Here’s the deal: I promised to do a week of fasting and prayer about a month ago. One of my regular readers reminded me of this Friday (Hi, Brenda!) I’d forgotten. Lots going on in my world right now, details to come soon. But God puts these things in front of you for a reason. It’s an excellent time for me to focus on my soul and pray.
So, for the next 7 days I will eat a single meal a day, fasting for 20 hours. Oatmeal, fresh fruit, and honey. I will drink lots of fluids, so don’t worry, Mom.
I will read only scripture for 1 hour a day (except for work projects I have to do) and no pleasure reading on my own hook.
And I will watch and wait for what I suspect will be an awful week. around the world.
I hope you join me in this prayer and fast. We need it right about now.
For those of you not paying close attention (since about 1400 years ago, so kind of newish to our Commander in Chief,) Islam is a virulent disease with the goal of taking over the world through the means of shedding blood.
Harsh? Nah, just right on the money. Read the Quran and it will fill in all the details. Beheading innocent journalists? Fits in to the plan. Subjugating women? Nice stuff, again on the plan. Invading neighboring nations and giving the choice to convert, be subjected to heavy taxation, or be killed? Ding, Ding, Ding right on the money.
Linguistically, and I love starting sentences that way, the sheeple of the west have accepted the stupid notion that Islam is the religion of peace. Truth of the matter is that Islam is the command form of the Arabic word “submit.” As in, “Submit to Islam or be put to the sword.” Read history and find the truth. A couple of years of Arabic lessons will also help.
Nobody who understands Islam is in the least bit surprised that they like beheading people. Kind of a trend the last few years, but it’s an old habit that just never goes out of style for Islam.
Radical Islam is what fools call this manifestation of the virus. No, it’s “Pure Islam” to those who study such things. This is the hateful, world conquering ideology that is prophesied in the Koran. (Multiple spellings, I’m not done yet.”
Since we’re on the topic of a movement that wants to subjugate the world, let me throw out a little prediction: It’s about to get really ugly.
I know Barack Obama is constantly surprised at what he reads in the papers, but that’s only because he doesn’t attend his intelligence briefings. So, Mr. President, I read the papers for you and wish to give you a heads up: ISIL, ISIS, Hair Club For Murderous Barbarians, or whatever their name is this week, is not done with us yet.
My biggest clue was that just two weeks before the anniversary of 9-11 (The day of the attacks on New York and Benghazi) the King of Saudi Arabia warned that it was about to go off the hook. Why would he do that? Simple: he’s got actionable intelligence on something awful and he can’t/won’t do anything about it because he’s the head of the Muslim world. Too dangerous, politically, for him to act. So he threw the ball to Barack and hopes he can say, “Well, I warned you” when it hits the fan.
Mr. President, I don’t blame you for the most recent beheadings. But I sure do blame you for saying that you don’t have a plan. David Cameron might be bluffing, but he gets it. You don’t, or won’t, speak out on this as you should. Grow some backbone and keep clear of the tenth tee for a few weeks. It’s about to get real.
That is my prediction. But what do I know, I’ve only spent 30 years studying the issue.
I get the feeling that I’m the only one who watches the whole video when people post the latest “Brutal cop beats upstanding minority scholarship winner/grandmother/wheelchair bound disabled vet/paralyzed sheep dog” videos on the web, particularly Facebook.
Why do I watch them? Because violence of that sort is fascinating to a writer. Also, given my skills, experience, and training I see things differently. Sometimes that means that I’ll be on the sidewalk cheering when they lead officer stupid to the waiting car in cuffs. Most of the time I see where the judgement call went south but wasn’t too terrible. From time to time I see one that was done perfectly for the cops and the people involved. Other times I see videos that have been manipulated to create chaos and unrest. But I watch them and put them into their little boxes and think about them. Now I’m writing about one of them.
My friend Reggie posted one earlier today that sure looked like a young, white, female cop beat an elderly black woman and slammed her to the ground for no good reason. First glance was really horrible. Camera shook at a vital moment but stuff happens, right?
I watched the video 10 times. By the third scan I was pretty sure my hunch was right. By scan 6 I was positive about what happened. By scan 10 I knew the video was trying to stir up another racially based incident. So, take a minute to watch this 5 year old video that is now being presented on social media as an indictment of the police for brutality. I’ll explain it afterward. (Language alert!)
So, looks awful at first glance. Until you take a breath, watch it start to finish, and observe what happens. If you stop at the first flash of the woman being taken down, you’d blame the cop unless you were listening closely. If you were listening closely you’d hear the officer asking the woman to drop the knife.
Wait: isn’t that an indicator of a threat? Yup. She (the officer) neutralizes the threat. Our rule was pretty much like this: you bring a fist, I bring a stick. You bring a stick or a knife and I bring a gun. You bring a gun, I have all my friends bring guns.
The woman was evidently suffering from dementia and not all there in the incident. But when you face a knife, you face death. One slash/stab from that blade and you can die. There’s no “hit the wrist and get the knife. Why? You’re inside the threat circle and can be killed or wounded by the knife. Taser from ten feet might be good, but …not always a taser handy. So what does the cop do? She picked the middle ground and used martial arts to disarm the woman when she wouldn’t drop the knife and stand still. Beats getting shot.
Now, listen to the bystanders until the end of the tape. Lots of commentary about how she was standing in the lot waving a knife around – that’s why somebody called the police in the first place. She was a threat to herself and others. The cops can’t just say, “She’s old, she’ll tire out soon and go home.” Nope, immediate threat.
So, after watching this and posting my comment on the entry with my analysis, my friend Reggie chimed in: he approved. You see, I’m white, he’s black. But we’re brothers. At the same church. Friends, colleagues, compadres. And that relationship trumps the race-baiting nastiness that seems to be so popular in this country this week.
Two reasonable men, one white and one black, took the time to study the video and came to the same conclusion. The cops didn’t want to do it, they are clearly anguished over the woman’s being hurt. They treat her well once she’s not a threat. No beating, no nasty, no naughty. What they should do.
This weekend as you travel about, try to remove that filter on your brain. Not all cops are good, not all cops are bad. Not all black people are good, not all black people are bad. Not all white people are good, not all white people are bad. But we are all people. Children of the living God. What say we act like it and treat our brothers and sisters well until they prove themselves unworthy. Optics matter. Color doesn’t.
In the meantime, I wonder if Reggie is up for dinner after church? I need to break bread with a man of valor and conviction. A man who values truth over teams.
I am an outspoken advocate of dealing with sexual predators in ruthless ways. Those who rape, and molest, are the lowest forms of life on the planet in my opinion. Nothing can be stolen from you with more devastating impact than the ability to control your own body. It steals childhood from children, they joy of sexual intimacy from adults, and dignity from all the victims. It is not their fault but they pay the price.
I happened across this video on Facebook, and then tracked it to youtube.com. His name is Scott Spideralamode according to his various social media accounts. I have a hunch he’s for real. I’m sure he’s had a rough go since doing this video. Not because it was a bad thing, but revealing a secret like this is shattering in so many ways. Please watch the video and then we’ll resume.
Amazing, eh? Stuff like that never happens to tough guys (wrong!) I’ve never been molested or raped. But I’m close to several people who have been assaulted and had parts of their lives stolen from them. The thing I’ve found is that each of them told me about it in the hope that I wouldn’t judge them, or be mad, or disown them as a part of my life. I can’t say that I’ve always taken the news well. A few times it laid me low.
But both of us, the abused and the listener, grew stronger as a result of that shared secret. I know for a fact that getting it out in the sunlight where disinfection can begin has helped a few of them. A few still keep it a dark part of their lives, known only to a very select few friends. I have found that those people are troubled by it and poisoned by it far more than those who are open about it.
I know that when some read this blog they will think I’m talking about them. Perhaps. But does it matter? I hope not, except that if they are still harboring the secret they will open up and give it some air. Many whom I’ve never met will fall into this category. If you’d like to anonymously share your story, I’ll compile a collection and tell your story – no names, no email, nothing. Just email me the story at headdoofus AT commotioninthepews DOT com (Yeah, you have to “do the math” or the web bots spam me senseless.) It might be the first step in freeing yourself, just like Spider, from the poison of being a victim. All I ask is that you present it in a way that I can print the story on a family/public blog.
You are not alone. You are not responsible. You are loved. I’m offering some sunshine to help heal wounds. Please consider it if you would.
Seems that the blog is no longer the eye-catching mother of all inventions that I’d hoped it would be when I put it up a few years ago. Consequently we will be exploring some new headers over the next month or so. Today’s is a very lovely Kimber .45 on top of an Arabic Bible. Kind of like the way it looks, how about you?
Monday morning started at 05:30. That blasted alarm went off exactly as it should have, and Stormy and I got busy right out of the chute. She quietly went about her business and I got ready to hit the road. Once she’d finished fertilizing I set the alarm and headed for my first stop of the day.
Instead of taking the car I walked. 6.5 miles to be exact, but it was a glorious morning and at 0645 the traffic is pretty light. I made my way over to University Avenue and walked through the neighborhood known as Little Mekong. At 0715 the drug pushers, hookers, and general lay-abouts are not cluttering up the sidewalk. You see a lot of young men headed to manual labor jobs, a few business men waiting for the train, a bunch of older Asian women headed to their stores, and very few souls total.
It’s a great time to be on that street in that neighborhood: the pork is starting to simmer for lunch and the bakeries are busy turning out donuts and Bahn Bo. I have a major weakness for the stuff and it started me on the road to being ravenous.
Half way through my walk I arrived at stop #1. I was at a church to meet with the installer who was going to wire up our computer room. I’m not a member of the church, but it’s the place where I used to tutor kids. I’d built the computer room and put in the first internet system a few years ago. Today we upgraded. I’m pretty handy with wiring and working my way through small holes in thick walls. With my help it only took the installer about twice the time it normally would have taken him. By the time we were done, we were both covered in filth, plaster dust, boiler ash, and 60 year old dust and dirt from the ceilings we drilled through.
Normally this is not an issue. But now I was a stinky, dirty, large fellow walking past the State Capitol. Yup, looked like every other homeless dude in the neighborhood. I stopped at my beauty salon to make a hair appointment for my best friend – my beard. The receptionist actually gasped when I walked in the door. Then she recognized me. For that first split second I’m sure she was in fear for her life. Glad she couldn’t get to the panic button before she figured out it was me.
Perchance you remember my railing about my local McDonalds? Today proved, once again, why I have given them a few months off. I stopped in for a cone on the final leg of my journey. A dip cone, to be precise. The very nice woman behind the counter said no dip cones at that time. Okay. A regular cone would be acceptable. I’d just walked 6 miles and was a bit peckish.
I’m pretty sure the manager was crouching on top of the shake machine, because she sure swooped in at an acceleration of 9.8 m/second squared. She shrieked (yes, that is the appropriate word) “Who told you you could sell cones???!!!!” The nice woman behind the counter cringed and asked if I’d like something else. “Yes, my money back.”
Guess they need another month off.
After a brilliant, yet foot-sore, conclusion to my walk, I did the shower and lunch thing with my beautiful wife. That is a tale for another time. I’m still a little shaken from the flying monkeys pouring out of the castle windows.
