Coach Mike Ditka commented on the “Hands Up, Don’t Shoot” gesture that some members of the St. Louis Rams made before their November 30, 2014 game against the Oakland Raiders.  Coach leaned on some of the same evidence and spouted some of the same rationale that others, reasonable and unreasonable, have used in their public statements to draw the same conclusion.

According to the article in Sporting News Coach said “What do you do if someone pulls a gun on you or is robbing a store and you stop them?  I don’t want to hear about this hands-up crap.  That’s not what happened.  This policeman’s life is ruined.  Why?  Because we have to break somebody down.  Because we have to even out the game.  I don’t know.  I don’t get it.  Maybe I’m just old fashioned.”  The article went on to say ‘Yes, Mike Ditka pulled out the “I don’t know exactly what did happen, but I know that’s not what happened” line.”

From what I know about Coach Ditka based on his public persona, he is a reasonable man who holds strong feelings about certain things and who will stand fast on his opinions about those things when those opinions are based on his foundation of well-grounded principles.  He has a right to his point of view just like those of us who still want to see Officer Darren Wilson tried in open court have to ours no matter how badly we want him to see things from our perspective.

I know just as well based on that same public persona that he probably could not care less about what I think about him and would be p##ed off that I sided with him and decided to defend his right to his point of view.  That notwithstanding, since Coach mentioned that the reason that people like me are clamoring for a trial in open court to determine Officer Wilson’s guilt or innocence is “because we have to break somebody down”, I am going to break down the statement that he made in Sporting News.

I am going to break his statement down, not in an effort to do my part to try to beat him into submission so that he will agree with my point of view but rather in an effort to show why reasonable people like him should sit down and discuss this problem with other reasonable people who disagree with him.

If Coach Ditka and others who feel the same way that he does would do this then that would be a major step toward narrowing the gap of this great divide between people that think like him on the matter of Ferguson and people that think like me.  The only way that we are going to make any progress is through reasonable dialogue so I hope that by breaking down his comments I will have done something that will help to begin to generate reasonable discussions on race issues in our country; this is not just a Ferguson, Missouri problem.  So here is my rationale for breaking down Coach’s statement and asking that he take a retrospective view of what he said and then take some time to ponder as to whether or not he should try to make a contribution to help bridge the gap between these completely opposite points of view.

According to the article in Sporting News Coach Ditka said “What do you do if someone pulls a gun on you or is robbing a store and you stop them?”  The robbing a store part of the preceding sentence likely came from the video that was released of someone who was alleged to be Michael Brown, the young man that Officer Wilson killed, robbing a store of some cigars shortly before Officer Wilson shot and killed him.

The problem with this is that even if this was Michael Brown, it is disputed as to whether Officer Wilson knew this before he shot and killed Mr. Brown.  Further, even if he knew this was Mr. Brown in the video it did not give him the right to be judge, jury and executioner.

Coach also said “I don’t want to hear about this hands-up crap.  That’s not what happened.  I don’t know exactly what did happen, but I know that’s not what happened.”  This “hands-up” may be “crap” to Coach and people who think like him but it is not “crap” to those Black Americans and others like them who feel that Michael Brown’s life was assigned a cheaper value than that of his white counterparts and snuffed out unfairly as a result of that: especially if Coach Ditka and those others who feel as he does are basing those feelings partially or totally on information that they are aware of from the grand jury proceedings.

There was no information made available about Officer Wilson’s past let alone any derogatory information about him.  Neither he nor any of the grand jury witnesses faced legitimate cross-examination as they would have in a regular trial by jury in open court.  The information that Coach and those who think like him are basing their conclusions on appear to be totally biased and one-sided.

“The Policeman’s life is ruined.  Why?  Because we have to break somebody down.  Because we have to even out the game.  I don’t know.  I don’t get it.  Maybe I’m just old fashioned.”  Coach, the policeman’s life is ruined?  What about Michael Brown?  His life is beyond ruined.  What about Michael Brown’s parents and loved ones; are their lives ruined?

We have to break down all of those witnesses who testified to the grand jury about the Ferguson shooting, including Officer Wilson.  If character is going to be considered in making a determination, we need to examine the background and character of Officer Wilson just as thoroughly as we do that of Michael Brown.  That is why all citizens of Ferguson in particular and all Americans in general need to see Officer Wilson tried by a regular jury in open court.

Coach Ditka and people who look like him have always only lived on the white privilege side of life so they tend to believe that law enforcement is applied equally to all citizens and that a policeman is not prone to lie.  This is probably because it is unlikely that they have been followed around in department stores while shopping or suspiciously eyed by policemen for no apparent reason.  And if they are stopped and questioned it is unlikely that they are treated with loathing and disrespect.

Situations like the one in Ferguson is why it seems to me to be such a waste not to take advantage of the experience and insight of the first African American President of the United States of America when he has experienced both the white privilege side of life and that of the Black underclass side of it.  It seems apparent that if there were someone who could identify with and effectively relate to both sides of the issue, he would be that someone.  But instead of taking advantage of this exceptional opportunity politicians waste it fighting meaningless political battles and ignoring the American people and the dire situation that we are in.

Yes, Coach, you are old fashioned but so am I and so are a lot of other Americans who are watching to see what the final results will be on the Ferguson shooting of Michael Brown.  Not only the final outcome in Ferguson but the first meaningful step toward bridging the racial divide in our country could rest with you.  What are you going to do?  Sure, it sounds like a real stretch for me so say that but stranger things have happened.

Eulus Dennis

I was sitting in my computer room surfing the Internet when I came upon a picture of a 12-year-old African-American boy hugging a white police officer.  The young boy was crying.  When I read the short article I became overwhelmed with emotion and cried.  I didn’t make any crying sound but I felt like I was hyperventilating so I took a few moments to take some deep breaths and calm myself.

It felt physically painful.  I did not cry for me but for all of the young African-American boys like this 12-year-old who, simply because of the color of their skin, would be prejudged by a myriad of white people and as a result be treated like second class citizens.  At best their hopes and dreams would be stymied and at worst they would be given up on.

Even if they did not grow up to be labeled as ‘angry black men’ far too many of them would become just a shell of what they could have become and thus less productive and effective citizens.  This article is not meant to be an indictment of white people but a plea to those reasonable African-American and white people and all of our country’s leaders to sit down, talk, and resolve this problem.

Although I was in the computer room alone I still felt embarrassed because I had allowed my emotions to show and I was crying.  I turned and checked the open door to make sure that my wife was not there to witness this display and quickly dried my eyes.  How sad it is that I felt embarrassed about this.  Unfortunately, this is what too many men of all colors – whether consciously or subconsciously, teach our sons.  But that is a story for another time.

The point is that the article said that this picture was captured at a Portland, Oregon protest over the events that occurred in Ferguson and the boy was holding a “Free Hugs” sign.  The article went on to say that “Portland Police Sgt. Bret Barnum saw the boy’s sign and asked if he could have a hug.  The boy gave him one.”

I have been following the Ferguson saga from its beginning.  I was hurting inside, and continue to hurt, because of what appears to be the cheap value that some white people assign to African-Americans’ lives; especially those white people who are in positions of authority.  Too many young African-Americans’ lives have been snuffed out while too many white Americans turn their heads the other way and continue to say let’s move forward from hear, change things and heal.

Many young African-Americans have decided that they have heard this too many times and are demanding change now!  It appears that they are no longer satisfied with accepting the advice of older African-American leaders who say that there is a proven way to bring about change and they must be patient and take that approach.

Although I am a product of the old school thinking and do not believe that violence is the way to bring about this change, I can certainly understand why young people of all colors have become impatient.  We, all Americans, must come up with a way to pressure those in power to stop playing politics and step up to this glaring American problem!  Let me give an example that will illustrate why it is such a real and glaring problem that we cannot continue to ignore.

Let’s address the case of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri; however, let’s reverse all roles – except that of the prosecutor and make those who are white African-American and those who are African-American white.  The story would go as follows:

An African-American police officer on a police force that is majority African-American in a majority white community comes upon two white male subjects, one of which is 18 years old, walking down the middle of the street.  He respectfully or derogatorily (this is disputed) asks them to get on the sidewalk and begins to drive away.  The 18-year-old subject makes a derogatory remark and the officer backs up his vehicle and confronts him.

The subject then reaches into the police car window and grabs the officer or the officer grabs the subject by his shirt and causes him to lean into the police car window (this is disputed).  A struggle ensues and the subject tries to grab the police officer’s gun or the police officer draws his gun and the subject grabs it because he is afraid that the officer is going to shoot him (this is disputed).  During the struggle a shot is fired wounding the subject’s thumb.

The subject breaks free from the police officer and he and the second subject run away from the officer.  The officer exits his police car and chases the wounded subject while firing at him.  A bullet hits the wounded subject or didn’t hit him (this is disputed), his body jerks from the impact, he stops running and turns and faces the officer.

He raises his hands in a gesture of surrender or did not raise his hands (this is disputed).  The subject is wounded so stumbles toward the police officer or the subject clenched one hand into a fist and put the other in his waistband and rushed toward the police officer at ‘full charge'(this is disputed).  The officer began to shoot the subject and continued to shoot him until he stopped coming toward him.  Bullets struck the subject in the arm, the chest, the face, and the top of his head.

The second subject and other witnesses said that the subject that was shot had raised his hands in an effort to surrender but the police officer continued to shoot him.  Other witnesses backed the police officer’s version of what happened before he killed the subject.

As a crowd gathered while the shooting was being investigated, the police officer that shot the subject drove himself back to the police station.  While there, he washed the blood off of his hands and sealed his weapon in an evidence bag.  Meanwhile, the subject’s body laid in the street where he was slain for more than four hours before it was removed.

The police officer that killed the subject was put on paid leave and was not charged in the shooting.  Rather than seek an indictment on the officer and let a regular jury determine his guilt or innocence in open court, the prosecutor turned all of the evidence on the case over to a grand jury composed of 75% African-Americans and left the decision to indict or not to indict up to them.

While the grand jury was in session, various information favorable to the police officer was leaked to the public and the officer was allowed to testify before this jury.  Before and after his testimony to the grand jury he disappeared and did not reappear in public until after he was exonerated and a ‘no true bill’, meaning that he would not be indicted, was issued.

After the grand jury made its decision, the prosecutor announced the decision to the public.  However, before he revealed  the decision he gave a 20 minute speech, which sounded like that of a defense attorney, that concluded with the announcement that the police officer who did the shooting would not be charged.

There are many questions that beg to be answered and I will provide those that I have and also answer them.  But before I do that, let me add that this prosecutor had relatives on the police department including a father who was killed in the line of duty by an African-American man.

First, would the prosecutor have asked a grand jury to decide whether or not this police officer should be indicted?  No.  And if by some miracle he would have, you can bet that he would have provided the grand jury with only the evidence that supported his request for an indictment and not all of the available evidence.

Second, had the prosecutor sought an indictment via a grand jury, would he have allowed this officer to testify before the grand jury?  It is highly unlikely that he would have.

Third, had the prosecutor wanted an indictment would the grand jury have issued one?  It is highly likely that they would have.

Forth, could the prosecutor have charged this police officer, which would have required him to face a trial by a regular jury in open court rather than have a grand jury deliberate in secret and consider evidence to determine whether or not he should even be indicted? Yes.

Finally, under the circumstances in the above example, would you have been outraged at the issuance of a ‘no true bill’ by a grand jury?  Would you have demanded from authorities that justice be done?  Would you have been frustrated and hurt had the officer in the preceding story been set free and you were once again told that you should move on and make changes from here especially when this had happened to you numerous times before?  How would you feel…Think about it; how would you really feel?

There is an obvious racial divide when it comes to the Ferguson situation and many others like it.  The divide is not so much with young Americans as it is with the old geezers.  If we want to help these young people to help us as we attempt to share our experience with them and guide them; we do not know everything and we can learn from them while they learn from us, we must first admit that this problem exists and then maybe we can stop burying our heads in the sand and do something about it.

Eulus Dennis

Barack Obama was changing the political map, pushing the Democratic Party into the South and the Mountain West. He was building a new social network that would endure long after an Obama presidency. And he was building a new Democratic coalition for a new age, with greater turnout from young and minority voters.

via WASHINGTON: Obama’s political legacy fading fast | National Politics | The State.

To read this article in National Politics click on the title immediately above.

Republicans confront own worst enemy on immigration – The Washington Post.

To read this article in The Washington Post click on the title immediately above.

November 20, 2014 President Obama will act unilaterally on immigration Thursday night, a move that will spin Republicans into a frenzy as they assess their options to stop the administration from halting the deportations of millions of undocumented immigrants.

via Republicans See an Upside to a Government Shutdown Over Immigration – NationalJournal.com.

Click on the title immediately above to read the article in the NationalJournal.com.

In what they called the “most comprehensive post-election review” ever made of an electoral loss, the Republican National Committee and a group of project co-chairs unveiled a report today saying that they need to open their playbook and put their “cards on the table face up” in order to win presidential elections in the future.

via RNC Completes ‘Autopsy’ on 2012 Loss, Calls for Inclusion but No Policy Change – ABC News.

Click on the title immediately above to read the ABC News article.

After their loss in the 2012 elections the Republicans’ announced that they would revamp their Party by building a larger and more inclusive tent.  Whatever they did, it didn’t work.  So they gave up and reverted to their old ways of doing things following the extreme right-wing takeover of their Party.

It is easy for me to imagine why women and people of color would be hard-pressed to stand with or want to become a part of the GOP even if they are as conservative as any Republican.  Why, you might ask?  Here are a number of reasons why starting from the top.

Look at the rainbow of colors and great gender diversity of the Republican leadership, look at how long and hard they have fought against the Affordable Care Act (ACA) although it has helped millions of poor and middleclass people, look at how many states – most of them controlled by Republicans – have refused to expand their Medicaid program and hurt thousands of people who desperately need health insurance in an effort to derail the ACA.  And there is more.

Look at how since the ACA has become law they have continued to try to dismantle it, even pushing their challenges to it all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court.  Look at all of the roadblocks that they put up in order to prevent legitimate, eligible voters from voting in the 2014 midterm elections.

Finally, look at how they have gone after women by trying to dictate to them the choices they should make regarding their own body and how hard they have fought against equal pay for equal work.  Looking at those holding the Republican leadership positions in Washington makes it hard to imagine that they can build a larger and more inclusive tent.  If they are struggling at this level, to imagine that they can do something greater would require a perfect mastery of the imagination.  It could be compared to one’s ability to see the Andromeda Galaxy, which is the most distant galaxy that can be seen by the unaided human eye; it would be a formidable stretch even with a near perfect night sky!

There is no doubt that the Grand Ole Party has many stalwart conservative politicians who have ideas that would be beneficial in helping America to prosper and grow but those ideas are no longer put on the table and discussed because they are predetermined by those who currently control the Republican Party to not be conservative enough.

Right now the GOP is like a great ship at sea with the ability to move only straight forward or starboard.  Until this problem is corrected the Party’s future is not bright; their destiny is predetermined and eventually they will crash.  That would be a great loss to all Americans, not just Republicans.  Where are the Republican statesmen?

Eulus Dennis

To read the article by ABC News on how the Republicans planned to revamp their Party after the 2012 elections loss search “RNC Completes Autopsy on 2012 Loss, Calls for Inclusion Not Policy Change.”