Hate is powerful tool especially if it is normalized and become part of local institutions. As some of my readers know my family and I have been targeted by hate (...they told us why they were targeting us because of religion. These officers eventually did the right thing and realized they were being played with. The other department connected to that social group continued forward in support of their ethnic, racial, and/or social group.) and that included a group of 100+ mediocre ex sports players/bullies, what appears to be 3-5 officers, a local college HR (They said I was more than qualified for an adjunct labor law course but then rejected me when they found out I was the "Muslim guy" their friends didn't like and whom they were targeting. Another hint of ethnic/religious cleansing based on trying to restrict jobs and opportunities. Usually an EEOC violation where such laws applied appropriately.), and what appears to be a local judge (I can't believe they would go this far with pre-knowledge of immunity before and after such behaviors if not given a wink and nod to "clean" their community. There could be other explanations but this one would be one plausible and leading explanation.)
Imagine just for a moment if what I am saying is true (I know! I know! Impossible and would never ever happen anywhere! Ever!! 🤷 Never! 3X Never!). Just for a second let us pretend that someone who makes such a claim is telling the truth even if it seems impossible in a modern society (This much aggression is not common but I suspect many smaller forms are more common with most people are not consciously aware but do feel they got the short end of the justice stick.). If true it would open a pretty big can of worms caused not by something the out-group/other did but by the reaction of those with hate leanings to the presence of an out-group/other member; especially one who sets a boundary.
Let us further pretend the impossible and recognize that the people who started this knew they were immune as indicated in smirky aggression, condescending remarks and doubling down on trying to manipulate/harm children (devaluing their rights and their life through recklessness). They had no fear they were going to get in trouble and appeared to have been coached by some of their close officer friends on how to delegitimize someone (Typically called defamation of character and in ethnic conflict propaganda to dehumanize others) and "set" someone up through false testimony and provoke an argument through highly provocative comments, words, and aggression (It actually didn't happen because I recognized the disingenuous behaviors and am generally am more likely to pause before acting. Polite but not passive. Meaning I might tell you a truth you don't want to hear but do so in a polite way. Its called a feedback loop when your doing something wrong.)
If the officers that were involved where part of this hate group's close friend network and were doing the bidding of one of their social leaders that would be immoral (Not to mention not following the Bill of Rights or the requirements of their job function.) Likewise, if the social leader had a financial stake in how things turned out that might be a moral problem that further highlights the manipulativeness of the behaviors.
Let us also say that the people around this social leader knew that they potentially had a mental health problem based on their own personal observations. They knew that when they get upset at people they get "weird" (One of their close friends said that! Not my words.) and that others have experienced the more apparent signs of potential narcissisms with loud attention seeking and aggressive behaviors (A possible important point as to the need for better mental health intervention before you exploit race/religion for group coordinated cleansing. BTW most of the members are good people but they were socialized to a "better than you" beliefs and when you stand up to one of their bullies they quickly act as a coordinated entity to social enforce the rules.)
Worse, every time this group sees you they either chuckle loudly (...as is their custom much like chest beating of monkeys) and/or encourage people to get angry (Social bullying with a potentially violent leanings by some members.) Beyond staring kids down in a Menards parking lot their behavior more than once could have led to a group/gang/clan group fight. An example of provocative behaviors would be yelling out "Your father is a bitch" or something similar to my kids attending an event (No respect of life, liberty or pursuit of happiness. I can't believe how destructive they were to kids. A total violation of a person's rights and wink and nod free pass. If we don't have a democracy and freedom for our kids/hope then what do we actually have? If the root assumption is based on racial or religious considerations and they acted on those distorted beliefs that is kind of a serious issue. Like I said, I can't imagine I would have any serious problems with anyone in that group or do they know me or my family enough to make such judgements. 🤷)
All of that would be illegal and immoral in 1st world, 2nd world, 3rd world nations and under international law. Imagine if a local judge gave them the right to engage in these behaviors (Either let them engage in these behaviors and/or didn't step in to stop it then I would have concerns.). That would be a sign this judge is supporting a good old boy networks through racial and/or religious identities (Its only one possible explanation. There are likely others.).
If acceptable it would then be a violation of Freedom of Religion as defined in the Constitution and one of the reasons our forefathers started this country in the first place (Its not fair to have bigots define what that means to the rest of us.). Now imagine if you set up a red line to protect your kids and they doubled down on violating those boundaries to teach you a lesson on who they can and can't harm (The narcissism trait). Furthermore, they did so with the approval of their close network of officers and possibly a judge (Let us wait and see what comes out of this. Maybe not but I doubt it. Someone would have had to give them the right to target. A judge would be the person that would hold them to account and if they are in agreement then there would be no checks and balances in the system. i.e. prior knowledge they could engage in these behaviors. This is why we need more checks and balances.)
Standing up to hate is a dangerous affair. Where laws don't always apply there are all types of things that can go haywire when your part of the other side of society. The more you talk, the more they target through raising punishments and that could further lead to a violation of Freedom of Speech through intimidation tactics to remain silent (..an illegitimate use of legitimate power). (The break down of the rule of law as applied universally to American citizens. Targeting seems ok as long as the "other" is seen as less valuable and not truly worth of inherent rights. Whether they, people in their family, or others fought for those rights. It only matters the religion, ethnic affiliation, and social network of the perpetrators.).
(I want to clarify that I believe 90+% of the officers in the area are doing the right thing, our state and federal systems are functioning {not perfectly but functioning} and that most people want the best outcomes for our nation and inherent rights. There is that 10% of the society that wants what they want and no one else matters if it doesn't fit within their distorted perception of the world. That is the 10% of society that approve of cleansing, political violence and/or other aggressive behaviors. Those are big national numbers but think about what that might look like on a local level and within some of our institutions if the targets seem so worth of hate and so very very different then their perpetrators.)
What is it like to be a target? These are just a couple of things I learned. Most of the people in the community support you and provide a welcoming environment. This is your hometown and people know you come from here and have every right to be here. However, a group of officers, their friends, and what looks like a local judge can create a highly toxic environment. (Neglecting that this is my town and my genetic line precedes many of theirs). When your seen as the "other" the laws stop being your friend and are directed toward you (Most minorities know how this works and until the riots most judges didn't care. It is a fundamental issue in our society. We need universal justice and the demand for that will likely grow. I support police 100% and civil rights 110%).
You know what happened was wrong and you know they targeted your child for personal gain and hate based bigotry. You know that they were given a free pass and they had support for such aggressive behaviors both officially and socially among their connected network. You stay and you take risks but if you leave you allowed corruption to cleans out their community. Leaving would mean others are at risk in the future and likely there were victims in the past (This is where state and federal stakeholders should consider the dangers of local institutions that don't follow our Constitution, laws, or cultural understanding of moral conscious).
You do what you can do based on the tools available to you. You be polite but not passive, you call for accountability, you challenge, you help your community, encourage reconciliation with recognition of their bad behaviors, you try and bring opportunity but what you don't do is sugar coat dangerous and at multiple times potentially violent behaviors. Bending a knee to fear, hate and potential (I can only say potential but it seems to add up) disrespect to all those who sacrificed for Freedom or Speech and Freedom of Religion (Some of us live it everyday. Freedom isn't only an abstract concept.). It becomes to define your community and the values of the nation (How wonderful the vast majority of the local society actually is.).
What I advocate is for a win-win. No one needs to get in trouble if they don't want to. Its an opportunity to learn as a community and as a nation. Undiagnosed and untreated mental health may have spawned the hate to a group of ex sports players that had poor boundaries and false beliefs of Blacks, Muslims and Others. Close connections between perpetrators and police officers may have misguided a judge with coordinated false testimony much in the same way as they engaged in group behaviors. That can be answered based on how the judge finds out they were given false information. If they don't tackle the problem in an appropriate way (i.e. not just blame the victim) then it could mean they were aware and want to minimize what happened. Some things are being designed as we move forward......
(Nothing in here is fact it is only the most likely explanation I can come up with based on first sight observations, knowledge and possible explanations. There are other explanations like a rare disease or something like odd like that {just making a point}. However, what I have here is likely a leading "ball park" reasonable conclusion. New knowledge with change and adjust that. One justifying these targeting behaviors as appropriate would have a different construction of events than one not justifying these behaviors. That is the two "worlds" of perception and logic that are often rooted in our culture and backgrounds. In society now it is nearly 50/50 with half running down certain mental chains of thoughts (neural networks) and the other half running down a different mental chain of thoughts. Those who feel "entitled" to the law will interpret the purpose of law different then those who feel less "entitled" to the law. Different experiences, different logics, and different conclusions. The rare divergent thinker can run down both if they have the experiences to understand those symbolisms, cultures, and root value systems. You will eventually see what I'm saying in future posts....)
