I am sure they investigated. They investigate all shootings. But if the kid refused to be a witness and no witnesses would “snitch”, what can they do? I suppose if they recovered the bullet and that gun was used again, maybe they might be able to do something, maybe. He didnt say they didnt investigate just that *“He survived, but no arrests were ever made.”
*
What would you suggest they do?
And he didnt say the police didnt investigate, just that "He survived, but no arrests were ever made."
I’m sure they didn’t. At all. Perhaps they filed some paperwork. Perhaps not.
I dont think you are Esprise Me.
But having worked in Law Enforcement for two decades, i can tell you that any shooting is investigated. The hospital *has to *report it, the police have to take a statement and investigate.
Paperwork is filed, yes. And then the kid sees that nothing whatsoever is done. Meanwhile, his options are:
Hijack! Tweet.
Take it to another thread.
Yep, I started out a Rush-Limbaugh-listening ditto head, then I met a rather argumentative fellow from Queens in college where we’d stay up late night arguing loudly about politics, an, well, by the end of it, I re-evaluated my philosophy and morals and realized that the left is closer to my personal ethics and moral outlook. It ain’t a perfect match for me, but I feel that socially I’ve always been quite liberal, and economically, I was a bit more center-to-right-of-center. The social liberalism hasn’t changed at all in me, but I have moved economically a bit left of center. I’m nowhere near as extreme as my good friend from Queens, but I’ve remained left of center since about 1994 and, over time, have actually inched more and more to the left. I would describe myself as some kind of blend of liberal and libertarian.
What about prejudice between minority groups, like the African American couple that recently attacked the Jewish deli? Or the group of blacks that beat up that poor white kid who was mentally handicapped? I wouldn’t say the consequences are always small.
That’s interesting. I don’t see conservatism as necessarily having to do with preserving the status quo though. I’d say for the past 20-30 years American culture has been pretty liberal and to truly enact conservative values would be “rocking the boat” a LOT.
Are you saying that you worked as a federal law enforcement agent for 20 years? Arresting people, investigating crimes, etc? What sort of crimes?
Jonathan has told us to end the Hijack.
He is right.
My take on this, is that in college I was very much influenced by Ayn Rand and philosophic libertarians and anarchists, so became philosophically conservative but more inclined to vote for libertarians rather than social conservatives who I felt required government to interfere in people’s personal lives (regarding sex, abortion, marijuana etc).
How did I become more liberal as I got older? Well I grew up in a center to left upper middle class family, NY and NJ roots, and Jewish, so my parents and uncles/aunts tended to vote Democratic, support social support programs, opposed white nationalists/ultra-rightists; my older sister was in college when I was 11 in 1969 and she was supporting both antiwar protests and kibbutzim in Israel. So, my supporting right wing pols 6 years later while in college was going against the grain! But I saw it more as supporting people’s individual rights and deemphasizing government involvement in their lives, at the time.
Then, I began to view Rand as sort of a false prophet, and espousing some pretty odious positions (including approval of the Native American genocide for example-being Jewish, I couldn’t support anyone supporting murder/torture of anyone especially of an entire people, and she dared justify this as claiming this was in the name of American capitalism and progress!) Also, I realized with more info that anarchists have as much political disagreements ranging from left to right as do most folks with more conventional political opinions. Gradually I felt more comfortable with a position supporting actual people, with support of social liberties but agreeing with the need for laws/government to balance economic extreme inequalities that capitalism produces, plus protect people with medical care/prevent poisoning in food and drugs/prevent excess violence from excess guns-weaponry, etc. I still support some conservative common sense measures like balanced budgets, but can no longer support the warmongering, racist policies, voter suppression, unlimited gun/military grade weapons ownership, deregulation of protective programs, medical care deregulation, with the political chicanery/mendacity and outright criminality that current right wingers and so-called conservatives support.
You might have a problem with your terms. The “set the clock back 20, 30, 50 years” mindset is more accurately described as reactionary, not conservative.
I’m a Christian myself. If you care about Christian values, then I don’t see how you can vote GOP.
Sure, back in 2008 or 2012, you could argue they were about Christian values. But, in 2016, the “Religious Right” decided to vote for a man who is the complete antithesis of the values they claim to support.
Trump doesn’t even pretend to adhere to Christian values. He is hateful, mean spirited, lacking in humility, shows no love for anyone but himself. He doesn’t read his Bible and can’t even fake it. (His favorite book is “one Corinthians.”) When asked if he had asked Jesus to forgive his sins, he flat out said that he’d never done anything that needed forgiveness! He is the ultimate self worshiper.
And that’s without getting into his caging children, his desire to lock up anyone who says anything bad about him, his two divorces (the Bible says God HATES divorce). The problem with discussing him is just the sheer amount of sin he so openly commits.
Sure, he’s not the only Republican. But all the other Republicans support him. They want to enable him. They make excuses for him.
I also note that the “socialism” that the Democrats support is on the level of the social safety net you support. Bernie Sanders is the openly “socialist” candidate, and he doesn’t support communism or destroying capitalism. He just supports things to help out poor people. You know, something Jesus himself said was of utmost importance. “Whatsoever you do to the least of these, you also do to me.”
I’m glad you found Jesus. But you’ve been misled to believe this means you have to be a Republican. You are completely mixed up on what Democrats actually believe.
I invite you to read this pastor’s website. Even the most recent article is about what Christians are supposed to believe, and how other so-called “Christians” don’t care.
Oh, and, if you don’t want to see bad things happen to women who have had abortions, why do you support pro-life? That would mean sending these women to jail. They would have committed a crime.
My own story is that I’ve been a Christian all my life, and was originally a Republican and, I thought, a conservative. But the more I read the Bible and the more I saw what conservatism really was about, the more I realized that they were incompatible.
It is liberalism, not conservatism, that cares about the poor, the oppressed. It is liberals who push people to get psychological help. It is liberalism that puts others ahead of self–compare the conservative “we hate taxes” to the liberal “we should tax people to help the poor.” The conservative idea is selfish about keeping your own money.
I also realized that abortion is not mentioned in the Bible. For all the importance people put on it, neither Jesus nor Paul, let alone any other disciples, thought it was important. Moses didn’t write anything down about it. The closest is actually a Scripture where God says to give a rape victim some herbs that will make her belly swell and her “thigh” fall off, which sure sounds like causing a miscarriage–you know, abortion. But, even if that doesn’t count, then the Bible doesn’t say anything at all.
Is liberalism perfect? No. Are there liberal atheists? Sure. But a whole lot of them act more Christian than the so-called Christians I encounter. They’re out there helping others, trying to right wrongs. It isn’t the liberals who preach that “greed is good”–that’s Ayn Rand, who financial conservatives adore.
Plus, well, God is against racism and bigotry. God is against sexism and xenophobia. Galatians 3:28 says “There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.”
Republicans had only the appearance of supporting Christianity. They were the white-washed walls. But, now that Trump came along, we see what they really wanted. All of those supposed Christians swearing fealty to him. Fortunately, God opened my eyes before Trump came in, but he is the proof to any who thought that Christian values were really aligned with the right.
As I’ve deepened my walk with God, I have only become more liberal over time. Because Jesus was a liberal. He was a progressive. He was all about overthrowing the systems of the day. What he preached about “blessed are the poor” is exactly what liberals say today.
Maybe some form of conservatism might be compatible with Christianity. But the kind that exists in this country very much isn’t. And, until it aligns with what Jesus teaches, I remain liberal.
I think some changing political stances are due to growing information and awareness. I’ll use myself and my feelings about school vouchers as an example.
I’ve always had a vague interest in public policy, but little concern about the details. I didn’t even read newspapers. I was a very avid reader but … So Many Books, So Little Time. Barclay Cooke has a new book on Backgammon! — That’s where my limited book-buying budget went. Textbooks on signal processing, coding theory, SCSI or SMD Specs — Who even has time for reading science fiction or spy novels?
I’m sure many many Americans are like I was. We’re not devoid of interest or aptitude for political thought, but life has other priorities.
I thought school vouchers were a great idea. Why should folks with their kids in private schools pay for the schools they’re not using? Shouldn’t there be choice? Won’t competition improve all schools, both private and public? School vouchers appealed to my libertarian instincts. What’s not to like? Many liberals support vouchers; and I’m sure some voucher programs are operated properly; I would approve of them. Even some Republicans are quite sincere in their efforts to improve all schools, public and private.
But today the correct answer to the general question “School vouchers?” has to be No, No, No! if one is well-informed. The right-wing agenda is to strangle the schools where underclass children are schooled, to subsidize the WASP upper-middle class and to abet religious indoctrination. Betsy DeVos and her ilk have no interest in education (unless it’s to inculcate children with right-wing dogma); Betsy’s goal is to enrich her donors, many of whom operate fraudulent schools.
So, to summarize this example: A* poorly informed voter* with progressive values might vote R when they learn R’s support vouchers and D’s don’t. Informed voters, not so much.
The more American voters learn, the more likely they are to vote D.
I was raised a “Moderate Republican” which, it would seem, is an extinct species. I have been driven left by the appalling state of the Republican party as it stands today.
I’ve always been suspicious about claims like these that paint one side as entirely Good Guys and the other side as entirely Bad Guys.
There are conservatives who are unselfish and generous and care about the poor. They just believe that private organizations and individuals should be the ones helping them.
And now I’m going to resist writing a long explanation of why this view (previous paragraph) makes a certain amount of sense, BUT ALSO why it appeals to and is advanced by people who really are selfish and just want to keep as much of their money as possible.
I never listened to Rush Limbaugh, but years ago when his two books hit the discount bins I bought and read them and found them stimulating to dialogue/argue with. I don’t remember many details, but I do remember thinking that some of the things that Rush said were reasonable points, but (1) very one-sided, and (2) the kind of argument that an insincere greedy person would advance, too.
15 years ago, I definitely would have been a Trump supporter. No doubt about it.
There are, they just don’t have a political party anymore. And they may even refrain from identifying as conservative so as not to be confused with the party of Trump.