Some Thoughts on Resolving the Minneapolis George Floyd Situation

It seems inexcusable that the Minneapolis police officer who killed George Floyd on May 25th, 2020 was not charged sooner than Friday, May 29th. It seems inexcusable that charges still have not been filed against the other three officers.

Police officers are first responders. They are trained to effectively make spur-of-the-moment decisions in life-and-death situations. They carry weapons for a reason, and are supposed to be trained to exercise restraint in the use of force.

It’s inexcusable that apparently for over eight minutes police officer Derek Chauvin had his knee on George Floyd’s throat, apparently for over two minutes after Floyd became unresponsive.

Furthermore, the other three officers either didn’t notice, or chose not to intervene effectively. Why?

The right decision was made to fire all four. The right decision was made to charge Chauvin. Now the decision needs to be made to charge the other three officers with something. Perhaps criminal negligence? I’m not a lawyer or law enforcement officer, so I’m not sure what the specific charge should be.

Furthermore, it may be important to note that the officer who committed the murder apparently had been charged with eighteen previous misdeeds as an officer, only two of which received punishment, and those only received a “letter of reprimand.”

I don’t know if the two reprimands were for minor infringements. I don’t know if the other sixteen were things that deserved no punishment or were from false accusations.

However, I think more information, more disclosure, is better than less. And if it is found that the other eighteen offenses were things he was guilty of that deserved criminal charges or termination from his employment, the police department has some explaining to do. A lot of it.

Emotional Reactions

When emotions get out of control, bad things happen. What leads to out-of-control emotions? Sometimes it is perceived inaction or inappropriate action taken by persons in positions of authority. This inaction precipitates destructive emotional outbursts by others that can lead to even worse things than whatever the original situation was. 

Too often laws and the legal justice system protect those who make and enforce the laws at the expense of others. Judges and police officers who empathize with their comrades too often cover up or minimize their misdeeds. Republicans, Democrats, liberals, conservatives, Caucasians, African-Americans, Hispanics, Freemasons, church members, etc., cover up or excuse errors by members of their group, while condemning those of others.

We need caring, compassionate justice that seeks to attain the best solution for the whole situation.

And I dislike violence, and have since childhood. In the seventh grade I even chose campus violence for the topic of the term paper I submitted in April 1971 for an English assignment.

Reasons Persons Become Law Enforcement Officers?

My guess (only a guess) is that police officers often seem to seek careers in law enforcement primarily for one of two reasons.

Many seem to desire to serve others, to see justice and fairness prevail. And I like to think this constitutes the majority of police officers.

Another group, I like to think a much smaller one, seeks the job maybe as a way to have power over others.

Some officers who enter for the right reasons, become jaded and change due to the bad things they experience on the job. Some other officers who enter the force for the wrong reasons learn from experience and training and become quality officers.

No Good or Bad People, Just Good or Bad Actions

There are no good or bad people, just good or bad things done by people. We need to help others. We need to help those officers, but we can’t allow them to abuse their authority, and they need to face consequences when they do.

Similarly, the looting, fire setting, property destruction, and violence committed by protesters are definitely wrong. It needs to cease. It’s counterproductive. Persons need to face consequences for this too.

Disagreements Between Liberals and Conservatives

Maybe cooler heads will prevail. Maybe even liberals and conservatives will recognize each side has strengths and weaknesses.

Maybe liberals calling for gun control will watch videos of looters destroying businesses with the police not interfering, while other businesses that were protected by owners and employees holding guns at the doors of their businesses avoided the destruction. Maybe they will recognize why many law-abiding citizens want guns. Maybe they will recognize the need to limit protests.

Maybe conservatives claiming police don’t commit abuses will watch the video of George Floyd’s death and urge that police who commit criminal actions be prosecuted. Maybe they will learn the history of past police abuses in Minneapolis and elsewhere that led to innocent persons being beaten, killed, wrongfully arrested, or harassed far too often for far too many years, and better understand how things build up to a boiling-over point. And seek improvements.   

Nonviolent Resistance Can Be More Effective Than Violence 

Over 2,000 years ago, when Jesus willingly submitted to crucifixion after preventing a follower from using a sword to defend him in the garden of Gethsemane, his religion did not die. Followers of Jesus now constitute the largest faith group in the world.

When Mathatma Gandhi urged nonviolent resistance in India, his works led to positive changes.

When Martin Luther King, Jr., led nonviolent resistance in the United States, positive changes came. Seeing his followers being beaten on that bridge in Selma, Alabama in view of television cameras in March 1965, likely made it evident even to children who watched the scene later on national television newscasts, which side was correct. Some say that nationally televised clash in which many unresisting protesters were badly beaten by law enforcement officials was the key turning point in the civil rights movement.

Discrimination hasn’t ended. But much progress has been made. Destroying groceries, banks, and other businesses isn’t helping matters. Sadly, many of the destroyed businesses probably belong to people seeking to help the underprivileged. In some cases they were even owned by African-Americans who worked hard to open and build up a business, rising from poverty to own a successful business.

Closing Thoughts

Let’s make sure we condemn the actions, not the persons committing the actions, condemn the sins, not the sinners.

Those police officers likely endured a lot of stress and strain in a tough job. Those protesters who committed the looting and set fires likely have a lot of pent-up emotions from decades of discrimination and suffering. The officers and the protesters may have witnessed situations in the past that no human being should have to see or be a part of.

We all need to unite for positive change. As a Christian, I am called to love others. Those police officers responsible for George Floyd’s death did not show love. Those protesters who looted and burned buildings did not show love.

Let’s seek to help those on both sides. We need accountability. But even more, we need love.

NOTE:

This article being submitted to Google Blogger on May 31st, 2020 is virtually identical to one the author submitted earlier the same day to Craft News Report, a website operated by his friend Paul Craft.

Should a COVID-19 Vaccination Be Mandatory If/When Available?

Numerous researchers around the world are seeking to develop a vaccine to protect against COVID-19. An April 28, 2020 Nature.com article[1] stated “more than 90 vaccines are being developed against SARS-CoV-2” (COVID-19). Clinical trials are already underway on a few of them. If/when one is publicly available, perhaps as soon as late this year, should getting vaccinated be mandatory?

Various Vaccines

Various vaccines protect us effectively against several communicable diseases, including chicken pox, diphtheria, hepatitis A, measles, mumps, pertussis (whooping cough), rubella, and tetanus. That’s wonderful.

But coronaviruses like the common cold, influenza (flu), and COVID-19 are harder to vaccinate against. For example, we still don’t have an effective vaccine against the common cold. New vaccines are developed each year for particular flu strains, but they only protect against certain varieties of the flu and aren’t 100% effective against those.

A Few Questions About Potential COVID-19 Vaccines 

Massive efforts are underway to develop a COVID-19 vaccine. But if one is developed, how effective will it be? How safe will it be? How long will it take to accurately determine its safety and effectiveness? Will the virus mutate rendering the vaccine ineffective against new mutations? These questions remain unanswered.

My Personal Views on Coronavirus Vaccinations

Personally, I don’t want to be a guinea pig on the front lines of those getting a COVID-19 vaccine. Initially, I think it would be best to limit the vaccine to high-risk groups such as the elderly and those with underlying conditions.

A large percentage of persons who catch COVID-19 are either asymptomatic or have mild symptoms. We don’t want the treatment to be worse than the disease.

I’ve never had a flu shot either except for one during my first year of college when President Gerald Ford urged persons in the United States to get vaccinated against the swine flu. More persons apparently experienced problems from the vaccine than from the flu.

According to a 2013 Discover Magazine piece[2] about that 1976 swine flu outbreak “those who were infected with the flu only suffered from a mild illness while the vaccine . . . resulted in over four-hundred and fifty people developing the paralyzing  Guillain-Barre syndrome.”

A Particular Concern About a Potential COVID-19 Vaccine

A particular concern with a potential COVID-19 vaccine is the speed with which its development is being rushed. Rushing it into production in a matter of months instead of years prevents knowing its long term side effects before it is administered. It also potentially can lead to mistakes in the production process if massive production is rushed.

To err on the side of caution, I would prefer that the development of the vaccine not occur too hastily. Allowing at least months of clinical trials, followed by recommending the vaccination only to high-risk groups, would protect the masses of persons from potential side effects of the vaccine that do not become apparently in the initial clinical trials.

It often takes years to learn about drug side effects. Despite their many years on the market, we are still learning about the side effects and the potential side effects of such over-the-counter pain reducer drugs as aspirin, Tylenol, Advil, and Aleve.

Grocery Bag Example and Changing Views Over Time

I remember when I was a child that groceries and most other store purchases came in brown paper bags. Then, to help save trees that were cut down to make paper for bags, persons were urged to use plastic bags. Then, to avoid the environmental damage caused by disposal of huge quantities of plastic bags, some advocated switching to reusable bags. Now, during the COVID-19 pandemic, some stores prohibit using reusable bags to help reduce the potential spread of disease. Views change over time. 

Views change on other things too. Examples include the changing views on the effectiveness of wearing masks against COVID-19, changing views about how easily the disease spreads via contact with contaminated surfaces, and changing views on how far  droplets in the air can spread. Lack of consistent information makes it hard to establish firm rules.

Many rules can be changed if necessary. But once a vaccine has been administered, it may be too late to protect against any previously unknown side effects from it.

My Recommendation

If/when a COVID-19 vaccine is developed, I recommend that its use be strongly recommended for especially vulnerable populations such as the elderly and those with preexisting conditions that make them more likely to suffer major consequences from having COVID-19. But I wouldn’t make it mandatory for anyone. Furthermore, I might even discourage healthy young persons under age 65 (or maybe 60 or 50?) from getting it initially.

ENDNOTES:

1 Ewen Callaway; “The race for coronavirus vaccines: a graphical guide”; Nature; April 28, 2020; webpage accessed May 24, 2020; https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-020-01221-y 

2 Rebecca Kreston; “The Public Health Legacy of the 1976 Swine Flu Outbreak”; Discover Magazine; September 30, 2013; webpage accessed May 24, 2020; https://www.discovermagazine.com/health/the-public-health-legacy-of-the-1976-swine-flu-outbreak

NOTE:

This article being submitted to Google Blogger on May 24, 2020 is virtually identical to one the author submitted earlier the same day to Craft News Report, a website operated by his friend Paul Craft.

Is It Time for Churches to Hold Regular Worship Services Despite COVID-19?

More and more Christians urge churches to reopen for in-person attendance in places where they remain closed. Is this the right thing to do now?

My View

Personally, I think even for small congregations that can spread out so that each congregant is ten or fifteen feet apart from any other one, it would be great to wait at least a few more weeks before resuming services. Let’s wait and see how things progress.

Church attendees often include many persons in their 60s, 70s, and older. Furthermore, these often are the most regular attendees, and in many cases will definitely seek to attend if services are held. But, as numerous news sources have reported, the fatality rate for older persons who catch COVID-19 is much higher than for young persons.

What I stated about small churches, applies even more for large churches. For example, for huge megachurches that may have thousands of persons in attendance, packed close together, singing, hugging, handshaking, talking, passing communion plates, passing offering plates, etc, the risks could be much greater as I see it.

Personally, I prefer to settle for worship at my apartment for at least a few more weeks. I can pray, read my Bible, watch worship services online, and contact Christian friends via phone, Facebook, etc., if necessary. I can even converse with Christian neighbors outdoors in my neighborhood, where ventilation is better than in a church building. Conversations can be conducted at a distance of 10 or even 15 feet apart outdoors in the warm, spring fresh air while enjoying the beauty of spring.

Restrictions

Restrictions on church gatherings and other large gatherings are gradually being lifted in areas where they were put in place. In some cases the relaxation is due to court orders.

For example, in Kentucky (where I live), churches were recently allowed to reopen after a U.S. District Judge ruled on Friday, May 8th, 2020, that Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear’s prohibition of church services and other mass gatherings was unconstitutional, as reported by numerous news sources. The judge ruled that if persons could shop at places as long as they maintained social distancing and wore masks, that they ought to be able to attend church as well, as long as they maintained similar safety procedures. The judge noted that religion was protected by the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, whereas these other gatherings were not.

I understand the reasons for the ruling, and I feel that there are strong arguments on both sides. God can protect us. But at the same time, shopping for food for perhaps 20 minutes in a store that offers social distancing and perhaps plastic shields at registers, is different from the extra conversation, singing, and often closeness that tends to occur at churches. Singing, shouting, and talking would tend to increase the spread of any virus droplets more than just shopping based on currently available information about the spread of COVD-19 that is available from various sources. Admittedly data is limited so far though.

I’m happy for those who enjoyed wonderful worship services in person on Mother's Day, Sunday, May 10th (and today May 17th), here in Kentucky and elsewhere. And I hope their assemblies don’t lead to an increase in the spread of COVID-19. For better or worse, the effects of these assemblies will probably be known in a few weeks. Then, if all goes well, persons like myself who are more cautious, will likely start attending.

Closing Thoughts

The freedom of religion and the other freedoms we enjoy in the United States are a large part of what makes this a great place to live. But we need to exercise our freedoms responsibly.

What constitutes being responsible differs among individuals. In the coming weeks and months, we will learn more about the effects of loosening restrictions on church gatherings, traveling, using beaches, etc.

I hope and pray that we will make, are making, and have made the right decisions under God’s leadership. And just as there are lots of different church denominations and congregations, there are lots of different views on how to proceed.

Maybe someday we’ll attain unity under God’s leadership on the right path to take. Maybe COVID-19 will even be a contributing factor on that. God is ultimately in control.

NOTE:

This article being submitted to Google Blogger on May 17th, 2020 is virtually identical to an article the author submitted to Craft News Report, a website operated by his friend Paul Craft, earlier the same day.

Thank You Moms!

Mothers are special. They carry us in their wombs for nine months before we emerge into the world. This builds a close bond between mother and child that doesn't occur between any other two persons. Moms caring for children serve as cooks, chefs, chauffeurs, doctors, nurses, and seamstresses. Moms also do many other things for their kids as babysitter, playmate, and loving caregiver.

When children wake up during the night seeking comfort, it is typically moms they go to. Moms are basically on 24-hour-call, 7 days a week.

I'm grateful to my mom for all she has done for me. From washing my dirty laundry to playing games with me to removing splinters, she's been there as a caregiver. Photos of My Mom The first photo below of my mother is from the mid1960s; it depicts mom with her daughter (my sister) Barbara. Following is a photo of mom's 41st birthday celebration in January 1975 with her younger daughter (my other sister) Deborah. Working jigsaw puzzles is one of mom's favorite leisure activities; she is working one in a January 1978 photo. Mom and her mom are pictured together in a December 1983 or January 1984 photo. Among mom's many talents, she makes the best corn I've ever tasted; a photo shows her holding some of it. Below that is a November 15, 2017 photo of her sitting in her living room in Jenkins, Kentucky. The final photo shows mom in July 2019 on a trip we took.

Stay-at-Home Mom Job Description

An article on Chron.com[1] updated in 2018 provides a job description for a stay-at-home-mom job and an estimated salary that would be paid to someone hired for the position. Their data indicates stay-at-home moms would be paid substantially more than the typical employee if they earned what they deserve for all they do. 

History of Mother’s Day

It’s great that moms get at least one day a year for Mother’s Day. Cards, letters, phone calls, visits, flowers, candy, and other gifts are some of the ways we can show appreciation to our moms. Mother's Day in the United States is celebrated on the second Sunday in May. This date is May 8 in 2022.

The origin of the United States celebration of Mother’s Day is generally dated to 1908 and credited to Anna Jarvis, a woman who never married and had no children. Jarvis later criticized the holiday’s commercialism. An interesting and informative article on History.com[2] provides a detailed history of Mother’s Day and its celebration in various countries over the years.

More About Mothers

Mothers provide the first and most important role model for children. They definitely deserve our love, more than we give them. Perhaps the closest thing to perfect human love is a mother’s love for her child.

By getting quality prenatal care and choosing to carry an unborn baby for nine months, a mother demonstrates love for another human being in a way that no one else can. The bond that can develop between a mother and her unborn child is special.

Mothers also are typically the primary caregivers for young children. Often mothers seem to experience ESP regarding the needs and thoughts of their kids.

Fathers, siblings, teachers, religious leaders, and numerous others deserve credit for their roles in the upbringing of children. But a mother’s role, especially a stay-at-home mom’s role, is typically much larger as I see it.

One unique aspect of many mothers’ love is breastfeeding. Breastfeeding of infants is recommended by several authorities and only mothers can do it. Breastfeeding helps continue and strengthen the bond between mother and child that develops while the baby is in the womb.

As a baby crawls, walks, talks, laughs, cries, smiles, and engages in playful actions, mother and child share many memorable moments. 

Just as moms love their young children daily, children can love moms daily. Infants and babies may do it naturally in God-given ways, but toddlers and older children can do it deliberately through many loving actions from hugs, to picking up one’s toys, to doing household chores.

For adult children hundreds or thousands of miles away, regular prayers, emails, text messages, phone calls, and old-fashioned handwritten letters are thoughtful gestures that let mom know she is remembered.

Taking even a few minutes can mean a lot. And not just on Mother’s Day. Those who bore us and cared for us through childhood deserve regular love.  

Mothers Giving Children Away and Completing the Cycle

For some moms, the toughest part of motherhood may be letting go. It is common for teenagers going through puberty to express more interest in their peers and the opposite sex than in their moms.

Just as a bird puts its babies out of the nest, human mothers must help prepare their children for adulthood. Mothers can take pride as children increasingly develop the ability to do things for themselves, become more independent, and more able to be on their own.

The letting-go process continues as children leave for college, careers in a distant town, marriage, or a long term missions trip. In adulthood daughters probably remain closer to moms than sons do. But we all need to express our love and appreciation to our moms throughout our lives.

For children to mature, they need to develop numerous relationships and learn many things. Successful mothers often perform the leading role in facilitating such development of their children while helping protect them from the wrong influences--without being overprotective or domineering. 

Closing Thoughts If every mother were perfect, perhaps in one generation we would see the end of many (most?) of our world’s problems. But while no mother can be perfect, as mothers genuinely seek to learn from one another and others and to do their best, progress toward such perfection occurs. 

If mothers raise their children well, both benefit. When mothers (grandmothers, great grandmothers, and great-great grandmothers) reach senior citizen status, their children who have been taught well can use their skills to help care for their mothers if necessary. Caring for one’s elderly mother in one’s own home or helping find her an appropriate care facility elsewhere, in a sense completes the cycle of caregiving that began with a child in the womb.

Perhaps the greatest blessing is when mothers (grandmothers, great grandmothers, and great-great grandmothers) retain the ability to live long fruitful lives in their own homes in good health until the time they are called home from life in this world. Such mothers can remain active in their community through volunteer work, cooperating with neighbors to help one another, etc.

Genuine love between a mother and her child (or children) enables each to develop and become better through a close relationship that allows the freedom to develop numerous other beneficial close relationships and live successful independent lives.

Those whose mothers have passed on can cherish their wonderful memories from the past while living in the present and looking forward to the future.

Every day is a great day to honor moms. Happy Mother’s Day everyone!

ENDNOTES: 

1 Leslie Bloom; “Stay-at-Home Mom Job Description”; Chron.com; updated June 29, 2018; webpage accessed May 9, 2020; https://work.chron.com/stayathome-mom-job-description-13499.html

2 “Mother’s Day 2020“; History.com; April 29, 2011, updated March 12, 2020; webpage accessed May 9, 2020; https://www.history.com/topics/holidays/mothers-day

NOTE:

This article was submitted to Google Blogger May 9, 2020 and is very similar to one the author provided to Craft News Report, a website operated by his friend Paul Craft, earlier the same day. This Blogger article was last revised on June 1, 2021.

Part of this article (and that one) is reprinted/adapted from an article the author wrote on May 5, 2010 titled “Mother's Day, a Mother's Role, and Loving Our Moms.”

U.S. Actions on COVID-19: Too Little, Too Much, or About Right?

What do you think? Has the United States taken too little, too much, or about the right amount of action to combat the COVID-19 pandemic?

Too Little?

In hindsight, I think it’s easy to state that the United States did too little in the early stages of the pandemic. Currently the United States has more COVID-19 deaths than any other nation on Earth. In per capita deaths, it ranks 11th of 140 countries listed in data on Statista.com[1] as of May 3rd, 2020. If this nation had done more sooner, many if not most of these deaths could have been prevented.

More could have been done to restrict travel and to increase social distancing. More could have been done to accelerate production and acquisition of facial masks, other protective equipment, and thermometers.

But in the early days of the virus in autumn 2019 and even January 2020, little was known about the virus. And although it apparently began last autumn in China, China only publicly acknowledged it on December 31st, 2019 in early winter, when China reported the first cases.

And though many now criticize President Trump for reacting too slowly, when he took action on January 31 to ban foreigners from entering the United States if they had been in China in the last two weeks, he was criticized by many for overreacting. 

It was not until February 29th that the United States confirmed its first COVID-19 death in the United States. A timeline for the disease is on several websites, including BusinessInsider[2] and ABCNews[3]. A FoxNews article[4] provides a timeline for changes in  rhetoric by politicians and the media during the course of the pandemic.

While it’s easy to make a case that more should have been done sooner, it’s clear that little information was publicly available in the early stages and few seemed to consider it a major threat to the United States.

Too Much?

Many state that currently the United States is doing (and has done) too much. Some claim that restrictions on travel, closing many businesses, requiring facial masks to be worn in public, and urging persons to maintain social distancing of at least 6 feet go too far.

It’s certainly true that the closing of numerous businesses has taken a huge toll on the economy. Over 30 million persons have filed for unemployment in recent weeks, and many more have tried to  unsuccessfully. Some businesses and individuals may end up filing for bankruptcy despite trillions of dollars of government aid that has been provided.

But it’s important to remember that such closures are not unprecedented. During the 1918-19 flu pandemic, many similar restrictions occurred. Taking action sooner this time, may save millions of lives. Also, the closures are likely to be only for a few months. Indeed, many states are already reopening a lot of businesses. And if there is no second wave, the various restrictions will likely be loosened and eventually lifted.

About Right?

It’s too early, I think, to state whether the United States is taking about the right amount of action. Currently states offer a variety of guidelines and restrictions. In the coming weeks and months we will likely find out which approaches work best.

And obviously situations are different in New York City where huge numbers of persons typically ride subway cars together for several minutes or an hour or more in some cases than they are in rural farming areas where persons are already isolated from most others.

My Conclusion

It is clear that more should have been done sooner. China should have disclosed more information publicly sooner. The United States, the World Health Organization, and various countries should have done more.

But I think it’s unfair to criticize so harshly in hindsight, when so much remained unknown at that time.

In many ways the government did too little early.

In some ways it may be doing too much now. As I see it, I think many businesses could reopen with social distancing and masks.

But, really, we won’t know until some time weeks, months, or years later where we failed and where we succeeded. We just need to take it step by step. Let’s seek to do our best and trust God for the rest!

ENDNOTES:

1 Raynor de Best; “COVID-19 deaths worldwide per one million population as of May 3, 2020”; Statista.com; published May 3, 2020; webpage accessed May 3, 2020; https://www.statista.com/statistics/1104709/coronavirus-deaths-worldwide-per-million-inhabitants/

2 Holly Secon, Aylin Woodward and Dave Mosher; “A comprehensive timeline of the new corona virus pandemic, from China’s first COVID-19 case to the present”; BusinessInsider.com; April 23, 2020; webpage accessed May 3, 2020; https://www.businessinsider.com/coronavirus-pandemic-timeliine-history-major-events-2020-3

3 Erin Schumaker; “Timeline: How coronavirus got started”; ABCNews; April 23, 2020; webpage accessed May 3, 2020; https://abcnews.go.com/Health/timeline-coronavirus-started/story?id=69435165

4 Gregg Re; “Coronavirus timeline shows politicians’, media’s changing rhetoric on risk of pandemic”; FoxNews; published April 6, 2020, last update April 20, 2020; webpage accessed May 3, 2020; https://www.foxnews.com/politics/from-new-york-to-canada-to-the-white-house-initial-coronavirus-responses-havent-aged-well

DISCLOSURE:

The author works part-time at a retail store. The store he works at remains open. Among other things, it sells a lot of groceries, cleaning supplies, and toilet paper.

NOTE:

This article being submitted to Google Blogger on May 3, 2020 is virtually identical to one the author submitted earlier the same day to Craft News Report, a website operated by his friend Paul Craft.