MY View, The Trial, 

Well it's 10;20 pm and we are still waiting. The verdict is "NOT GUILTY" !  I sure hope that the

 family of the deceased can understand what Terrence did to bring this about. It wasn't because he was a bad guy it was because of his action when confronted by a law enforcement officer doing her duty. If people would just learn from this and see how senseless this was because of someone being under the influence of a substance that probably caused him to not even realize the police were there.

Now we will see whether sane heads will prevail and let the protests be non violent rather than like the last big outcry, and let use all reflect on this and strive to understand and work to make it better for everyone .

Lets all Pray ! 

My view, what is the cause of the problem?

So, what do I think is the cause is of all this disrespect for the law?

We all need to be taught to be responsible for our actions and we need that taught at a very early age.

This is as hard to teach as it is hard to learn and an awful lot of parents give up way short of the goal and this gets translated into generation after generation of children growing into adulthood and never having to pay for their mistakes.

By not having to pay for your mistakes you loose the ability to rationally asses the end result and make an intelligent decision to not do something that may cause others harm or endanger themselves.

There are other factors that drive people to do wrong, but by far, if most would have been taught early to weigh the worst case ending against the pleasure of doing whatever, they would realize most times it isn't worth it.

Unfortunately it has progressed for several generations and involves so many people that we will never be able to correct it so we will just have to live with the criminal element in our lives and hope our law enforcement can keep up without over reaching their authority.   

As an aside I do feel that there are some officers who could stand training in people skills and there are some people who could stand some training in proper interaction with police. If we can  get that done we could go a long way to solving the understanding gap between the factions.

As always, stay aware and safe.

My View on Concealed Carry,

I like the fact that there are lots of people in my state walking around armed.  It causes some would be terrorists to think a long time about trying to create havoc here as they may get shot before they do much harm.

However, from my experience being armed in any society is a huge responsibility that a lot of people don't really understand. Just take Betty Shelby's problems now. She may face years in prison for doing her duty as a law enforcement officer with some immunity from prosecution because she is police, but an average citizen does not have that on their side.

As all who have taken the coarse know, you can only use enough force to defuse the threat and you will have to prove beyond a doubt that was your only choice. Plus for anyone to be able to use the weapon after they pull it is a mental place we all have to get before we are confronted by a would be criminal bent on inflicting great bodily harm or death upon us.  Any hesitation could mean you loose your weapon and it may be used against you or others.  This being paramount in a police officers mind and should also be in anyone's mind if they want to carry.

 For those who can't get their head around this fact in order to be effective in an encounter with a criminal but still would like to have some protection if this should occur, I would recommend taking a self defense coarse, arming yourself with pepper spray and/or stun gun and learn to be very vigilant of your surroundings, travel in groups if out at night or going to a strange place and use common sense about your person and belongings.

Please stay safe,   Darrell