Killing of people is never a good thing. It is done in war, it is done in self-defense, but most it is done through hatred and criminal behavior.
I for one respect the fact that many people put their lives on the line to provide safety, security, and peace of mind in our communities. When a person enters a community known for criminal activity – there is a heightened sense of self-preservation. This feeling has nothing to do with being racist or prejudice – it is based on current unknown factors – when there have been many historical situations that warrant cause for concern.
Mistakes will happen – and I’m not going to justify people’s actions when I don’t know their thoughts at the time, or the situation circumstances – but I do know that I would not put myself in their situations – risking my life to maintain security and safety for others. (In our society today – it is unfathomable that this is a need? – War zone yes – but neighborhoods in cities???)
I also know that if an authority person (wearing a uniform or badge) were to confront me and tell me something or ask me something – I would do as asked. I also know that if someone not wearing a uniform or badge were to confront me (with or without a gun) – I’d probably have an increase in adrenaline and want to protect myself.
Let’s look at some background perspective:
Event : US ““Combat”” Casualties (Actual Combat casualties – as there deaths through multiple situations in conflicts) WWII 1941-1945: 291,557
US Civil War – US Army: 140,414, Confederate Army: 94,000
WWI 1914-1918: 53,402
Vietnam War 1955-1975: 47,424
Korean War 1950-1953: 33,686
American Revolutionary War: 8,000
Iraq War 2003-2011: 3,836
Afghanistan War 2001 – Present: 1,822
Homicides in the US 2020 (Only 2020): Estimated to be around 20,000
Over the past 5 years – the total is estimated to be around 80-85,000 Homicides in the US. (These are reported homicides) This means that in the past 5 years there were more “Murders” in the US than there were actual combat deaths in World War I.
There are many variables in US homicides – such as how the people knew each other and the reasons for the murder.
Note: Our sitting White House President announced plans to leave Afghanistan’s war (as a Foreign Policy issue – bringing up discussion about US deaths in the conflict) – But, where is the White House statement about combating Homicide at home? (Is this a weapons issue? – Or a Social behavioral issue? – Or is it a Consequences for Actions issue?)
Again – let’s do some perspective – looking at Bureau of Prisons data – only 4,566 people are in Prison for “homicide, aggravated assault, and kidnapping offenses. This is only 3.2% of those in Federal Prisons. But there are over 66,000 in prison for Drug Offenses, and almost 16,000 for Sex Offenses.
Seems to me “Social” behavioral issues get more precedence in our Justice system than “ending the life” of others? (Of course, we need to consider that maybe these are the only crimes the “Legal” system can convict criminals?)
And, today’s entertainment media is filled with hatred for police due to recent deaths while attempting to do their jobs. (Justified or not in what happened – the outrage should be about all killings – not just those committed by police!) (Another note: In 2020, 47 Police were killed by others in the line of doing their duty!)
Now to an even more tedious concern… The FBI, which should be our primary controlling factor for monitoring criminal activity in our country, is developing a new data system. BUT – only about 51% of the near 18,000 law enforcement agencies in the US actually report data to the FBI in the new system, and about 25% still report to the old system – and Some major crime cities don’t report at all!,
And, this new system will make it hard for the general public to access information (Since our law enforcement and Justice system is doing such a terrible job at controlling our safety and security – no wonder they want the public to see less of their results!).
Think about this – during the 1st round of stimulus checks, thousands of convicted criminals in California prison systems received over $2billion in money sent directly to their personal prison accounts – from the California agencies spreading the wealth! In today’s digital age – there are limited checks and balances between criminals and other agencies because there is no single source of data on criminals, what they did, where they are, etc.
Okay – so the new FBI program: NIBRS National Incident-Based Reporting System – is a step in helping monitor our law enforcement and justice effectiveness in our country.
Think about this – it is easier for the Feds to come into a State and force changes in their School System, and Elections System – than it is to monitor their Criminal Justice Systems. Here is a listing of sources for the above information if you care to look for yourself:
https://www.nytimes.com/…/16/upshot/murder-rate-usa.htm
lhttps://finance.yahoo.com/…/top-15-u-cities-highest…
https://www.fbi.gov/services/cjis/ucr/nibrs
Southern Cajun Catholic Gentleman 
Mostly, we believe, the politicians who claim to care by taking away people’s constitutional rights don’t know what caring is. And don’t. People need to read about the former Soviet Union, and other communist nations (past and present) to realize the ones purporting to care are often the ones causing millions, even hundreds of millions deaths, and also their own people..
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