I don’t really know where to start but I will tell you this: I want to talk about the National Anthem and the most recent Police shooting of 13 year old, Tryee King. Also, this is not about black, white, Asian, Latino or any other race, nation or creed. I don’t give a shit what you are or look like as long as you’re a decent human being.
I suppose I’ll start with the latter as it is the cause of protest of the National Anthem. As reported by media outlets, liberal and conservative alike, 13 year old Tyree King was shot and killed by a Police Officer in Columbus, Ohio. So as I sit on Twitter looking through the hashtags and comments associated with them, I become more and more perplexed about people who just completely ignore FACTS. Like I say in the title, this is more of a rant than a structured thought, so please bear with me. Police responded to a man’s call that he had just been robbed at gun point but was not hurt. The Officers encountered a group of 3 that fit the descriptions given by the man. 2 of these people ran and Police gave pursuit. During this chase one of the suspects pulled a gun out of their waistband. A cop shot this suspect. In my experience I would’ve done the exact same thing. That gun turned out to be a BB gun. Now regardless of what kind of gun this was. At that moment in time there is NO WAY to tell this, especially from a distance. Here a photo of the BB gun. Next to a S&W M&P .40
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Now these two weapons are very similar looking. And make no mistake about it a BB gun is still a GUN. I have a concealed carry license and I carry almost daily. If someone pulled a BB gun on me that looked like this, I am putting them down: no questions.
On Twitter I read another comment that said “He could’ve taken a shoulder shot.” Now let me explain to you how dumb this is. In any line of duty where you carry a weapon and put your life in danger; if there is a legitimate threat you will ALWAYS shoot to incapacitate. Incapacitation shots can go to the head, the chest (center mass), or the pelvic girdle. The fact is even if you hit these areas it still might not stop the bad guy. With that being said, even if a shooter is good enough to aim and hit the shoulder where they want, it probably isn’t stopping said bad guy from shooting back.
Ok, so there’s that. So these types of shootings keep happening and people cry out that everything is “tragic.” Indeed it is tragic. It’s tragic that a 13 year old kid lost his life, surely. What’s more tragic is no one is teaching these kids that you can earn a dollar rather than stealing from others. It’s tragic that no one told these kids that you DON’T POINT A GUN AT A POLICE OFFICER, regardless of whether it’s a BB gun or not. That’s just stupid. It’s tragic that a Police Officer is made out to be a bad person because he did what ANYONE in that situation would’ve done. People can Monday morning quarterback this cop until his dying days but the fact remains he was faced with a decision and he made it. That BB gun could have easily been gun with a higher caliber projectile.
Before anyone starts trying to come at me for this, let me say: I DO NOT THINK ALL OFFICERS ARE PERFECT. What I do think is there are a whole lot more GOOD ones than bad ones. The media doesn’t show you all the good things Police Officers do for people in their communities. So I will post a few I have seen.
Here’s some Officers playing football with kids in Chicago.
Here a Trenton, N.J. Officer hosts a pool party for his community.
These are just a few examples…
MAN! What a rant, huh? Ok on to the next one. Let’s talk National Anthem and the American flag.
The Star Spangled Banner is the song of out country about the flag of our country. Played before at all Military events, American sports games and a plethora of other times. This song and the flag represent the most free nation of people in the world. In my last post I wrote that I went and fought for American’s rights to be douches and I still stand by that sentiment now. This doesn’t mean that I agree with the people who are kneeling during the Anthem at sporting events. Because I def don’t. And I will tell you exactly why I don’t. This flag of ours means so much to so many people that I find it kind of funny that these people would disrespect the very thing that represents their right to do so. America is a young nation that has been through a lot. One thing that stands out to me the most is World War 2. This was literally a war for the future of the world. America did it’s best to stay out of it until December 7th, 1941 when Japan attacked Pearl Harbor. After this, President Franklin Roosevelt made the decision to sent our Nation into this war. Men and women were sent to all fronts of the war, most notably France and Japan.
|||Before I go on I want to point something out. For people who don’t realize the significance of this war here is some food for thought. If American and the allied powers didn’t prevail in this war, the world would be a much different place and Americans very likely wouldn’t have the rights that they have today. On top of that there is a VERY big chance we would be speaking either German or Japanese. Seriously, just think about this for a second. Let it sink in. |||
Now Marines and Soldiers alike were fighting all around the World. The fighting was tough everywhere. We know through documentation and anecdotes that the fighting in Japan was vicious. At the Battle of Iwo-Jima Marines were suffering heavy losses. In fact this is the only battle in which the Marine Corps had more casualties than the Japanese, 26,000 in all. Morale was low and most Marines expected to die. This was until one significant historical event. 5 Marines and a Corpsman (Though it is recently being disputed that the Corpsman was mistaken and it was indeed another Marine) raised a flag a top Mt. Suribachi after a tense battle. Once the other Marines around the island saw this flag it immediately filled them with hope and they eventually beat down the Japanese defense. A fun fact is that 2 different flags were raised a top Mt. Suribachi. After the initial flag, Marines were ordered to put an even BIGGER flag up and they did.
Then once again on September 11th, 2001 our country was attacked again. The flag was again used a symbol of solidarity people across the country used the flag in solidarity and went to NYC to try to save American lives. Flags were flown daily from cranes. A practice a lot of construction companies practice at the end of their work day.
The Marine Corps Drill and Flag Manual states ” The National flag represents the living country and is considered as a living thing, the union being the honor point.” For me every time I hear the National Anthem being played, or sung all of these things including my own experiences overseas crosses my mind and I get the chills. It is amazing to me what the flag represents. Freedom for all, the blood shed by countless Americans, the amazing attacks this nation has overcome and so much more.
So when I see someone such as CK that doesn’t want to stand for the anthem and honor the flag and other Americans that died for his rights, yeah, it bothers me. Neither him or any other player in professional sports is oppressed, by any means. Furthermore it is wildly laughable to me that CK can stand at a podium talking about oppression while wearing a shirt of a dictator that BANNED the complaining of racism. I’m talking about none other than Fidel Castro. That’s right. This guy is so dumb he wore this shirt to an “anti-oppression” press-conference. 
I’ll end with this. My platoon was full of all colors and types of people. I fucking loved each and everyone one of them. Here is a photo of Me and some of my platoon. They will always be my friends regardless of the color of their skin. 
Here we have a black man, a Mexican, a Cuban, a Somoan and some white dudes that all loved each other and the flag of their country and would have gladly died for both and YOU. – DJ
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