What The Hell Is Wrong With Our Society??????

On Halloween night, two police officers parked on the side of a street near our home were ambushed, with one murdered. The city was in shock, with a huge memorial immediately forming at the site, candlelight vigils, the whole nine yards. Not just in our neighborhood - which is on and off a center of horrible violence - but everywhere. You just don't kill cops just because they're cops. You just don't.

Sunday morning at about 8:15, four police officers in a coffee shop in Parkland, a suburb of Tacoma (about 30 miles south of here), were murdered. A man walked in, pretended to place an order at the counter, then turned and executed the officers as they were getting ready for their shift. The murderer is still not captured - although there was a night-long vigil at a home in the Leschi neighborhood (just south of us) where he was last seen, and apparently another surveillance tonight in Renton, just south of Seattle.

Now, I understand that there has been talk of retalliation against Seattle police for brutality in some arrests recently. I don't discount that. That, in and by itself, is disgusting. And hopefully, being investigated and corrected. I get it.

But "an eye for an eye" leaves both sides blind.

All of these officers were, quite blatantly, executed. These were not any officers who had any dealings, to public knowledge, in any case that would call for retaliation. These were hard-working members of a force that is sworn to protect us. These were fathers and mothers who leave behind families who will grieve for the rest of their lives. These were mentors, teachers, people who I wish I had known. These were people who were murdered for the mere fact that they wore a badge and had devoted their lives to the protection of people that they didn't even know. People like the cowards who decided that they weren't worthy of living.

This is all "alleged". Nothing has been solved. And I'm a pretty far-left leaning liberal, who is supposed to fight for the rights of anybody, no matter what they "allegedly" did.

But what the hell is going on in our society???

You kill because you have a beef with the police??? WHY DO YOU HAVE A BEEF WITH THE POLICE??? Is it perhaps possible that you did something that you SHOULDN'T HAVE DONE that got in into trouble in the first place??

I am less and less tolerant the longer I live in this neighborhood. Yes, it's true - you have been living a down-trodden, unlucky life. That in iteself is not your fault. Yes, you've been left out of the good-luck lottery. I get it. I DO get it. I support all kinds of things that will help you. I want you to succeed.

But really. Seriously?? This is what will lift you up, will make your life worthwhile, will show the whole damned world that you are as good as everyone else???

Our neighborhood, our city, our lives are in turmoil right now because there is no respect for authority, for right and wrong, for society, for anything but "an eye for an eye"?





This, truly, is our downfall. The idea that no one is better than "me". We're all in this together. C'mon - this isn't the way to do this. And the fact that this alleged assasin should have been put away for life (another idea that I strongly am disagreeing with - with some, there is no "rehabilitation") is even more dusgusting. How should this person have been "treated"? How far do we go in trying to rehabilitate someone? When do we know that someone should be released back into the world, with the risk that they're going to do something evil, and harmful, and life-altering to someone and to their friends and family and the world and that we should just take that risk???



I realize I'm ranting and am writing in frustration, so I'm ready to take my lumps. I just don't get it. I don't understand - or agree with - the "eye for an eye" mentality. You look at the pictures of these officers, of their families, of what this is doing to my city, and you explain to me that it's right. Please explain it to me ... I have no perception of this.

In Which I'm Told I Destroy Marriage and Threaten Children.

Scott and I headed up to Lynnwood yesterday, to buy some more Halloween decorations (Scott has a problem) and to go to Alderwood Mall to find a few new clothes for me. Luckily, Scott has worked in Lynnwood for many years (although he just transferred to Northgate), so he could navigate us around easily - I get lost when I get out of the city. What we didn't expect was to come across hundreds of protesters rallying against Referendum 71 - which is on the ballot for next month's election to uphold Washington State's domestic partnership law, which grants state rights to same-sex couples and domestic partners over the age of 62.

We were enraged. Yes, everyone has the right to hold and voice their opinions - but this was unreal. Apparrently this group came from a Russian Baptist church in Eastern Washington, and has been very vocal in their opposition of granting us and other same-sex couples any rights whatsoever.

What really appalled me was the number of high-school-aged (and younger) kids who were out there holding signs. Yes, we learn values from our parents and families (most of us), but I don't truly believe that these kids honestly know what they're protesting against other than "people who aren't like us". That's what they are learning from this. It's okay to oppress people who you don't know anything about other than that you've been told they are not like you, and therefore not as good as you (or not good at all).

I know, I know ... I'm preaching to the choir, so why even bother?

Because in the off chance that one of those people who were carrying these signs reads - actually reads - this post, maybe they'll think about this.

Quoting the bible isn't enough. The bible was written by man, not god. There are examples (in the Old Testament) you can pull from it that say that homosexuality is a sin. There are examples you can pull from it that say don't wear white after Labor Day, if you want to spin it enough (I wouldn't be surprised if that's happened already). It's really about interpretation of ancient beliefs based on the time they were written. If those books had been written today, they'd have a different meaning. Depending on who would have written them. Interpretation is huge.

Securing rights for domestic partnerships is not tantamount to gay marriage. Sure, it may lead the way - and of course I'm for that - but you're putting the cart before the horse. That's not what this is about.

My big fat domestic partnership is not attacking the sanctity of your opposite-sex marriage. You can be opposite-married all you want. If Scott and I being together has attacked your marriage or any others', there are much bigger fish to fry. Look in the mirror.

Feel an overwhelming need to preserve and protect marriage? Make divorce illegal. I'd be out marching and waving signs for that in a heartbeat.

Think that the very idea of same-sex couples harms children? How? Do a Google search on the percentage of child molesters who are straight.

Think that the way that homosexuality - and same-sex partnerhips - would harm children is that all children will be required to view explicit homosexual pornography in schools and libraries (yes, this is actually an argument that comes up time and time again)? Where did you get that idea? Please tell me where in Referendum 71 this is shown.

Please, those of you who are against these basic civil rights for us - come to my neighborhood. Meet out neighbors. The straight, child-rearing, working and tax-paying and voting neighbors of ours. Ask them of the destruction we have wrought on our neighborhood and their families and their children. Ask them why they allow their children to trick-or-treat at our house. Ask them why they knock on our door when their kids want to see our pets, and actually let them come inside. Ask them why they let us go camping with them and let their kids see us holding hands. Ask them why they bring cans of chicken soup to our house when we have a cold. Ask them why they offer to let us borrow their mixer when ours died and we're trying to make banana bread. Ask them why they ask us to house-sit and cat-sit and bring in their recycling bins when they go on vacation, why they invite us to dinner and parties and why they stop by and talk to us out in the yard, in full view of the world, and laugh with us and wave as they drive by.

And then, look in the mirror and take a good, hard look. And wonder if your god sees them as less than you because they love and accept and yes, sometimes actually TOUCH us.

How DARE he talk to the nation's children about edukayshun!

High-larious. Thanks Kyle.