WHO SHOT THE SHERIFF?

Black policeman shoots a white person -- possible local reaction

Black policeman shoots an Asian person -- possible local reaction

Black policeman shoots a Hispanic person -- possible local reaction

Black policeman shoots a black person -- possible local reaction

White policeman shoots a white person -- possible local reaction

White policeman shoots an Asian person -- possible local reaction

White policeman shoots a Hispanic person -- possible local reaction

White policeman shoots a black person -- the 10 plagues of Egypt descend upon the land, and within 12 hours thousands march the streets; shops and cars are destroyed; the pre-made sign business booms; and Anarchy flourishes.

As they said on Sesame Street, "One of these things is not like the other." But why not?Same thing happened--police shot a human being, but for some reason, a certain segment of our society got in their collective heads that in police/public interactions color makes a difference, but only color in a certain "direction." All but one of the above combination of colors is just the price of doing business, of being a human in today's society, but some how white shooter and black "shootee" is a color combination that we cannot abide, and society must be torn asunder until white police stop shooting blacks. Where does the responsibility rest to make that seemingly impossible situation happen?

Is it the responsibility of the police?

The police are taught to shoot when they fear their lives or the lives of others are in danger. They are taught to shoot to kill, not to shoot the gun out of the bad guys hand like an old Roy Rogers movie. This "shooting the bad guys when in fear of losing the lives of the good guys," is a procedure, I believe, that makes sense to most logical thinking people. The problem with this policy is the fear level of the individual policeman or woman. Some police have the nerves of a Navy SEAL, some others the nerves of a college student who just saw a Trump poster. This needs to be dealt with in psychological testing given upon entry into the police academy.

A policeman stops a white male dressed in a suit in downtown Manhattan. He is stopped for a slight traffic violation. He asks for the man's ID. The man reaches for the glove compartment. Where might the policeman’s gun hand be?

A policeman stops a black male dressed in a black hoody on the south side of Chicago. He is stopped for a slight traffic violation. He asks for the man's ID. The man reaches for the glove compartment. Where might the policeman’s gun hand be?

Let's assume that hand might be twitching a bit more during the second scenario. Why?

Despite making up just 13% of the US population, blacks committed half of homicides in the United States for nearly 30 years. DOJ statistics show that between 1980 and 2008, black people committed 52% of homicides. In 2013, black criminals committed 38% of the murders. Whites accounted for just 31 %. Forty percent of killers of police are black.

Might the policeman just be playing the odds?

Now, here comes a real wild thought, and one that were I running for office would have me branded as a bigoted, racist. Might some of the responsibility, dare I say most, of the responsibility for the number of black deaths fall upon the previous actions of the black community? How does any race develop a stereotype? Who is responsible for changing that stereotype?

I realize how suggesting our country put the responsibility on the blacks for their own conditions and stop treating as victims our perfectly capable, undervalued black citizens, must sound to the heart (Liberals) of our society. As a head (Conservative) I'm willing to risk giving the African American race full responsibility for their own future. I only wish the heart would also.

When will somebody of influence in the media have guts enough to ask the black leaders, such as they are, what responsibility does the black community have in these deaths? What can the black community DO to police itself and reduce its crime rates so that when a policeman approaches a black young man in the dead of night in South Central LA the policeman’s gun hand rests quietly by his side.