Some high profile murders in America

One of the first was the shooting of Trevon Martin by George Zimmerman. Zimmerman was found not guilty of the charges due to Florida's stand your ground laws. Which took up a national debate on racial profiling and the murdering of unarmed blacks.

Then we have Officer Peter Liang. He was apart of NYPD. He also recieved no jail time, because the judge thought he didn't mean to shoot and kill the person. He was also a black man shot by police. According to the LA Times "A Brooklyn judge on Tuesday ordered Liang to serve five years’ probation and complete 800 hours of community service, saying the Chinese American rookie cop never intended to shoot, let alone kill, Akai Gurley while patrolling a dark stairwell in a Brooklyn housing project with his gun drawn. Liang was convicted in February of manslaughter and official misconduct for firing a shot that ricocheted off a wall and struck Gurley, standing a floor below, in the heart. Liang faced up to 15 years in prison, but a Brooklyn prosecutor requested that the former officer receive no prison time, and on Tuesday, Judge Danny Chun called the shooting an accident." You can read the full article here: http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-liang-sentencing-20160419-story.html

Another took place in Bridgeport, CT on May 9, 2017. According to several news articles, Bridgeport police allegedly tried to stop a stolen car, 15 year old Jayson Negron supposedly stole. Cops allege that upon approaching the car, the Jayson put the car in gear and tried speeding off and ended up striking another officer thus the police shot and ended up killing Jayson. Other articles claim "there was a brief pursuit." According to news articles, Jayson was a black teen and after being taken from the car, handcuffed and his body wasn't moved for several hours while police investigated.

One article on this shooting can be read here: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/16/us/jayson-negron-police-shooting.html

Another can be found here: http://www.ctpost.com/local/article/Autopsy-Teen-died-from-chest-wounds-11138912.php

A third can be found here: http://www.nbcconnecticut.com/news/local/State-Police-Investigate-Officer-Involved-Shooting-in-Bridgeport-421806093.html

Then lets not forget Dylann Roof who in 2015 went into a black church and murdered the 9 parishioners there to worship in a bible study session. It was in Charelston, SC., and he made a manifesto, told investigators he wanted a race war, as well as, toting the Rebel Flag in some pictures. Not only did the murders make national headlines but it also started a national debate on race and the flag.
Roof was caught and was convicted on over 30 federal charges including some with the hate charges attached to them. He was also brought up on 13 state charges. He pleaded not guilty to the charges. Roof was convicted and sentenced to death by lethal injection.

A now former North Charelston police officer, Michael Slager, shot an unarmed black man during a traffic stop. Slager shot 50 year old Walter Scott in the back 8 times as he tried to run. Slager was fired and brought up on charges. He pleaded guilty and took a plea agreement. According to CNN.com he took a plea agreement for 2nd degree murder, which carries up to 25 years in jail. The article can be found here: http://www.cnn.com/2017/05/02/us/michael-slager-federal-plea/index.html

Some other high profile cases can be found here: http://www.theroot.com/seeking-justice-6-high-profile-cases-to-watch-this-yea-1790853826

In the end, no matter where we turn, be it the TV news, newspaper or online sources we see murders and other violent crimes worldwide, not just in The United State. My only question is when will it stop?

August Protests In Charlottesville

As we all have heard, we have the protests in Virginia where those in the "alt-right" or the "neo-nazis" even called "white nationalist," walking around with Nazi flags and Confederate Battle Flags as well as carrying tiki torches. However, all of this is covered under the First Amendment.

Many protesters are being identified by named and outted on the internet as White Supremacists and those that are employed seem to find themselves now unemployed.

Now, these protests seem to be over the the removal of the Robert E. Lee statue.

Everyone does have the First Amendment right to free speech, including hate speech. However, there are some limitations. Such as, you can't yell fire in a crowded theater. We also have the right to PEACEFULLY assemble or protest. So, where do we draw the lines between what we allow and what we don't?

One of the counter protests, someone drove their car into the crowd, killing one and injuring many others. So, while reading countless news articles on the subject, I came across one where a local Grand Master said he is GLAD a woman died!

The article was from The Charlotte Observer. (You can read the full article here: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/local/article167303682.html) 

The article in part says:
Monday night, Justin Moore, the Grand Dragon for the Loyal White Knights of Ku Klux Klan, said he was glad Heyer died in the attack.

“I’m sorta glad that them people got hit and I’m glad that girl died,” Moore said in a voicemail to WBTV. “They were a bunch of Communists out there protesting against somebody’s freedom of speech, so it doesn’t bother me that they got hurt at all.”

“I think we’re going to see more stuff like this happening at white nationalist events,” Moore warned.

The Trump family and the Vice President all condemned the protests and the behavior. While many disagree on what and when President Trump made his statements.

So where do we draw the line?

We should draw the line at hate speech and hateful actions. So, no Nazi/any confederate flags (battle or "main" flags), no racial slurs/comments/or jokes, no antisemitic slurs/comments/or jokes or anything similar.

I do believe that such history should still be taught in schools, museums and/or historical societies. And up to each historical society/museum if they want artifacts or flags in their displays about that time period or event in history. Because, after all, it IS apart of history, but shouldn't be "promoted" by any form of government (local, state or federal), such as, Confederate Battle Flags flown from government buildings or on public property (for example, the town green/town center).

I don't mind people having pride of where they are from, such as, being proud of their Irish heritage and join clubs or organizations for those that are Irish, as long as they aren't promoting hate. Or being proud to be an American or anything similar to these examples. As long as NO hate or violence is being promoted or accepted.

So in conclusion, I DO NOT agree with these Neo-Nazis, Alt-Left, KKK or any other hate group. I believe these have no place in society. At the end of the day, in the words of my great-grandmother "you rip away our skin and we are all red." We all the same. Pigmentation of ones skin is only skin deep, beauty is skin deep. Lets all learn from each other, ACTUALLY LISTEN to each other and learn from our past and move forward united not divided.