Au Cochonnet Marin

Stop the non-sense and come down to earth.

Protest demonstrations are praiseworthy as long as they remain orderly and peaceful. But the minute they degenerate into chaos and vandalism, a disciplined police force is absolutely necessary.
And what about when a madman barricaded in his house threatens to kill wife and children…? Who are you going to call? The Holy Spirit?

In any protest, there are well-intentioned citizens… and opportunists looking for trouble or monetary gains. Arson and looting are their way of showing support for their cause.
Talks about disbanding police departments are utter non-sense. If it ever happened, expect unmitigated violence and countless innocent victims.

A society without a police department is bound to hit the reef very quickly. The vacuum created by such an absurd decision would inevitably give birth to different factions fighting for supremacy. And I don’t even dare to imagine what would happen to a country already awash with guns. The combination of social unrest and armed citizens makes for a very volatile combination.
I am pretty sure that nobody wants a Lebanon reoccurrence (15 years of civil war) in a society controlled by armed thugs.

In every barrel, there are some bad apples, but you don’t dispose of the entire barrel because of a few tainted fruits… I don’t know of any perfect organization where every member is beyond criticism. And so are police departments. Some cops are racist and abuse their power, but I believe that the majority of them want to do a good/difficult job.
So, stop the non-sense and consider reasonable alternatives to disbanding police forces.

Reforms, training, and sustained discipline are what are necessary, not some ill-thought idea. Policing a community is a difficult, thankless job and the bad guys are not always in uniform. This is absolutely not an excuse for brutality, but a daily reality.

When stopped by a police officer, do not resist, do not run. Do what experts recommend when confronted by a brown/grizzly bear: play dead. Remain still until the bear leaves the area. Resisting is futile and risky. The cop might be high strung, and you could also be nervous. A volatile combination. Just stay calm and comply with his/her demands. I doubt very much that if you obey, you would be slammed to the ground.

An army is only as good as its command. All the police chiefs ought to be held accountable for the behavior of their troops. If a soldier misbehaves, throw him in the brig, fire the general, and retrain the troops.

So again, stop the non-sense and consider serious reforms instead of disbanding police forces.

Alain

I just downloaded a Contact Tracing app called Healthy Together.

With all the chaos (and absence of social distancing) resulting from numerous demonstrations all over the country, a second wave of Covid-19 seems inevitable. It is thus wise to be prepared for this eventuality.

This application (available in the Apple App Store) keeps track through WI-FI of all the people you have recently been in close contact. If you suddenly develop symptoms associated with COVID- 19, medical authorities will know who might have infected you.

“The Healthy Together app helps you assess your symptoms, find the nearest testing center, view test results, and learn what to do after you’ve been tested for COVID-19.”

When you install this app on your phone, it first asks about a dozen questions (Yes or No) regarding the state of your health. From then on, it will ask daily to self-report how you feel; you will have to answer 7 or 8 questions, an easy task that can be done in less than a minute.

It will then assess your symptoms, and if need be, direct you to the nearest COVID-19 testing center. You will also get prompt results and be told what to do next.

In the eventuality of a new outbreak, contact tracing will make it easier to identify the people who have been contaminated.  It can be very helpful to prevent a widespread resurgence of the pandemic.

Some people are worried about privacy and are suspicious of this application. But as it is today, we have very little privacy left, and your life might be more valuable to you than your privacy.

In any case, the also app states the following:

“Users own their data and can delete their data at any time. The use of your data is limited to COVID-19 response efforts. Any location data will be automatically deleted after 30 days.”

To sum it up

The Utah Department of Health is already using contact tracing and urges everybody to participate in this program.

So, what have you got to lose? Some thin shreds of privacy? Is it not worth it to save a few lives…

The more people participate in this program, the safer we will all be.

Alain

I don’t pretend to like everybody. I only have a soft spot for individuals who prove likable. To me, the “liking process” is similar to trying out a new product; you buy, you like, you keep.
Or, you buy, you don’t like, and you avoid it. Does that make me a bad person?

After the George Floyd tragedy, there has been an outpouring of brotherly love, and that’s good. But let’s face it, everybody is not likable. Some people are stinkers… and ethnicity has nothing to do with it. In every ethnic group, you will find a bad, a good and an ugly individual… and you will make a choice. In effect, you will discriminate against somebody…

In my book, to be liked, you have to prove likable.
And I just read a short essay dealing with this subject. This piece by Tara Blair Ball is titled “5 Non-Physical Qualities Men Find the Most Attractive in Women.” I don’t think that these qualities apply only to women. It applies to everybody.

The author enumerates 5 reasons that make somebody likable.
First of all, you need to look happy. It is not always easy, but nobody is attracted by a grouchy person.
Then, having a sense of humor is important. Because laughing is contagious and it is a good way to establish a bridge to the other side.
Be nice. Nicety is a reciprocal quality. If you are nice to somebody, this person cannot be mean to you.
Be natural. Be yourself. Don’t pretend to be what you are not.
And finally, take care of yourself. To be happy, spoil yourself a little. If nobody brings you flowers, buy some.

This long preamble to say that if you discriminate against some people, it is not necessarily based on skin color. As a “Caucasian” there are millions of white people that I dislike and discriminate against. There are also millions of yellow, brown, black, and green people that I find unsavory and try to avoid.

Even though I don’t know any Japanese people, after watching a little program on YouTube called “Asian Boss” I realized that I like them. Of course, I would not like them all, but the little I know about them, makes them likable to me.
By the same token, I like women… but not all women. Does that make me a misogynist?

We all make choices, but they are not all motivated by race. Before blaming anybody, look honestly at yourself and try to figure out if there are any reasons why some people don’t like you. You might be surprised…

Alain