Horror. Shock. Disbelief. Numbness. Grief. Anger. And terrible sadness.
These fractured thoughts were all I could muster as I watched the terrible news in Dallas unfold last week.
At times like these, I feel at a loss over what to write and this one hits close to home after moving from North Texas just a few months ago.
What’s there to say that is useful about a week of awful events in this country?
Two black men are killed in what appeared to be the excessive use of force by white police officers. Then hundreds of miles away from either one of those two shootings, five police officers were assassinated and seven others were wounded by a gunman who told police he wanted to kill white cops. Then three more officers were wounded in what might have been copycat crimes.
When those entrusted with ensuring the safety of others themselves become targets, then it's all bets off on the societal rules that bind and bolster the ability of most of us to go about our business peacefully.
A line has been crossed into territory where no one should want to venture, least of all those in neighborhoods where violent crime already is too common. In some of those, relationships with police are strained, but what would be infinitely worse for all is the absence of law enforcement in those places where they are not always wanted.
I understand the frustration that has given rise to the Black Lives Matter movement with too many incidents of black men killed by police officers, generally in situations that did not have to end that way.
President Obama hit it right on the head in his comments saying that “there is no possible justification” for this “vicious, calculated and despicable attack on law enforcement.”
That said, I understand the frustration that has given rise to the Black Lives Matter movement, even if sometimes misplaced and misapplied. There just have been too many incidents of black men killed by police officers in situations that could have and should have been avoided.
However, the policemen in Dallas had nothing to do with what occurred near St. Paul and Baton Rouge in the days prior. The officers were out on the streets protecting a peaceful protest. They were not killed because of the Black Lives Matter movement, but safeguarding the right of organizations to protest.
Events like these usually bring the country together, but my fear is that events this past week could further widen the gap between black men and white cops.
We all need to stand as Americans, regardless of our race and strive to become one Nation under God with liberty and justice for all.
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Joseph Brown is the editor and publisher of The Star-Herald. He can be reached at jbrown@starherald.net.
