Month: December 2021

I sat in my living room as the verdict came in for former police officer Kim Potter, who shot Daunte Wright to death on a routine traffic stop.  The verdict subsequently came in as guilty for two counts of manslaughter.  About a year ago, I watched this video clip of a motorist with a gun on their dashboard on a traffic stop.  He defies the police and even drives off against their instructions without incident.  That driver is white and alive; Daunte Wright is black and dead.  People who talk to me, or read my posts, will know that I generally lean left when it comes to social issues.  If I were to follow that trend, I would be celebrating this conviction.  I’m not; I’m conflicted.

Continue reading “Where is the line between accident and negligence?” →

Decades ago, I moved from Florida to Washington state after graduating to start my professional career.  While conversing with friends they told me this outrageous tale that occurred here in the Pacific Northwest.  The story goes that a whale had become beached in Oregon and died.  The decomposing whale had literally become a stinking problem and the locals contemplated how to remedy this problem.  They concluded that the easiest way to address the issue was to blow it up with dynamite, which would vaporize the whale.

Continue reading “What do exploding whales have to do with racism?” →