Leadership, “Civil” -- Disobedience

Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that... [Dr. Martin Luther King]

I hope the ministers in the African-American community are able to provide the leadership necessary to calm those who would cause harm...as Dr Martin Luther King was able to do decades ago. It is tragic that some people seem able to rationalize injuring police officers they do not know, stealing property from stores where their neighbors work (e.g. Wall Mart) in jobs they depend on… because they believe there has been an injustice. How could general violence and lawlessness help correct an injustice? It can’t.

I do not know the facts of what happened in Charlotte N.C. and neither do most of the rioters (rioters, not protestors…there is a difference) causing so much damage and serious physical injuries there. After the Ferguson riots we learned that one of the eye-witnesses, an African-American, said he had just made up the story of “Hands-up, don’t shoot” and then the forensic evidence also proved that Michael Brown never had his hands up. But on some of the Charlotte news stories I saw some rioters held signs that read, “Hands-up don’t shoot?” People are still shouting an absolute lie.

So there is plenty of reason not to jump to the conclusion that a police officer shot an unarmed man. If it turns out that the police officer did commit a crime then that crime should be addressed in a courtroom, not in the streets of Charlotte. In any case, smashing police cars, looting stores and injuring police officers is not going to result in justice, it will only continue to hurt the people who are committing these lawless acts. I hope the good people of Charlotte will pull together to stop the rioters who only hate and cause destruction. The police chief seems to be a seasoned professional who is trying to do the right thing for all of Charlotte’s citizens. Hopefully the community leaders will rally their followers to calm the anger and restore the rule of law so that everyone there is safe. A news broadcast this morning revealed most of those arrested in Charlotte were from out of state. These were some of the same paid agitators who were also in Ferguson and Baltimore funded by people (e.g., like George Soros) who only want to cause chaos and who do not care about the people hurt in the process.

After all, Dr. Martin Luther King accomplished great positive changes without ever resorting to violence and destruction. Surely Dr. King should be the model used to address injustice. Dr. King’s quote below reveals his deep and unique understanding of the problem we still face and his approach is the only hope of a real solution. I hope his example will triumph.

Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.

The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy. [Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.]