former neighbor. Our neighborhood knew him for his annual display of Christmas lights. He was a popular radio host with overwhelming duties but he always managed the task. But his routine was abruptly interrupted one year.
Instead, a pile of lighted Christmas lights were strategically placed in his front yard. A message was scribbled on a cardboard sign. It simply read, “Use Your Imagination!”
“Let your light so shine” brings out the “one-upmanship” in all of us, which is a contradiction to the Bible’s message.
The message is our reminder: It’s not how many, how bright or beautiful your light is — it is the joy you can create with what you have.
— Don Ramsey, Fort Worth
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This story was originally published December 23, 2014 at 8:49 AM with the headline "A far cry; fair and reasonable; Christmas lesson; all lives matter."