Questions, Conspiracy, and Charleston

Once again my thoughts are running to the good people of Charleston, who have had their world turned upside down through a cold and calculated event. Looking at some of the evidence now coming out, my mind comes up with many more questions than answers.

My mind first turns to the agenda points of this story. Racist white man enters a black church and opens fire. The President, of course, comes out almost immediately and talks about the need to better control guns. He also talks about the attack in terms of racism and religion. Gun control. Two politically divisive hotpoints: race and religion.

Next, my mind immediately goes to the killer, Dylann Roof. Evidence does seem to indicate he had white supremacist leanings. Extreme views are a definite weakness that would make one more vulnerable and open to violence. I wondered about potential drug use. Very quickly the information came out that he had a drug record. He was caught in possession of a drug known as suboxone, which is used to help people get off harder illegal drugs. It is also associated with violence. This is all stuff that would make Roof more likely to be influenced to commit a violent act.

My next thoughts question if he had any direct contact with someone with government agency ties. The FBI has been known to set people up to commit violence. They've helped "terrorists" come up with plans to bomb bridges and commit other destructive acts (then, of course, they would catch these "terrorists" to make themselves look good). Nothing. Yet.

Another immediate question I had was about the victims/potential targets at the church. The church itself, Emmanuel AME church, was extremely symbolic. It had been started by slaves who later tried to lead a revolt and were hanged for it. Then there was the pastor, Clementa Pinckney, who was not only a religious leader but also happened to be a South Carolina state senator. Political ties. What didn't they like about this man?

This is where the mind of a conspiracy theorist wanders. This is also where I would exercise a word of caution. In recent years, the imaginations of conspiracy theorists have wandered dramatically. I've seen many postings about faking incidents--many of which do seem to have some basis in fact. However, I do believe the powers that be have mixed it up a bit. Not everything is totally faked or totally real. They do this with intention because it makes people follow up on wild goose chases and makes them look ridiculous. Very easy to point out someone who has made these sort of mistakes and discredit them.

I will say this about Charleston. I believe the deaths to be very real, as I have a good many friends in South Carolina. One of them knew the Reverend Pinckney personally.

I'm sure that much more information will come up in the days ahead. Make sure to follow your heart for guidance and clues that will lead you toward truth!!! Discernment is key in the treacherous waters we currently find ourselves in. Stay aware.

~CSE

Truth and Propaganda

I was disturbed by a new meme I saw online, posting side by side pictures of what is being promoted as racially preferential treatment of whites vs blacks in the United States. It was a picture of Charleston church shooting suspect Dylann Roof in custody side by side with a picture of the little African American girl at the pool party in Texas that was manhandled by police.

The picture of white Roof clearly shows him being handled with kid gloves. The pool party picture shows an obviously unarmed African American girl being thrown to the ground by a police officer.
Why does the comparison disturb me? I don't believe it is a fair or truthful comparison.

Let me explain why. While I have no personal police experience, I was previously married to a cop. I used to listen to his stories about what happened on the job, and I have a pretty good idea of what happens in various types of situations. My complaint about this side by side comparison stems from the fact that the two "suspects" are in two very different parts of the process.

The picture of Roof was taken when he was already in police custody. The business of his actual arrest was not portrayed--largely because such operations are done secretly in order to catch the suspect unaware. Let me tell you how Roof's arrest went down. They got a tip that he was in Shelby, North Carolina. At that point, the local police began their search and found him. They then watched Roof''s behaviors while the FBI and Charleston police were notified. Once federal authorities were on the scene, they came up with a plan to nab Roof in a location where he was likely to be alone so that no other person was injured. Then tons of police in protective gear would have surrounded and stormed his location, hopefully catching him unaware to reduce the likelihood of anyone else being injured. My point here is that the actual arrest is where the adrenaline kicks in. It is at the point of the adrenaline rush where poor judgment often comes into play. In the picture of Roof, he has already been arrested. He is already handcuffed behind his back and is wearing leg shackles. He is clearly not a threat to his escorts. My point here is, this is a transportation scenario only.

The picture of the teenage girl was of a potential arrest scenario, not a transportation scenario. There were scores of kids and just a handful of cops to disperse the crowd. Adrenaline was running high. Do I believe the cop exercised poor judgment? You bet I do!!! The girl was not a threat to him. Were the cops focusing on the black kids at the pool party? Yes, I believe they were!!! The thing is, this picture was taken at the height of the tension, not in the aftermath when things had time to calm down.

A more truthful comparison would have been to compare a picture of the ambush police executed on Roof in order to take him into custody. It may actually have depicted the situation the way it is being portrayed in the meme above. It's difficult to say, however, since the picture may not even exist. There were definitely no bystanders around able to turn on their cell phone cameras to watch the unfolding event. When police know they need to catch someone who is armed and dangerous, they make plans to avoid injury to innocent bystanders.

I am not denying that prejudice and unfair treatment exist. Prejudice does exist and it's important to stand up and speak out against it. What I am protesting is presenting evidence that raises emotion without the benefit of full and transparent disclosure. Comparing a transportation picture to an arrest/capture picture is an unfair bias. 

Propaganda is a huge problem in our society today. Think of it as modern day advertising. The powers that be are trying to sell us a bill of goods to get us to think and behave in certain ways. They manipulate words and pictures in order to play on our emotions. Most of this is done with a plan to get us to identify with certain groups and align with them so we will fight against anyone who has a different point of view. When we swallow their propaganda BS without questioning it, we are a herd of sheep potentially being lured to our own slaughter.    

There is a fine line between truth and propaganda. Don't allow your objectivity to be influenced by the powerful emotions created by the slightly twisted truths of propaganda. It is truth that sets us free!!!

~CSE