There are times you encounter a news headline and video so against your understanding of logic, it makes you question humanity. You are not alone. Personally, I am a few stories away from thinking that many among us, may not be humans at all. They may look like us, but their inhumane actions prove they are not of us. 

Before I continue, I want to set a disclaimer that I have the utmost respect for law-abiding citizens. It does not matter what title or profession you fall under; CEO’s, judges, school teacher, etc. However, if you fall outside of the realm of abiding the law, a gentleman should and must call you out.

This is a bit different from my usual posts, so I’ve decided to create a completely different category for what my wife considers One Gentleman’s Rant. Lol.

If you ever want to understand someone’s point of view, replace either the speaker with someone else, or some of their words.

For instance, let us say I am a racist Caucasian male, spewing hatred against Asians. In his eyes, there is nothing wrong with his racially motivated perspective.  Apply my logic by removing his insults against Asians, and replace with the word Caucasian.

If he says, Asians are the scum of the earth and we must eradicate them all, say in response, Caucasians are the scum of the earth and we must eradicate them all. Watch how fast this idiot will then consider your words as insulting.

Okay, with that out of the way, there is a group of some individuals who have the backing of others within the industry, who commit some of the vilest acts and yet, the conclusion drawn after extensive video evidence is this: S/he was following protocol and within the confines of his/her duties.

Police brutality is the use of excessive and/or unnecessary force by police when dealing with civilians.

What exactly is this thing called excessive force? If we go by the different reports involving police brutality, for many police officials, there’s no such thing. However, if we use what a logically minded person would consider excessive force, it simply refers to force well beyond what would be necessary in order to handle a situation.

So, are the responsibilities of a police officer difficult? Without question, each day an officer exits their home, it could be their very last. Some cities and neighborhoods are far more violent than others are. Just to be clear, I do not dislike cops. However, I take issue with those who commit crimes, hide behind their job title and get away with it.

For the sake of this post, I am not involving the lowest of the lowly scum, who make the job difficult for officers. These violent criminals with no concern for anyone, not even themselves; their demise is usually inevitable. In short, I am not referring to scum.

I am talking about regular citizens like a 12-year-old girl, who the police falsely identify as a prostitute. While outside her home fixing a circuit breaker, an unmarked vehicle approaches her residence. From the reports, without providing any form of identification, several plain-clothed police officers exit and proceed to drag her into the vehicle. This seems like a classic kidnapping scenario. Clearly, any person would scream for help and fight back. This act of defiance only made the encounter worse for Dymond Milburn.

You could imagine the beating she endured from these men. This incident took place in 2008, and with 2014 coming to an end, the case is still ongoing. Keep in mind, the attorney for the officer’s involved said they were following protocol. WOWZERS!

The concern for excessive force involves a parent like Luiz Rodriguez. Here we have a father trying to diffuse a disciplinary session, between his wife and daughter. This situation goes from bad to death, when three cops and two security officers arrive and pin this loving father to the ground, as if he were an animal. I am a logical person, so we will all collectively review his situation. They place handcuffs onto this individual, pin him to the ground, with each male applying direct pressure.

Imagine lying face-down on the ground, where an average sized male is applying pressure to your back. How difficult would you consider breathing? Now imagine several of these individuals on your back.

Watching the video was utterly disgusting. Watching these men kneel into his lifeless body, as if he had 10 machine guns and five infant hostages–it was a vile and clear display of excessive force.  Listening to his wife call out his name, with no response…it was disheartening.

I value the life of others. Life is incredibly, and I mean incredibly special. The idea that you cannot separate an officer from criminals…that is a tragedy. Is this where we are today?

The most asinine part of this video is when you notice his completely still body, yet one officer has the audacity to say, Calm down sir. Why did he say calm down? The man was unconscious, what exactly in this scenario could someone calm down. It took five grown men to calm down a lifeless body. Bravo…bravo…bravo.

So, after this video evidence, what direction would you expect the law to go? His death was ruled a homicide, which is a neutral term that does not imply, or deny fault for those involved. However, after the three officers were suspended with pay, the District Attorney said their actions were well within the lines of their duty, thus appropriate under the law.

No charges will be filed.

In fact, this official said the death was his own fault. You read that correctly. The death of Rodriguez was the fault of Rodriguez. His death is therefore the cause of his dwindling health, and not the five adult males pinning him to the ground, which makes breathing impossible. Therefore, the next time your toe collides with the corner wall of your home, blame the wall for being there…it was the bloody wall’s fault for you walking into it.

When people reject logic, my head aches. Logic is what separates us from animals. When you witness five grown males on top of someone, and not contribute the death even partially, to the five grown males on top of someone, you happen to be the reason I consider idiocy a disease.

This type of idiotic logic is why people have a difficult time trusting any public official. Is it possible to appear unbiased, if you have relations to someone? Logic tells me yes. If my best friend molested a young boy, guess who would beat the snot out of him and then hand him over to the police?  –This guy–

I have an incredibly difficult time with those who are capable, but refuse to think with logic. Logic does not equate to advanced degrees, high I.Q. and income status. It takes a simple thing like being rational. Are you telling me that public officials cannot be rational in their positions? If that is the case, you should be fired. 

The same way we can all admit to the existence of criminals, you cannot refuse to admit that we have corrupt police officers, committing acts of violence against those they swear to protect.

Public officials who stand by and not only ignore bad behavior, but refuse to admit it occurs…you are part of the reason the behavior continues.

I do not have a problem with public officials…my issue is of course with public officials consistently abusing the law, and refusing to admit to their wrongdoings and that of their peers. To know your fellow officers abuse their power, right before your eyes and yet, you say and do nothing…you are scum. If my friend decides to rape someone in front of me, and I did not say or do anything…I am scum.

Logic applies to everyone. Wrong is wrong, and right is right. No one is above reproach…not even the guy writing this blog post.

Rant over.