AM~Erica Trying to Give Direction to Solution

So anyway...

The TRAGEDY IN CONNECTICUT is still fresh in our minds, as well as the shootings in Topeka. And it seems there's no slowing down the jumping to a solution of sorts to slow or stop all of this.

I was going to wait to give my take on all of this & really open up my thoughts & where I'm coming from, but it appears the time is now.

So...*deep breath in, deep breath out* here we go:

Off we go on more POLITICAL TANGENTS, even with the elections being over. It hasn't slowed up. It's frustrating. And, as usual, both "sides" are sounding as insane as ever.

With the fiscal cliff looming (Solution: FLAT TAXES by percentage of what you make. Too easy? Whatever, just do it & get over it.), there are still people mudslinging from all directions.

Here's the dealio, y'all...the focus on gun control is not the answer...solely. Like it or not, there needs to be a major tightening. And even if you don't like to hear it, mental health issues need to be on the background checks for gun purchases, at least a reference from a doctor/phycologist/counselor, and a number of guns cap needs to be set. It's not a matter of taking them away, there is an issue of "control". Yet many just want to carry around pistol...or automatic weapons, like we are back in the old west. You know, settle an argument at high noon with a dual because you felt threatened. If you are not part of law enforcement or in the military...there is absolutely NO reason for a civilian to carry a gun unless it's in the woods because you are hunting for food...NOT GAME! The conceal & carry is a sham, in my opinion. I didn't say take them away. There's those who want to have them at home to defend their household & property from trespassers, but just note that you can still be shot, wounded, deablilitateyd, or killed by the trespasser who may have a gun. Your own gun would have done you no good. Will it keep the guns out of the hands of the "bad guys"? No. But keeping an actual registration of guns in the possession of persons will be a major start. You don't have to agree with me...but there is actual common sense here.

The biggest problem is the insurance & healthcare thing. Obamney-Care (that's right, it's still based off of Romney's stuff) is not the answer. Do we need all to be covered? Absolutely! But not at such a high of price. There is absolutely no reason anyone should be charged $20 to take 2 Tylenol while getting hospital care. It's about price gauging, for sure. Make it illegal to charge so much for use of equipment & things. Bring the price down so healthcare is affordable. Oh...and make it OK for people to get the prescriptions they need & make it OK to see the right specialists without the hinderance of insurance barriers. Trust me...it's happened to us. And marketing prescription drugs publicly is not OK, and should be taken away from them. Why? It's up to health professionals, not the everyday WebMD checker, to tell if they need it. Cut out that marketing & hopefully that will help with "big name" prescription costs going down. No one should ever have to pay $400 for any medication! When drug stores can offer $4 prescriptions, that should set a precedent.

It is so very wrong for people who need a particular attention given to them, but can't because insurance won't pay for it, and then one cannot afford to pay for it out of their own pocket. It's a disgusting vicious cycles that has to be broken! Oh...and taxing people who can't afford healthcare isn't the answer either.

These two issues are completely tied in together. It's both/and...not either/or. (see about my PURPLE POLITICS)

I, personally, am against the possession of civilian guns. That's my thinking. But...I wasn't brought up with them, either. No defending "my side" will make me want to jump into that mold of defending my 2nd amendment right when I've never had to deal with it...and been just fine. And the segway is that if I did want to get one, I truly hope I was turned down. Why? Because I have mental health issues.

If you remember when I've talked about my DEPRESSION ISSUES, I also said that I had been suicidal. I tried to overdose, and it didn't work. Luckily. However, those issues are never truly gone for me...I can easily slide back into those deep, dark areas. And I have brought up that I imagine another way of doing it, but I cannot make that work, which is a good thing. I can imagine the barrel of gun at my temple & can feel the cold metal against the right side of my head. If there was a gun in our house, I might find a way to use it. So the possession of this weapon is off limits!

That being said, I know there might be some kind of violation of privacy, blah-blah, if health records were a part of this background check to purchase a gun. I know of more than one person who either owns a gun or would like to that have mental health issues & are on medication. If this is the case...a weapon of destruction should not be in your possession...or under the same roof where they reside. Friends & relatives should know what your issue is & know that showing you where they stash their firearms or lending one (or more) to you is a serious lack of good judgement.

You know what all of that leads to? Murderous rampages. When someone who is in serious need of psychological help uses a firearm to take out many, and you turn around and defend them having a gun...guess what you look like. (Note: at the same time, whining & pouting because someone does have a firearm is just as crazy...because it is in the constitution.)

I have seen a couple of posts from people who have shared painstaking stories of loved ones who were lost to mental health issues to the point that they were no longer the same person. Good people, but who ended up with a twisted view on life for whatever reason. It's sad & horrible.

We have to realize that, if these people who need mental help, they can still use any means necessary to get their "point across"...they will find a bat or club, knives or axes, even create a bomb.

Along with some of these psychological triggers is the incidental glamorization of the assailants in these tragedies. If every name & face of these killers are all over the news & media, they got what they wanted...notoriety. Remembered for something big. The more we talk about their names & cover every inch of their lives...they have made a name for themselves...just as they had hoped to do - you know, like the last guy who did it. If we focus on the victims, it is no longer about the killer. We don't glamorize them anymore. But we get this sick curiosity about them & try to get into their minds. Why do we even want to be there when we see the outcome?

Morgan Freeman was credited with pointing out the media for being the big issue of a lot of these tragedies by sharing the name & face of the assailant over & over & over &...
As it turns out, Morgan Freeman didn't say it. But the words still ring true...to a point. The media is another large portion of the issue. Don't give anything personal away about any murderer. They seek & crave that kind of attention in these cases. And then we still cover their trials & every moment leading up to what's coming to them.

The glamorization of "reality" television with the people we make celebrity for outlandish behaviors & our lack of talking openly & honestly about mental health issues contribute greatly to this.

Gun control, healthcare, and media have jaded us as a people. Keeps us divided because we are focussing on the wrong things at the wrong times.

I've also heard that it's because God isn't allowed in our schools anymore. There is still prayer happening, mostly silently by teachers for their students & their days, and by students about to take a test. There is still gathering at flagpoles & Fellowship of Christian Athlete clubs that still meet & pray...in schools. We have worked SO hard to not offend, that we have been forced to be the defensive. And it forces us to hand out participation trophies & not make anyone work for anything. Just show up & you get recognized.
Where are our priorities, people? What are we really wanting & really fighting for?

President Obama, once again, delivered a beautiful speech at the inter-faith service for the fallen children & faculty in Newtown. Again, he spoke from being a parent. He was truly emotional...and I know. My hubby had to deliver A HARD SERMON this weekend & had the same tone. You get emotional, but know you have to keep it together in that moment. And when the president said that changes need to be made...everyone jumped to conclusions as to what he might mean. You know what he meant? He meant that CHANGES NEED TO BE MADE! That's it. That was not the time or place to spell it out. Did he elude to it? Yes...but guess what? It was a lot of what I pointed out here. It's more than gun control, folks...it's mental health issues, too. Don't just hear part of it...hear the whole of it. Much like scripture...take the whole thing instead of dissecting it into just pieces you want to get out of it.

I apologize for covering this so soon...but I'm sick of people's focus on just a couple of things while others deeply mourn.

I mourn. As a parent, as a human, as an American...I mourn.

Stay tuned...

God Bless, AM~Erica

AM~Erica Needs You to Put Away the Hoodies

So anyway...

I do realize I've been really soapboxy lately, but there's be a whole lot to be soapboxy about. And this subject I'm about to soapbox on is not out of knee-jerk reaction, but out of ongoing frustration of misconceptions & running with it.

Oh yes...I'm going to give my take on the Tayvon Martin case. I'm going to tell you upfront that what I will be saying here will be a lot. You are not going to agree with everything or any of it, but I do ask you to read to the end, breathe & think on it BEFORE you give a knee-jerk reaction response. So, if you're up to it & think you can handle it, then strap in brace yourselves, and here we go!

I'm going to start by saying this whole event is tragic. It's sad that it even happened. But I'm going to lay out a lot of stuff & I am not taking sides. You'll understand why in a moment.

Thanks to the media, national media, no less, has done such an injustice to this whole ordeal. They manipulated what they wanted to show to stir things up...and did they ever!

The 911 call that was replayed early in this mess was edited. Edited in a way that it caused a mass hysteria over an issue that it has nothing to do with. Over an issue that did not need to be torn up when such strides have been made. An issue that has taken over 300 years to continue to make better has been thrown backwards so far...it's nearly unmentionable (but I'm talking about it anyway). Thanks to the media, this whole thing was thwarted into a racism war. It's awful.

People reading this. Put your hoodies away. Quit buying Skittles if you weren't purchasing them before. This whole thing was absolutely NOT about race! It's about some horrible law in one state, guns, actions that should never have happened & a continually deceptive media trying to get rating instead of putting the full truth out there.

We already know that George Zimmerman was overzealous in his neighborhood watch duties. He was actually a bit of a nuisance to the police department. But he was trying to do what he thought was right, even if it wasn't, necessarily.

George saw something in his neighborhood that seemed suspicious, even though he apparently saw many things as suspicious. I would love to know what else he called in to give some perspective.

However, he made the call to the police to report yet another suspicious thing. He'd never seen Trayvon in his neighborhood before. Now...I need you to take a couple of deep breaths before continuing. I know there will be some of you already stirred up, but I need you to hear this out...
When the actual tape of Zimmerman's call was played, he talked about someone walking in his neighborhood. The dispatcher asked if the figure was male or female; the answer was male. Then the dispatcher asked George if the male was white, black, hispanic; George answered the dispatcher's question with "black". He didn't just jump to conclusions & give up information. The dispatcher pried it out of him, people!

And, for those who think he is so racist, he's Latino. Did you even realize that? I bet you would've felt differently if his name were at least Carlos or Juan or Jose; maybe even with a last of something like Gonzales or Rodriguez.

OK, let's move along now to the fact that he called in his suspicious thing in the neighborhood...again...and then the dispatcher said they had the information & told George to not approach, the police would check it out. This is where it went terribly wrong. Zimmerman should never have left his vehicle. Ever. But he did...with a gun in his pocket.

Before I move along with that, I want to point out that the early MEDIA reports made it sound like Trayvon was anywhere from 8-12 years old. Then he was portrayed as an early teen, maybe. Ummm, folks, Trayvon was 17. Trayvon had been suspended from school for possessing marijuana. Trayvon had his Twitter profile pic of him with gold teeth & tweeting pretty rough things. And people are upset as to how Trayvon is being portrayed?? What he puts on his twitter account is HOW he wanted to be portrayed! He was [allegedly] smoking pot. And guess what, people. If Trayvon would have been the shooter instead, he would have been viewed as an adult. Most states have very blurred lines as to what "adult age" is when it comes to legal matters. Trust me. I know. And many who have read my most read post will know & understand.

Folks, there are 8yo's & 11yo's being tried as adults. In high school, students are being prepped for making adult decisions. Trayvon would have been an upper classman. He was not some helpless baby that happened to be shot for nothing kind of deal. He was 6 foot in stature. This is important to keep in mind, too.

Thanks to the MEDIA, all the pictures shown of Trayvon are of him at 13 & younger. No wonder people think he was the defenseless little thing.

The pictures used of both involved were & continue to be wrong portrayals of both. They used an old mugshot type pic of George, not an updated one except to blow across the screen quickly. The media only used out-of-date picture of Trayvon to make him seem so much younger than he actually was. Shame on you, Media!

Oh, speaking of MEDIA screwing with this whole thing, let's talk about Geraldo Rivera who took it to a new disgusting level of adding the hoodie angle. Really? So...more insult to injury? And what was worse was the fact that people took the race thing & the hoodie thing to a whole new level. And since Trayvon wasn't armed, only possessing Skittles & iced tea at the time, people had giant protests set & ready before actual information was even out. They ran with partial information & the media created these mass protests over skewed information.

Here's the real issue: a civilian with a handgun took advantage of a Florida law. Keep in mind that Zimmerman is 5'9". Most 17yo's look quite a bit older, especially when they are tall. They were both trying to defend themselves, but Zimmerman also thought he was protecting his neighborhood. When he is overtaken by someone bigger, he felt his life was in danger & shot. We don't know how it all went down, but the fact is this part took place. Zimmerman felt threatened & shot.

Bill Cosby is an Afro-American with a good head on his shoulders. He calls things in a worldly way. Even he came out & said it wasn't a race issue. He says it's about guns, and goes on to say that he owned a gun. He had a discussion with an officer about the gun in Bill's pocket one day when he was told, "Once you pull that trigger, you can't take it back." Hmmm...wise words, officer. That was a wake up call for Dr. Cosby.

So, you have the Conceal & Carry law on top of the Defend Yourself if You Feel Threatened law, and it's a recipe for disaster.

If anything needed to be protested, it should be the law.

The fact that it was blown up (thanks to Media) into a giant race issue is frustrating. Supposedly these protests were for trying to get Zimmerman arrested. But it was made into something completely different...nationwide! It was Media that screwed over the life of a man that needs help. Does he need to be held accountable? Absolutely!

But we (as a nation) couldn't let this guy get any kind of fair shake. I say that in this regard: "You are innocent until proven guilty." Giant protests went up, with Media involvement & scrutiny, that allowed racist gatherings to yell "CRUCIFY"!

Whites have worked hard to make relations better between races. But when someone white makes a comment that seems the least bit derogatory toward another race, the torches & pitchforks come out. But when the tables are turned, then whites are questioned on why they are offended. There is major racism on all ends. And it's awful when it gets stirred up again & has major setbacks when the Media screws that over. And how dare all of us fall into that trap.

When anyone automatically makes a issue a racism one, even when racism is a part of it, then that is racist as well. Keep that in mind. Look at all things.

I know that knee-jerk reactions are human nature. At first, I had a knee-jerk reaction to this whole situation based primarly on what Media put out there. And it was wrong. So, so, so wrong!

So when I see these hoodie protests (thanks again, Geraldo, for that), it makes me sick. I think how far we have fallen off for that moment as a nation. I was even more frustrated when there was a protest in KC & the mayor turned out for it. Inappropriate in so many ways.

There are things that we all don't know about concerning this case. There are things we may never know. There are reasons that we don't know about as to why Zimmerman wasn't taken in at that time. But it seems he was questioned for 5 hours. And it wasn't enough because he wasn't yet crucified. Then he was landblasted over his head injury claims over a grainy video. All that had to be taken in was a report by the EMTs on the scene. My belief is that he should have been apprehended for disobeying direct dispatch orders & abuse of the neighborhood watch system. Then the law can take it from there.

You know...he turned himself in to shut you people up. You all made him the new most hated person in the nation. Why? Because of the Media! Did you know the guy that wrongly edited the original story resigned because of what he did? Well, it happened!

And then you have people trying to cash in on this mess. Like a depiction of George Zimmerman (the old, out-dated mugshot) done in Skittles. Like there was supposed to be some kind of deep irony there. It's rude & an artist trying to make a name for himself. And when Media covers junk like that, it perpetuates this whole deal into a deeper, faster downward spiral. For shame! For real!

Again, Zimmerman needs to be held accountable for his actions. If he needs psychiatric help, then I hope he gets it. Trayvon is no longer here & it is sad that he was taken at such a young age. But it was for being in a wrong place at a wrong time and with the wrong neighborhood watch guy.

But I am going to throw out there that Trayvon was still a teen. If he retaliated, we must remember that, even though we try to prep teens for adulthood, the good decision-making part of the brain shuts down until the 20's. He made a bad decision to attempt to [allegedly] fight back.

Those who are calling this a racist issue, you are being racist. For those who are in support of the conceal & carry thing, a life was taken. For the Media who perpetuates the wrong image of this case, stop it!

Now then, Zimmerman is in custody. But because of the insanity created in these protests, he may not get a fair trial. You know what that means? It means it will be dismissed & he will be let out & will have to deal with hateful people trying to track him down to make sure he gets crucified.

Everyone is in a bad light in this. No one is/was innocent. We need to drop all of this race issue within this case as we have to try to mend relationships yet again...over something that had nothing to do with race.

On a side note: Our Latino suspect is being supported by right wing conservatives for this move. He's a registered Democrat. I hate that I know that, but it's a point worth making. Simmer on that for a while.

I will step off of my soapbox for now. I know this may have really aggravated many of you. But that's how it is. Sometimes the truth does hurt. I am not taking George's side. I am not taking Trayvon's side. I am taking the side of the justice system & will have high hopes that this brings crazy laws into the forefront to be taken care of.

Stay tuned...if you dare...

God Bless, AM~Erica