20 Seconds 70 Shots

"20 Seconds 70 Shots," is the way the Headline reads in the local newspaper. The story is about a known gang member who has violated parol, sworn to go down in a firefight and makes good on this promise by cruising in a stolen car then leading a high speed chase. I need to ask anyone bothering to read this blog, "what is wrong with this picture?" We'll the answer is a number of things. Before I go defending the Assailant and blaming the issue on Cops & society, I had to ask myself this question: "Who am I really mad at?" Many times, I use this Blog to blow off steam or make a point of some kind. It's like therapy sometimes, you know to take my frustration and write it down on a piece of paper then crumple up the paper and throw it away. Which in my mind is an excellent metaphor for the choices made in this case. Let's start with the Suspect, one Lance Nanamkin: He does a 22 month stint for his involvement in a murder case of a rival gang member. So little time I guess because his gun jammed so technically he didn't kill the rival, but his friend did. Okay that seems seems bad enough, but then he gets out of prison. He's on parole and is found in violation. I say, "Wow," couldn't see that coming like 800 pound gorilla and here is where I make my case. The Law Officers are looking for him and some how he has communicated to them that he has a machine gun! Let me say it again, "The Law Officers are looking for him and some how he has communicated to them that he has a machine gun!" You might say, "Donald, why did you say it twice because I understood you the first time." Really? because that's my point, the Law knew he had a machine gun. Doesn't it bother you that you could have been casually going to Target when this stand off happened. I mean think about it... You see the cops surround someone and you go, "Wow that's interesting!" then he starts shooting at them with a Fully Automatic! Huh, just like the movies. Here is my problem with it, in the movies the guys some known bad guy who has lived some type of life where the conclusions obvious. Okay, same difference here right? Wrong! I don't know about you, but in my Reality: some kid get's a hold of a AR 14, is not my version of people being Served & Protected. I have a big problem with the fact that not only does this guy have a weapon, but he rides around with it for awhile. So, yeah the Cops take him out! I'm mad at the Cops and not him, but let me tell you why. It seems to me that in this day, the terrorists are the nut jobs who go down in a hail of bullets. It seems justified enough because they deserve it. I write them off just like everybody else in society and go on in my life. Here is the deal though, we write off these disposable people because we have no use for them. I ask myself if this is really true? What's the difference between a guy with a badge trained to shoot, then a guy with a record? The difference is that there is no difference! You can say that it's not true, but here is something you might not have considered. Guns know no allegiance to the shooters intention. They do the job of evening the playing field. The purpose of a fully automatic with bigger than average clip full of say 50 or a 100 rounds, speaks for itself. It says, "I intend to engage with fire where I will release more bullets then my enemy." This is where I want you to pay close attention. Ask yourself, "Why are these type of weapons available?" It would be easy to disregard my question and skip ahead to an argument of even if they're not legal, criminals would get a hold of them. Again, the question is, "Why are these type of weapons available?" You might answer, "They're not and explain me the existing gun laws." No matter how you answer, it won't change the fact that these type of weapons are available. If they're available, people will get them and probably not the one's you would like to have them. So I'm against gun rights, no I'm not at all in the least. This subject was brought up when "Collinbine, " happened. It was brought up when "Virginia Tech, " happened and I'm bringing it up now! You see, I work in a field where the point is too strategically detect events of a suspicious nature. One of the principles of doing this is to identify certain circumstances you can control and predict other situations where you can't. I have a beef with the fact that we live in area that is 98% agriculture, yet everybody knows that the main export is drugs! That's why you have gangs and hence gang violence. Look I'm not knocking anybody here, but when are we going to own up to our own reality. People use substances to cope with life. Maybe it's Poverty, Neglect, Abuse or some other down trodden experience. It exists and it's fact and all those other things we would rather not talk about or acknowledge, but it's there. So, how come we as community can't impose our beliefs that the current Law is not working. People might say, "your giving in," or " you can't let the lunatics run the asylum," You know what? I think it's to late for that! We can build all the Jails and Task Force we want, but were always going to outnumbered as long as there is an illegal market for this stuff. So, a criminal goes down and several officers are given a paid vacation. How much does that cost the tax paying public? Not only do we get less service, shell out more for the cops working overtime to cover for the one's on leave, but we also pay for the life saving care to the criminal. I read these words and I admit that it sounds heart less because I just refer to generic labels and don't emphasize the fact that these are actual people I'm talking about. When Laws are judged on the structure of just principle ideas and not translated in a way too be effective, we are living in a lawless society and therefore need all the firearms we can get. I think that's the part of the story that you won't see in the headlines or will be covered as the Top Story on any Network!