When I grew up during the late fifties and
early sixties, there were lots of the usual news stories about politics, war,
crime, even an occasional article about a new dance craze. Juvenile
delinquency was in its embryonic stage, with crime stories about teenagers with
switchblade knives and membership in small neighborhood groups who wore apparel
signifying what gangs they belonged to. During my youth on the lower east
side of Manhattan, I, and some of my buddies wore pink and black jackets (with
collars up, of course) as part of our “gang” affiliation. I use gang loosely
because we weren’t into criminal activity, we just knew that it was smart to
not be a “loner’ in an area where wolf packs were on the prowl.
There weren't any semi-automatic weapons
available, so the thugs of that generation might construct homemade pistols,
known as “zip guns,” which were made with rubber bands wrapped around a wooden
frame, with a coat hanger or a car aerial attached. The thick rubber
provided the tensile strength to push the improvised hammer against a single
pellet, sending it, very inaccurately, toward an intended
target. Possession of one of those primitive devices could get the
youthful offender a year in a detention facility.
However, now that we live in the
enlightened age of liberal policies toward criminals, and contempt for their
victims, modern-day teens are equipped with high-velocity guns containing
twelve or more cartridges in a magazine. Cops aren't allowed to use
stop-and-frisk techniques to disarm them because it might injure the
sensibility of the little hoodlums. Illegal guns are used thousands of
times in cities across the country, and those arrested for using, or carrying,
are often released before the weapon stops emitting smoke.
When there were more reasonable people in
charge, there was something called a “three-time loser.” That meant that
if you were found guilty of felonies for a third time, you would be imprisoned
for enough years to make a point about recidivism. Not anymore! Reading
about felons walking the streets after being convicted 10, 20, even 30 times
has become commonplace. How many times should someone be convicted of
serious crimes before he's labeled a menace to society? Moreover, when one of
those recidivist monsters gets killed during a police incident, it's more than
an even bet that the cop will be the one going to prison. Derek Chauvin is one
example of a cop who took a brute off the street, only to be victimized by a
politicized justice system that was weaponized against him.
Residents of that Minnesota neighborhood
had been victimized by George Floyd for several years before the incident that
finally stopped him from terrorizing the area. Before he moved to Minneapolis,
he was a criminal in Houston, Texas, serving 5 years in Harris County prison
for a brutal home invasion in which he put a gun to the stomach of a pregnant
woman. If the system had done its job in the first place, that violent
recidivist predator would have never met Chauvin. Floyd had a criminal record
that included 8 convictions for aggravated robbery, felonious assault and
drug-related offenses.
Contrast that with Derek Chauvin, who was
a decent family man doing the job he was trained for, had never been arrested,
and was a decorated police officer. The fact that he’s in prison, his wife has
divorced him and changed her name and is living in another state because she
fears reprisals, while Floyd’s family has become millionaires through GoFundMe
contributions, is a shocking example of how a nation loses its soul. If you
were to ask anyone with a pulse if they’d rather live next door to Derek Chauvin
or George Floyd; the answer would be obvious enough to snap us out of this
aberrant spell we find ourselves under.
That’s because the general public is
vulnerable to the cretins that roam the streets, while those at the top of the
food chain have no fear of the real world. That’s because they are the
privileged few who have private security, home alarm systems, and/or
bodyguards, hence they feel cavalier enough to suggest that defunding the
police might be a good idea. Contrarily, average, decent, law-abiding folks
know how vital law-enforcement is to maintain order in a civilized society. If
you’re the average guy or gal who works a regular job, obeys the law, and pays
your taxes, you expect to live without constant fear of attacks from savage
thugs who spend their worthless lives seeking unwary victims to prey upon.
When you leave your home to shop, dine, or
perform other regular activities, you should feel safe. We’ve all heard about
people getting assaulted or murdered in the street by animals that don’t belong
in the same orbit with humans. In many areas across the country, you might be
viciously cut up or shot for simply going about your normal routine. However,
unless it’s happened to you, or someone you know, you probably feel your odds
of being hurt are minimal.
Yet, how many of us want to throw the dice
every day to determine what their chances are? It’s a sad commentary on what
our society has become when we’re inundated with video clips of roaming gangs
of hooligans, robbing and trashing supermarkets, jewelry stores and fast-food
outlets, while personnel stand by, unwilling to interfere with the mob rule
taking place before their eyes. Who can blame them? They’re not trained to take
on violent hoodlums. That’s the job of the police! When I worked in some of the
highest crime areas of NYC, the overwhelming majority of the residents were
good people who supported cops but were afraid to say so publicly. It was
understandable since they were residents of the area and would be quickly
targeted after the police left. Privately, they’d give us a thumbs up when we
took the human effluvium out of their environment and gave them the freedom to
live without fear. That’s precisely what Officer Chauvin did for 19 years.
What’s been done to him during this bizarre dystopian era is cruel and unusual
punishment! For the sake of humanity, he should be pardoned!
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