Are You Kidding Me?

This is an image that has been causing some uproar. Here are the facts: Yes, that is a police officer pointing a gun at protesters in Oakland, California. Clearly he is part of a group of violent, racist, government supported, thugs..... also called Law Enforcement. One reaction on Twitter stated that this image is the perfect example of why citizens and off duty police officers should not be allowed to carry guns. Harsh words indeed. A picture may be worth a thousand words but what those words are is the question.

Allow me to enlighten on the totality of circumstance here. All of what was said above is true. But allow me to add some more detail to what is going on. Two plainclothes police officers were with a group of protesters. It's a common tactic to place plainclothes officers among protesting crowds to keep an eye on things and to get a heads up if the group decides they want to go shut down a freeway. Someone in the crowd recognized one of them as cops. In the moments that followed one of them was struck in the back of the head and began wrestling with the attacker (notice the two guys on the ground? The one on top is the cop trying to subdue the assaulter). As the crowd circles and begins to advance, the other officer produces his baton and show his badge, ordering the crowd to stop. One woman runs forward and kicks the downed officer in the head. The officer then draws his firearm and points it at the crowd and again orders them to stop. This time it works. The crowd backs up and mostly disperses. The man who hit the officer is charged with assault and the woman was not caught.

One caption accompanying this picture on Twitter was "In Oakland, cop pulls gun (not badge) on crowd after being exposed." Really? Are you kidding me? People are buying this shit? Maybe if his badge could shoot laser beams he would have pulled his badge. You can clearly see the baton he drew first in his left hand.... showing his escalation of force. This was not a case of "I don't like these people looking at me so I think I'll threaten them with my trusty, scary gun." Anyone with half a brain would tell you that he should have feared for his life or the life of his partner. The mob mentality is a very dangerous thing. They had already been attacked, the attack was continuing and if not gotten under control, they both could have ended up dead. It happens in other parts of the world on a regular basis.

It seems that there are two sins here that justify the mob: 1. they were cops (clearly not human beings only interested in doing their job and going home to their families). 2. They had guns (we know only evil people carry guns like a talisman channeling orders directly from the devil or their evil corporate masters to kill anyone they can). The only sin I see is the omission of facts by people so blinded with an agenda that every incident is support for their position. Never let facts get in the way of a good story. This sentiment should apply to your glorious college days or the one that got away, not to life and death.