I remember the riots and Martin Luther King. I lived in Waterloo and worked at a hospital. I don’t remember the hate I see now. Everywhere you look, there are crowds of people yelling “Black lives matter,” like only if you are black, you matter. I watch our police being fired without a hearing and tried in the press. No trial, just a rush to judgment.
The two men they have put up as heroes: one was drunk and high on drugs. He had been in prison for robbing and threatening to kill a mother and her unborn child. The other man passed out drunk in Wendy’s drive-thru. He hurt two police [officers], stole a weapon and ran. He tried to fire at the police. For this, the policeman was fired and charged with murder. He had no support from his office. What is wrong with this picture that we don’t stand behind our officers? When did our policemen become the enemy and hoodlums become heroes?
I remember 9-11 and watching the horror on the T.V. of all police, firemen and EMTs dash[ing] into the two towers knowing most would not come out alive. There were no watching people’s color, only hoping they could get them out alive. But that is a hero. Not someone robbing and burning buildings and calling it their rights.
Martin Luther King would be ashamed. His march was about rights of all and peace. This new group is all about destroying and demanding thousands of dollars because somewhere in their past they were slaves. They want to destroy our history, tear down our statues, our pride and our values.
Please can we get back to what being an American means? I am an American and proud of it. We are the greatest country in the world. Don’t let a bunch of hoodlums ruin it. And remember police, firemen and EMT lives matter, too.