What Happened to Love Thy Neighbor?

I am so upset that I am nauseated.  Another mass murder has happened, and, yet another seems to have been foiled.  For the record, I am heterosexual.  However, I have strong friendships with other women, as well as men, and I don't mind hugging them, holding hands, or giving them a kiss on the cheek in public.  I think my folks raised me to be, and wanted me to be, open-minded regarding anyone's sex, or choice of partner(s).  I believe that each person is what their own unique circumstances in growing up, and development, make them.  I have no right to judge another person's life or lifestyle.  I am NOT them; I have not lived their life; I am not God; I have no right to decide what is right or wrong for them.
  As a human being in America, I make decisions almost every minute of my life.  They are my own personal decisions and I am the person I am today because of all of my past decisions.  I am grieving for the world as a whole today - between the seemingly inevitable choice of the Republicans to support Donald Trump as their candidate at the coming Convention, and between the decisions that two men made,possibly yesterday, possibly today that can help to continue the hatred in our world.
  Around 2 a.m. this morning, a 29-year-old man made a phone call to 911, making reference to the two brothers of the Boston Marathon bombing atrocity, as well as pledging his allegiance to the Islamic State.  The young man was American-born and raised, and was trained as a security guard.  He lived in Fort Pierce, Florida, and he had been interviewed by the FBI in both 2013 and 2014 for possibly having ties to terrorism.  The FBI came away empty-handed and the young man was removed from the watch lists.
   The man went into the Pulse, a lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender nightclub, after his 911 call.  He was armed with an assault rifle and a Glock pistol.  He began firing when he entered the door of the nightclub.  Some people were able to escape through the bar area and out the back door.  The man had chased people outside, and was continuing to fire his weapons at the clients when police arrived.  The gunman ran back into the building and a stand-off ensued for three hours; then an armored vehicle was crashed into the building to allow engress. The gunman was killed.  But the death toll is currently 50, with 53 wounded.  This happened in Orlando, Orange County, Florida.  One of the policemen who arrived on scene was shot in the face by the gunman; luckily, the Kevlar helmet stopped the bullet and prevented death, but the police officer might lose his eye.
   What the heck happened?  The gunman's father said his son was extremely upset to see two men kissing one another.  How can an expression of love set off such an ugly, violent torrent of hate?
   Then, today, in Santa Monica, California another young man was reported for acting oddly in a neighborhood.  He was going around, pounding on doors at an early hour of the morning.  He was stopped and questioned, and told officers that he was looking for a friend, and that they were going to the Los Angeles Gay Pride event.  The officers checked the man's car and found rifles, including an assault rifle, ammunition and explosives. That man is in custody.

    What happened to "Love thy neighbor?"

Accident Witness

Saw an auto accident yesterday that shook me up, a bit.  Well, technically, I didn't see the actual accident - but I saw the motorcycle rider fly through the air....  I stopped at a large intersection yesterday due to a red traffic light.  The intersection at Iris Avenue and 28th Street (aka US 36), has two lanes going straight in each direction, two left turn lanes in each direction, and a median-bordered right turn lane - so, counting lanes across the road from sidewalk to sidewalk, there are ten lanes on each side.  I was turning west, or left, off 28th Street and onto Iris.  A car pulled up beside me in the turn lane, and also stopped for the red light.  Two cars were stopped opposite us, also in the left turn lane.  The light changed, giving us a yellow blinking caution arrow, and two full greens to go ahead and to turn right.  Vehicles were approaching the intersection toward me, but there was plenty of time for one car in each lane to turn.  I turned left as the car beside me also turned left.  I was straightening my wheels when I heard a loud bang and crash noise. I looked into my rear-view mirror and saw a blue Toyota, that had been in line to turn left behind me at the red light, coming to a halt  - but my eyes were mostly caught by the sight of a helmeted person doing a spinning cannon-ball over the rear of the Toyota.  Then my mind took in the crunched motorcycle and debris field.  I pulled to the side of the road and called 911; while talking to the operator, I pulled into a parking lot for the shopping center on the corner.  The 911 operator told me that multiple people were on the lines about the accident, but no one knew the condition of the motorcyclist. I parked the car and ran back to the accident, still on the line with the 911 operator.
   There were five people standing at the rear of the car and to the driver's side - the motorcycle ride was lying on his back, and his feet were moving.  So I could tell the operator that the rider was alive - but she wanted to know if he was conscious and speaking.  So I finished running up to the median turn divider and yelled that question.  I was answered verbally, "Yes!" by one person; a man at the edge of the group shot me a finger (!?!).  No one was kneeling beside the victim, who by that time had drawn his knees up, and while keeping his back flat on the pavement, was moving his legs from side to side.  I relayed all that information to the 911 operator and was thanked.  She hung up immediately.  While talking to the operator, I could hear the sound of sirens approaching, so I was assured help was on the way.  What amazed me was that, as I walked away, one of the people at the end of the car yelled, "Nosy bitch!" at me.  I just shook my head and continued to my car.  The other folks there, in the meantime, were kicking the debris field closer to the car, so other vehicles could pass by them safely.  No one took any photos of the original scene that I saw.  I would have, if I had had a camera with me, or a cell phone that takes photos. (Yes, I have a cell phone; but it only takes and makes phone calls...)
   I have no idea about the condition of the rider of the motorcycle.  There was no write-up about the accident in the local newspaper, and there was no TV coverage, so I am assuming the man's injuries were not critical. But it left me with an uncertain feeling all day, and dreams of vehicular accidents last night.  So I'm trying to decide why seeing this accident has bothered me so much....
 

Jury Says Zimmerman "Not Guilty"

When I read that headline a few minutes ago, I was flabbergasted.  I still am.  I realize I was not on the jury, and was not presented the evidence and testimony in the way that the jury received it, in the trial of George Zimmerman, accused of Second-Degree Murder in the death of Trayvon Martin.  Being interested, and having grown up in the South, I have read daily about the trial.  I know that six women, five of them white, made up the jury for this trial.  A lot of people say that this is not about race - I feel, very deeply, that it is about race.  A youngish Hispanic man saw a young African-American man walking in a mostly Caucasian housing enclave.  The Hispanic man called the police to report "a suspicious" presence.  The police told the Hispanic man to stop following the African-American.  The Hispanic man, who was armed, disregarded the instructions of the police.  He followed the African-American man in his vehicle, and then confronted him on foot.  There were words exchanged, and, probably, blows.  Then a young man in a hoodie, carrying a can of tea and a bag of candy, was shot dead by the other man.
   For me, the fact that George Zimmerman followed Trayvon Martin, after being told by the police not to follow him, and the fact that Zimmerman was armed, with a hand gun, makes this an almost automatic "guilty" verdict dunk.
   I grew up in the segregated South.  My parents abhorred segregation, and as I grew up, I had friends with many different skin colors.  I know how some of my friends were treated - because their skin was another color, they were considered to be a "lesser" person in every way.  It was hurtful and demeaning, untrue and totally unnecessary.  This verdict is going to make waves.  Ministers, police and politicians are saying to respond to this verdict with your voice, and not with violence.  I totally agree.  Violence will not change the verdict of these six women.  Society, as a whole, needs to change - to open their eyes, and let the scales of color-blindness fall away.  Every person in this world needs to be treated equally.
   Trayvon Martin was racially profiled by another man of color, George Zimmerman.  Zimmerman was told to drop matters - to stop following Martin - by lawful authorities.  He did not stop.  He continued following, and he confronted, armed with a weapon capable of killing someone.  Had the names, races, and ages been switched - had Trayvon Martin, an African-American, followed and killed an unarmed George Zimmerman, after a confrontation that he had been told to stop, I would have found Trayvon Martin guilty.
   Color of skin doesn't matter. Your heart and your truthfulness matter.  Following instructions of law personnel matter.  Deciding to do what you feel is best is not always the best choice.  I can not feel that justice was done in this matter.  I mourn with Trayvon Martin's family tonight, and I mourn for our justice system, as well.