Missed Cues Leading to Disaster

I haven't blogged in awhile because of three events that I can't turn away from, and I wasn't sure what to say.  

One of the events is the Trayvon Martin shooting. Another is the horrific massacre in Afghanistan. A third is the appalling killings in Toulouse, France.

Other commentators have discussed these events with insight, so I don't have much (or anything) to add. I guess the only thing I have to contribute is what I see as the common elements in all three incidents: missed cues, mental illness, guns, and a sense that some human beings are "other." 

High Standards

 

I was walking down the street in Washington, DC today, and a disgruntled man was commenting on me and quite a few other folks walking along the same sidewalk.

"Black mother@$#%$ers! You Black people are mother#$##@ers!," he shouted. "And you white people, YOU'RE mother@#$@#$ers, too! You're ALL mother$%$#ing mother!@#$@ers," he continued, before pausing.

After considering something, chin in hand, he said, very calmly, "Now President Obama…he's good."

At least SOMEbody meets that fellow's standards.