I went with an open mind

I attend the Founders’ Day convo on the 20th of January. I went with an open mind after doing a little research on who, Rev. Dr. Jones, was and where she stands. I understood that there would be something said that I would not agree with and that was fine with me. What I wasn’t ready for was a full out attack.

She quoted some ideas that a couple of people thought up back in the 50’s that would help with the money problems that they country was facing. The short of those ideas were that if you were rich and worked hard for your money, when you died you could only pass along up to ten million dollars. That was the first red flag for me. There is a reason why those ideas didn’t stick in the 50’s and I’m sure it the same reason why they will never work in today’s world. Working hard for a living only to find out that when you die, your hard earned money that you want to pass down to your children isn’t going to happen. They will only get so much and the government will take the rest of it away. What type of stupid idea is this? You are wrong if you are rich. That is what she was saying.

The second red flag that bothered me is when she talked about all the wrong doings that happen over the past few months to the black people of America. The short of it again was that she was saying if you are white you are racist and thus you are wrong. The whole race card is being played way to much these days and it’s getting old. It has lost its power and in doing so has made it just another word to throw around when someone isn’t smart enough to come up with a better word to use.

The third problem I had with her is her lack of proper terminology. She spoke about her trip to Ferguson and how the “National Guard was there in full riot gear you know face mask and camouflage, they type they wear when fighting wars.” I’ll stop right there for a second and explain why this is so wrong. Firstly we haven’t been in a WAR since World War 2. The media has called things wars but under definition they were never. Secondly, the war camouflage that she spoke of is a uniform that is worn at all times by the Military. Period. The only time you see them in something else is when there is an event that is going on that calls for their dress uniform. All branches of the Military has a Dress uniform and a duty uniform or as she calls it “war camouflage”. Then she started talking about how they had machine guns not strapped over their shoulders but in front of their bodies in their arms. During this point she made a gesture as holding up a firearm and pointing it at members in the audience. I’ll stop again because being prior military you do not go in for riot control with machine guns in your arms. They are M4 or a semi-automatic firearm. A MACHINE GUN is a fully automatic gun. The lightest fully automatic gun or MACHINE GUN that I know of weights around 25 pounds. There is no way that a person is going to be standing in one spot for hours on end hold a 25 pound gun in their arms. Her lack of knowledge is what really got me angry. Her lack of respect for the military and her lack of understanding why they were called in to control the riots in Ferguson is extremely bothersome.

Lastly, the fact that she called Ferguson a war zone is disrespectful. She has never been to war nor would she know what it looks like. She has little knowledge on the subject so she should have been smart and kept her mouth shut.

Do you know why there wasn’t more damage done in Ferguson, I’ll tell you. It was because the police and National Guard controlled the rioters and when they started to move out of the riot zone. They moved the crowd back in on its self. Same as one would do with a forest fire, keep in contained and soon there will be nothing left to burn and the fire will go out.

 

James Lutze

Sophomore Criminal Justice Student