Let me keep you safe by showering you in gun fire

Let's take a look at the mentality of those who have initiated gunfire in public places.

They all have some sort of justification. James Holmes of the Aurora shooting thought his actions were necessary, as he believed taking the lives of others added value to his own life. Bryce Williams was motivated by who knows what, though he claimed it had to do with perceived racism and discrimination from his former co-workers - who he shot in a public place. In fact, he went on to claim he would be delighted to engage in a race war.

Which brings me to the recent freeway shooter. No, not this one. I'm talking about this one.

There's something to be said about how one can simply put on a uniform, and suddenly wicked deeds become heroism. But that's not necessarily for this article in the broadest sense.

Get your X-acto knives, kids. Let's dissect this one. I'll be bolding some key words.

All northbound lanes of the 215 Freeway reopened Saturday morning after a wrong-way police pursuit Friday in which a suspect was shot and killed after striking other cars in his flight.
The suspect, who was wanted in connection with a home-invasion robbery, died after a San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department deputy in a helicopter opened fire on the wrong-way vehicle and the man jumped out of the moving car.

Let's talk about bolded words.

The 215 Freeway is a well-traveled freeway, boasting commuters going to and from for a wide variety of purposes, ranging from average joes going to-and-from work, to people going to and from Las Vegas. The event in question happened on a Friday, so it's hardly a stretch to assume there were plenty of travelers heading home for the weekend or traveling to Vegas to blow their paychecks on starry-eyed fantasies.

A police pursuit - A police pursuit requires an individual, a police officer at that, to be giving chase. Human instinct is pretty firm in this case - run from what is chasing you, whether it's tigers or uniformed men very willing to use force. If not for this brazen pursuit, the suspect, quite likely, would not have chanced a wrong-way escape on the freeway.

Suspect - A person of interest in relation to a criminal activity. There is nothing that says this individual is necessarily guilty or innocent. We also likely won't know for sure. According to the article, the suspect died at the scene. Dead men tell no tales.

The helicopter opened fire on the suspect's vehicle - Remember, this individual is still a suspect of the initial crime. His newest crime of putting folks in danger is only a result of pursuit. The HeliCop is reminiscent of Judge Dredd, a fictional dystopic character that serves as a "street judge" - essentially a cop that has the powers of Judge, jury, and executioner. If opening fire is going to accomplish anything, one could expect death to be a result.

The suspect then jumped out of a moving car, on a freeway. As vehicles tend to rely on drivers to operate as intended, and it's safe to say individuals don't like being in the path of gunfire, disaster was the only likely result. Lets go back to the article.

The Yukon sideswiped at least one vehicle during the chase. After the suspect jumped out of the SUV, it crashed into another SUV with three people inside, officials said. The pursuit ended near Palm Avenue and Kendall Drive.
Three people were taken to a hospital with unknown injuries, sheriff's officials said. No additional information was immediately available on their condition, officials said.

Who'd have thought?

There is something to be said about those who think nothing of opening fire in a crowded, public place - let alone in a place where individuals aren't in a position to defend themselves either by State Edict or circumstance (I don't think cars can hide on a freeway).

One has to ask - if a private individual had opened fire on a freeway in the same scenario, would he be likened to a hero, or Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold?

Update: 

The robbery for which the suspect was pursued evidently happened on Thursday, but the main attraction happened on Friday.  

See quotes in the article from Lt. Mitch Dattilo. Plenty of talk about his units training and how it relates to keeping people safe. No talk whatsoever about the consequences of opening fire on a freeway, or about the people this training helped hospitalize.








 

Selective Morality

I sure do talk a lot about gay marriage, considering my opinions on it, in and of itself, aren't very strong one way or the other. It might be wise to explain why.

Though social issues are a at best, another tool of distraction for the benefit of the State, they're useful for accomplishing agendas and setting precedents. Coercion is always the desired conclusion of the State - if it weren't then Congress, the Supreme Court, and local state agencies would be out of a job.  Not dissimilar to every other social ill that allows for coercive opportunity, Gay Marriage provides inroads for newer, bolder, and stronger flexes of power. Stay tuned, in another five, ten, twenty, or thirty years there will be another bold sweep of forcing party A to accept party B.

Now that all of that's out in the open, let's have fun.

Opposition to the SCOTUS ruling on marriage rights has escalated into open acts of defiance, even amongst the rank and file of the State.

Kim Davis, a clerk of Rowan county in Kentucky, has refused to allow her name or efforts to be allocated toward a marriage certificate for same sex couples. This had since led to her arrest, and has turned her into a martyr for opponents of same sex marriage. I can't fault someone for not wanting to participate, but why doesn't Kim want to participate?

She's an Apostolic Christian.

I am, regretfully, not savvy on the in's and out's of the finer points of Christianity as an umbrella religion, let alone the several upon several denominations found within. So I looked up what an Apostolic Christian is.

I found their Website, and took a look. I can't say that I see a lot of difference between them and any other denomination of Christianity - but as I've said, I do this with a neophyte observer's eyes.

They take the time to point out they follow the New Testament, but look to the Old Testament for guidance as well.

 Again, I'm no scholar of Christianity, particular in it's applications in a Statist society. Gary North and Laurence Vance have this corner of the boxing ring covered.

However, I do have grandparents that make Christianity the foundation and guiding principles for their lives. Much of my time spent with them usually had an integration of religious activity, so I did pick up a thing or two.

In the bible, aside from Satan himself, the characters demonized often enough, were participants in the State apparatus. King Herod, the Pharaoh, and Pontius Pilate are but a few examples. Lest we forget, Christ was crucified via State order, at the hands of Roman Soldiers.

"But America is bett--"

Ease up, I'm not done.

"SUPPORT THE TROO---"

No, seriously.

Let's not forget too, that the Apostolic Christian's look to the Old Testament for guidance as well. Nothing stands out to me more in the Old Testament than a pair of stone tablets.

1. You shall have no other gods before Me.
2. You shall not make idols.
3. You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain.
4. Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.
5. Honor your father and your mother.
6. You shall not murder. (There are far too many for this one, at home and abroad)
7. You shall not commit adultery.
8. You shall not steal.
9. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
10. You shall not covet.

There are plenty I left untouched. Nothing obvious came to mind, surprisingly so for number ten.

All this goes to say - I am not certain why Kim Davis insists that she should continue her career in this field. I would insist that she steps down, but not for the same reasons as those who share the same conclusion. She is clearly working for a very unchristian institution, that has to do very unchristian things to exist. The obvious answer would be all of the perks that come with being an agent of the state, least of all being the salary.

I understand many of the things I point out are a fault of the Federal Government, and certainly not a local government. However, local governments can, and unfortunately usually do, operate with the same degree of force as the Fed. If you disagree, let me know what happens the next time you choose not to pay your property taxes or stop for a cop in persuit of you.

Sorry Kim, I don't think you can claim the Christian high-ground when you're serving people not dissimilar to those who murdered Jesus.