Dallas Shootings - Outliers

I am so proud of how my husband, addressed the tragic event that we are all still struggling with today.

As the daughter of a police officer, the events stir memories of my Dad rushing in to help during the riots in July of 1970 and my fear for his life. I was there, bused into Asbury park by Nj Bell. I was a college student working as a telephone Operator for the summer. Somehow I didn't fear for my own life. But I knew my Dad was in the thick of things and anything could happen to him. 

He was lucky, he survived.

I mourn for the fallen and pray for their families and our country that we can get over the bigotry that has bubbled to the top and is boiling over, lit by loud angry shouts from podiums hidden by smirks and claims of support for those different from themselves.

"Outliers - We, all of us, have a tendency to label groups based on the attention grabbing outliers instead of the mainstream masses. In Dallas, the now deceased shooter said last night that he wanted to kill white police officers. This came on the heels of the deaths of two black men shot by white police officers. The Dallas snipers drew a straight line from those deaths to all white police officers. That logic is just as flawed as attributing the atrocities of any group of miscreants to an entire race, religion, nationality or ethnicity.

We, nor the outliers, can kill enough people to create peace. We can crush resistance for a short time but it will return bigger and bolder. The only answer is to stop treating the masses as the outliers. Treat everyone as an individual, not blind to obvious signs of danger nor prejudiced by outlier actions. This solution is less dramatic, creates less news content and may take years to achieve, but is the only way to a lasting peace.

This solution starts with you, the individual. You don’t need Congress to act nor for direction from your clergy. Just look at each person you see or meet as if they are part of the peaceful masses that share your hope for a better day tomorrow.

Please share this post with whatever comment you believe is appropriate."

Submitted by 

Linda Vola
Creative Muse  & 

Charlie Sharp Head Wrangler

Forever Young Farm