To Protect and To Serve…

Eric Garner told five police officers he couldn’t breathe nine times before the officer who had him in the illegal chokehold finally loosened his grip. Nine times. He wasn’t screaming or cursing at the officers or trying to hit anyone. He was gasping for breath, using what little oxygen he had left in his lungs to send a message he hoped would save his life:

I can’t breathe.
I can’t breathe.
I can’t breathe.
I can’t breathe.
I can’t breathe.
I can’t breathe.
I can’t breathe.
I can’t breathe.
I can’t breathe.
And then he stopped breathing altogether.

Imagine if you were rough-housing with a mate and he twisted your arm but instead of being funny, it really hurt. Imagine if it took telling him you were in pain nine times to get him to let go.

Stop. That hurts.
Stop. That hurts.
Stop. That hurts.
Stop. That hurts.
Stop. That hurts.
Stop. That hurts.
Stop. That hurts.
Stop. That hurts.
Stop. That hurts.
You’d be pretty mad.

Or imagine being with someone who was injured and you grabbed the phone to call 911 only to be told by the dispatcher you had to repeat the instruction nine times if you expected anyone to pay attention.

NINE ONE ONE. 
NINE ONE ONE. 
NINE ONE ONE. 
NINE ONE ONE. 
NINE ONE ONE. 
NINE ONE ONE. 
NINE ONE ONE. 
NINE ONE ONE. 
NINE ONE ONE. 

You’d be livid. But at least you’d still be alive.

The five officers who subdued Eric Garner have no business riding around in vehicles with a slogan which reads “To Protect and To Serve…” because they obviously have no idea what the words mean. Well boys, it’s actually a promise from the police inside the car to the citizens outside the car that their presence is meant to keep them safe from harm and they are on hand to perform tasks which benefit the community. I think if nothing else happens now, it should be insisted that the slogan be removed from police vehicles. It’s no longer a promise. It’s a joke. And not a very funny one.

Here’s the transcript of Eric Garner’s last ever words:

Rest in peace big guy …

 

WTH NEW YORK!?!? *Update

Peaceful protesting is an American right!
What the HELL is happening to our police departments???

 

Turns out police across the country have been using the LRAD Cannon on protesters since 2009 –  (G20 Summit) and again in 2011 (Occupy Wall Street protesters) and now tonight in NYC. What the Hell is going on with our police and who the Hell is giving the orders?

Working links from the graphic are here:

LRAD: http://instagram.com/p/wN9YIJFrMA/
‪#‎BlackLivesMatter‬ ‪#‎EricGarner‬ ‪#‎ICantBreate‬ ‪#‎shutitdown‬
https://www.facebook.com/TheOther98

*Update

 

 

 

Bill Cosby: What Are The Odds?

More than 12 women have come forward to say Bill Cosby raped them when they were younger. Bill Cosby. Our Bill Cosby.

Bill Cosby has been there my whole life. From his stand-up comic days in San Francisco Night Clubs through three seasons of I Spy to an entire generation of Cliff Huxtabel on the Cosby Show. I had all his stand-up comedy records from the early years and can still hear his voice complaining about his little brother Russell and it still makes me laugh out loud.

But the fact remains, more than 12 women have come forward to say Bill Cosby raped them when they were younger. So before you dismiss all these women as nutjobs and kooks because you just can’t bring yourself to believe your (our) beloved Bill Cosby was ever a monster, maybe just hang back and do the math.

If half of these women are gold diggers looking for 15 minutes of fame, that leaves at least six women who might be telling the truth. If only half of them are liars, that leaves three.

If only one of these women is telling the truth – that’s still one woman telling the truth. And if the claim of getting teenage girls drunk so Cosby could take advantage of them sexually is true for even one young lady – that’s still one young lady too many.

It isn’t widely known, but cute little Jerry Lewis used to have paid call-girls waiting for him in his dressing room when he was live on stage. And they were paid well because rumour had it that he was pretty mean to them. This came out one year during a telethons.  It later proved to be true.

So I’m just speculating here but I think (looking back) there was an era of entitlement that accompanied stardom. And it wouldn;’t surprise me to learn that incredibly powerful, highly energetic, creative men came with a dark side the public is never meant to see.

And the only reason it’s all coming out now is because we’ve gotten very bad at sweeping things under the rug. And very good at teaching our daughters to stand up for themselves and not be bullied by power.

If only one of these women is telling the truth, then odds are Bill Cosby had more than one victim. I’m just going to sit quietly in a corner and let that sink in for a bit.

 

Basking in the Glow after Thanksgiving

These were ny favourite Thanksgiving posts on Facebook 🙂

Enjoy –

 

Hope you all had a better Turkey Day than these two guys!!!

And in case you’ve never seen this, here is my favourite turkey recipe 🙂

 

And last but not least, famous Thanksgiving regrets…

Now – everyone ready for December Mayhem? I may just curl up on the sofa with my knitting and hide until January 2nd 🙂