Some of my more alert readers may have noticed that I oft' mention the fact that I collect information from many different news outlets these days.
By the by, saying the words, “alert” in conjunction with, “my regular readers,” might be a stretch since I'm sure by the end of my weekly insanity most have either fallen into a deep coma or have become filled with apathy. I digressed and in the very first paragraph to boot. I'm elated, hold me.
Moving along, I used to actually be rather OK with conservative leaning givers of daily events, so to speak. (I'm trying not to use the words news and outlets over and over again.) I hate to bring this to the forefront of your minds but, at one point early in this career of mine, I even thought that a certain agency really was fair and balanced. I am not going to name said organization just to keep you guessing.
Things have changed as I began to really investigate who said what, where, why and how on a daily basis. I learned that studies have been carried out that show how people are very misinformed when they stick to viewing only the above-not-mentioned “newstainment.” (My dear brother Blaine loaned me that non word for this piece.)
It was at that point that I began to see the harm in garnering data from them and from them only. I mean, I still think that it's perfectly fine to flip channels and see what is happening on all cable news at any given hour. As you know, if there is a plane crash CNN will be all over it for the next thirty days, even if there is no plane to be found. We can always count on Fox for all Benghazi all of the time reports and as I type, I've decided to label all current corporate media, “APATT,” (all Pope all the time). Believe it or not, I was even taken in by this person as I find him to be kind of interesting as far as Popes go. This from a casual Jew, mind you.
Many of the far right leaning talking heads and mouthpieces of the airwaves are oft' misleading. I know that is hard to believe but it's true. Not only are some misrepresenting the reality of many a situation but they could possibly be endangering the public at large, and small, due to pushing false narratives.
That finally brings me to the subject of this piece. Yes, I know that this was an abnormally long intro, even for my standards, but I just couldn't simply launch without some background as it is against my human nature to do so.
I bet you a dime you have heard that there is a “war on cops” taking place right now in this nation. Am I right? Have you been alerted to this horrid situation? Now, this is not to be confused with the wars on Christmas, Easter, Spring Break and religion in general so get that straight, please.
This is being broadcast by right leaning elephants in the room. Now, stop right there as that statement does not indicate a war on weight. I speak of the elephant vs donkey in the political sphere. Also, I must emphatically state that not all right leaning individuals are guilty of believing everything imparted by talk radio hosts, etc. I consider myself to be conservative on certain issues—get off the floor as it's true. I now call myself a “bleeding heart libertarian,” instead of the old fashioned “libertarian thinker.”
Now that I finished with the obligatory preemptive apology for offending a certain segment of society, I shall continue to bore—I mean bloviate. Fair warning, this is a serious column so no laughing is permitted—OK, enough with your rude thoughts.
Not only is there no war on police officers but we are on a steady trajectory to having fewer law officers shot and killed whilst on the clock as compared to previous eras. Actually, this could end up being a record breaking year in terms of the previously stated jazz.
The numbers are at a low and perhaps even an all time low, with the lowest being reported in 2013. I'm talking literally on this date, which is now September something of 2015.
At the end of this piece, I shall provide you with a link to this information, which is put out by National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund. Yes, you read that right. It is not data gathered from some “left wing smear merchants,” as Bill O'Reilly would say. This is straight from the horse's mouth rather than from the above-mentioned horse's petute, so to speak.
Also, linking violence against our men in blue/black etc., to the BLM—no, not the Bureau of Land Management but the Black Lives Matter group is not kosher, to say the very least.
Allow me to attempt to clear up the gobbledy-gook that has been permeating the atmosphere for far too long now.
You see, the whole purpose of that group is to bring to light violence against African-Americans as carried out by LAW ENFORCEMENT. It has not one iota to do with anything else. It does not relate to black on black crime between regular citizens. There is nothing in their mission statement about taking on gang violence. It is simply a response to alert the media and others to the whole police vs blacks in terms of shooting deaths and other unsavory law officer behavior. That's it, Fort Pitt, which is something I never understood but I picked it up from my darling mother.
So when we hear things like there is a war on police then it tends to frighten us and can lead to outrage and violence. There is danger galore in buying into certain agendas being pushed by a particular segment of the political arena, for lack of a better description. There is danger in any talking points that are false as put out by either side, now that I ponder.
I become horribly upset when I hear of officers dying in the line of duty. I'm not some uncaring monster, contrary to popular belief. I just feel that being told that it is happening due to the BLM movement is exceptionally dangerous, wrong and hideous. It is extremely unsettling and is the reason why this column is rather solemn. I do realize that I made a rhyme inadvertently.
Not only are things not terribly horrid in terms of officers being purposely murdered in the line of duty but, it is turning out to be a safer environment in general for those in uniform. For example, most of the shooting deaths of officers this year were related to said officers answering domestic dispute calls.
You do not have to take my word for any of this. I am going to list some words for you to “Google” and we can go from there.
If you take the time to execute a simple computer search, you will find that the main cause of police deaths so far this year would be traffic related. Suicide is another major factor associated with police deaths, as well. However, and you knew that was coming, the blatant murder of law enforcement personnel is, quite simply stated, on a downward trend.
If you are so inclined, please perform a search for “Officer Down Memorial Page,” and the one that I mentioned way above which would be, “ National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund.” Or, you could do as I did and simply type this into a search area, “Is the right wing media right about a war on police?”
If none of that convinces you that supposed news outlets are plain old spoon feeding you rhetoric, then take a look at the graph that I made, which I got from one of the previously mentioned data centers. I can't remember which one at this time as I'm brain dead from all of this research. It's a tough job correcting the wrongs of certain propaganda driven false news agencies.
The graph is somewhere in this paper. [Editor’s note: The graph is back on page 3 in this paper]. (That was a dumb statement like where else would it be? Would the chief put it in the Pymatuning Fishing Guide by accident? I'm clearly lacking the brain cells to continue any further with this prattling session, much to your delight, I'm certain.)
THE END.