Lessons from another police shooting

Another police shooting of a civilian, this time in Charlotte, North Carolina, sparked riots that highlight a fundamental problem between the police and communities of color in America. The police shooting of Keith Lamont Scott also set off conflicting stories with streams of rumors and torrents of angry emotions.

Protesters managed to push peaceful demonstration into senseless violence with looting, gang assault, property destruction and an additional killing. Can any of these results help the situation or honor the loss of life that already happened? Some slick analysts instantly defended the lawless actions of the people who were there to act out instead of acting on behalf of change and peace.

The amoral acts of a few determined to use the incident as an excuse cost another mother her child. A demonstrator, Justin Carr, was shot and killed by another person during the second day of riots in Charlotte and he did not have to die. Police Chief Kerr Putney said a civilian, Rayquan Borum, a felon, was arrested for the murder.
Pro-protest provocateurs defend the actions of violent “protesters” by saying that Dr. Martin Luther King’s strategy of militant non-violence has no place in today’s world. The talking heads on the other side use labels to paint anyone upset with police shootings as “thugs” or “criminals.”

The people of this nation must think for themselves and wait for reliable information even if that takes 24 hours. Our world of instant communication and instant gratification is delivered to us by “infotainment” conglomerates who never bother to mention to the public that more trouble and more suffering is actually good for the business.

We are becoming a nation of excuse makers and excuse enablers. Students gripe about failing a test and blame a teacher, textbook or someone else just as long as they don’t take responsibility for their own actions. If someone suggests that people take responsibility for their own choices, everyone thinks that someone has lost his or her mind. The children who learn this become adults and move from problem to problem struggling to place the blame for anything bad on someone else. Blame shifting is now the norm in society and we are shocked if someone actually admits responsibility for a mistake with no excuse. The “protesters” in Charlotte destroying police vehicles and private property were not forced to act out. They chose to take the opportunity to make a point collectively but decided to do whatever they felt like doing.

Our culture of irresponsibility must become one of accountability. We can’t control what goes on in the news, but we can be responsible for how we act when we get news we don’t like. If our children always see us blaming others or allowing people to shift responsibility to others, that is what they will learn to do.

Just-released cellphone footage taken by the wife of Lamont Scott shows the deadly stand-off confrontation between Keith Scott and Charlotte-Mecklenburg police officers. The audio clearly reflects that officers were telling Scott to put up his hands or drop the gun at least nine times before a shot is fired. The audio reflects the wife screaming to her husband, “Keith, Keith, don’t you do it. Don’t you do it!” The video shows a gun on the ground at the feet of Scott after he was shot by the police officer.

Is it wrong that this incident sparked protests or that the protests became angry? No. What is wrong is that people are conditioned to demand instant information and are willing to take partial information or wrong information and act irresponsibly with it. Every action has a reaction and we can choose to make things better or to make things worse.

We need to take the time to make good decisions and responsibly work to make change happen. Ultimately, we are responsible for all things, to a greater or lesser degree, that happen in our society.