Thursday 27 August 2020

Dinosaurs in F-14s

The title refers to a Calvin and Hobbes strip.  6-year-old Calvin draws a picture in which dinosaurs, being fed up with how some of them aren't perceived as being as dangerous as they should be, get into F-14 jets.

It's a good metaphor for what's happening in the U.S. right now.  There are people, particularly white men, who believe they're becoming irrelevant and are resorting to using words and weapons to get their point across.  The trouble is, their choice of targets have stirred up the country against them.

Think about it.  Several major sports organizations have cancelled their seasons.  Not because of Covid, but because of the recent shootings and killings of unarmed people.

Multiple governments and law enforcement agencies in the U.S. appear to be corrupt.  In addition, they are being taken advantage of by young radicals and white supremacists so they can target others, particularly people of colour, with near impunity.  Almost every time a person of colour is shot, the officers involved are placed on "administrative leave" or otherwise get a mere slap on the wrist.  It's extremely rare that criminal charges are laid.

When protests gather, so do the instigators and vigilante wanna-bes so they can stir up trouble.  The night after yet another Black man was shot for a spurious reason, a 17-year-old illegally obtained an assault rifle, crossed state lines with it, and committed murder as he marched into a protest.  The local police appeared to ENCOURAGE HIM.  He wasn't arrested until the next day.

The parents of ANY young person who does something like this, parents who are still legal guardians and responsible for their child, should be charged as accomplices and accessories to murder and assault with a deadly weapon.

Anyone in the media who publicly defends such actions should be sued for publicly inciting violence and hatred.

Also, homegrown militias should be legally disbanded and labeled as terrorist groups.  More often than not, they lack the experience and the training to hold weapons of any kind.  "Second Amendment" notwithstanding.  If they want to play cowboy for real they should join the army and see if they can handle basic training.

Chances are they won't or can't, because they're too cowardly, out of shape, or not the right age to do it.  They'd rather congregate at State legislatures and yell in the faces of politicians they don't like instead of risking ACTUAL death to serve the country they claim to love.  The country doesn't need their ilk, they are the dinosaurs who want to self-justify with the F-14s.

Many of my ancestors went to war.  Not all of them came home.  They'd be rolling in their graves if they saw what's happening now.

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