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A white cop shoots a black man.
Let me preface this by saying I am/was a white kid in a rural town. I cannot even begin to put myself in his shoes, or those of any person in a similar situation.
I "grew up" in Wolfe City. A small town with a population stagnated at 1500 people. People come and go, but it stays the same. The family's have all pretty much stayed the same. The same last names growing up in the town. A small rural town in NE Texas where nothing ever really happens that is news worthy. I find myself in Greenville now, not but 15 minutes from there. I don't know everyone in town anymore, though I know "of" most everyone in town these days. So I knew of Jonathan, clicked through his Facebook page, or saw posts that included him from his family and our mutual Facebook friends. Now, I don't claim to have any facts, I was not there, though I do trust the eye witness accounts of those that were there when it happened.
Last night, in "my" town, a white cop shot what I truly believe to be an innocent black man. Not only did he shoot him, he tased him before shooting him, a reported 3 times. Once in the chest, twice in the back. After he shot him, he handcuffed him. No attempt at life saving measures, hand cuffed him. Like a cold blooded criminal.
The eye witness reports of what happened? Well, they read like one would expect, up until the moment Jonathan was tased and shot. He saw some guy arguing and fighting with his significant other and he stood up for her, like he would for anyone, whether he knew you or not. That guy then turned his anger on Jonathan and began to fight him. At that point the cops were called and an inexperienced cop showed up. Maybe he was scared, or maybe he was "Johnny Law", we may never know the truth of what was going through his head when he showed up. It is said that Jonathan, with his hands in the air, tried to explain to the officer what was going on. Though, I guess that was not enough. Maybe the officer was threatened by his stature, again we may never know. What we do know for a fact, is that Jonathan was shot by the officer, 3 times. We know that Jonathan died as a result of those gun shot wounds. And now, the world is a little worse today. Worse because a mentor to many young athletes is no longer there to support them. Worse, because a pillar of that community, of "my town", is no longer with us. Worse, because Jonathan was the type of person that you wanted to strive to be. He was a positive light in everything that he did, and everywhere that he went.
I know, most of this is hearsay, and questions should be held until we have facts. But I trust my people. This isn't a situation where the family of a black man shows pictures of an innocent boy and his Facebook feed shows something else. On his facebook page, he supported the police. Several posts in recent months where he supported the thin blue line. In the end, the very people he supported, those entrusted to protect and to serve, they took his life. He shared his work in personal training, in fitness, and becoming a fitness competitor. He shared stories of growing up in Wolfe City, being partly raised by white families. His life long friends were not black, they were people of all color. This is an instance of an entire community, black, white, hispanic, who all say the same things. This is an instance where members of the community from all walks of life were witness to what transpired last night. These are people I've known almost my entire life, good, honest people, who I trust and believe.
Today, I've struggled with raising a child in a society where a good samaritan, standing up for a woman getting abused by her spouse gets shot. Yes, I understand that I am white, and my child is white, and it is completely naive of me to think that my son has the same danger of ending up as a statistic as a minority. I understand that I don't know what it is like for a minority to live in our country, the way people treat them, etc. I am struggling with it none the less.
Let me preface this by saying I am/was a white kid in a rural town. I cannot even begin to put myself in his shoes, or those of any person in a similar situation.
I "grew up" in Wolfe City. A small town with a population stagnated at 1500 people. People come and go, but it stays the same. The family's have all pretty much stayed the same. The same last names growing up in the town. A small rural town in NE Texas where nothing ever really happens that is news worthy. I find myself in Greenville now, not but 15 minutes from there. I don't know everyone in town anymore, though I know "of" most everyone in town these days. So I knew of Jonathan, clicked through his Facebook page, or saw posts that included him from his family and our mutual Facebook friends. Now, I don't claim to have any facts, I was not there, though I do trust the eye witness accounts of those that were there when it happened.
Last night, in "my" town, a white cop shot what I truly believe to be an innocent black man. Not only did he shoot him, he tased him before shooting him, a reported 3 times. Once in the chest, twice in the back. After he shot him, he handcuffed him. No attempt at life saving measures, hand cuffed him. Like a cold blooded criminal.
The eye witness reports of what happened? Well, they read like one would expect, up until the moment Jonathan was tased and shot. He saw some guy arguing and fighting with his significant other and he stood up for her, like he would for anyone, whether he knew you or not. That guy then turned his anger on Jonathan and began to fight him. At that point the cops were called and an inexperienced cop showed up. Maybe he was scared, or maybe he was "Johnny Law", we may never know the truth of what was going through his head when he showed up. It is said that Jonathan, with his hands in the air, tried to explain to the officer what was going on. Though, I guess that was not enough. Maybe the officer was threatened by his stature, again we may never know. What we do know for a fact, is that Jonathan was shot by the officer, 3 times. We know that Jonathan died as a result of those gun shot wounds. And now, the world is a little worse today. Worse because a mentor to many young athletes is no longer there to support them. Worse, because a pillar of that community, of "my town", is no longer with us. Worse, because Jonathan was the type of person that you wanted to strive to be. He was a positive light in everything that he did, and everywhere that he went.
I know, most of this is hearsay, and questions should be held until we have facts. But I trust my people. This isn't a situation where the family of a black man shows pictures of an innocent boy and his Facebook feed shows something else. On his facebook page, he supported the police. Several posts in recent months where he supported the thin blue line. In the end, the very people he supported, those entrusted to protect and to serve, they took his life. He shared his work in personal training, in fitness, and becoming a fitness competitor. He shared stories of growing up in Wolfe City, being partly raised by white families. His life long friends were not black, they were people of all color. This is an instance of an entire community, black, white, hispanic, who all say the same things. This is an instance where members of the community from all walks of life were witness to what transpired last night. These are people I've known almost my entire life, good, honest people, who I trust and believe.
Today, I've struggled with raising a child in a society where a good samaritan, standing up for a woman getting abused by her spouse gets shot. Yes, I understand that I am white, and my child is white, and it is completely naive of me to think that my son has the same danger of ending up as a statistic as a minority. I understand that I don't know what it is like for a minority to live in our country, the way people treat them, etc. I am struggling with it none the less.
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