No man is an island

From: timothy.smith1@att.net
Date: Mon Sep 05 2005 - 04:14:02 PDT


Listers,

As events unfold on our southern coast I am finding myself increasingly interested in the
venerable M35 series of deuces. Perhaps there is one in my future as well, though I remain very partial to WWII vehicles. Now to find one!

Shortly after our list member announced he was off to help out with his deuce I began hearing tales of a very large Texas-based construction outfit who was attempting to get their construction vehicles & generators back to Texas from Louisiana only to have them held by the La. State Police. It seems certain permits are required for commercial movement at present, beyond that which is normally required. Considering this equiment may have been pressed into service, I wonder if a lone MV-er and his deuce may not have suffered a similar fate?

As many of you know, I am a police officer. We have an extensive relief effort underway in San Antonio: housing many displaced persons, in and around Kelly AFB. it's a complex & challenging project. I've been working 12 hour shifts and I am only now finding the time to read (with great interest) many of your posts. These posts bring several points to mind which I think are worth sharing.

The "thugs" we are seeing, hearing & reading about have ALWAYS been out there, doing what they do. Their behavior is no more vile now than it was before but, in times of crisis we as observers, are yearning to take some comfort in seeing our fellow man at his best even when his circumstances ar at their worst (as I'm reasonably sure it has) but the media does not see that as a news-worthy event so they're just not going to show that to you on the 5 o'clock news. If the television is your primary source of news please take the time to get your news from other sources as well.

As for those of you who relish the idea of killing 'em all and letting God sort 'em out, you take the low road, it doesn't sound to me much like you've ever had the experience of actually killing anyone (sanctioned, anyway). Meet a man who has had to kill another human being & you'll find he doesn't treat the matter lightly. As a human being, a citizen & as a police officer, I cannot imagine any justification for killing a looter in this situation...killing somone who is threatening the life of another, sure, I've no qualms bout that (as this was my personal experience)...but crimes against property...no. (What exactly does one do with a big screen TV in a flooded area with no electricity? Use it to build a raft?) While I generally agree with the old saw, "some folks just need killin'" (i.e. they just need to be rubbed out) never forget there is always a butcher's bill to be paid. I am always mindful of a passage my beloved father kept with him at all times (Dad was a judge for many, many years and spe
nt a great deal of time and energy ensuring that punishment was always commensurate to the crime and the criminal.)

>From Meditation 17, Devotions Upon Emergent Occasions 1642 (aptly named don't you think?...and with modern spelling)...
...No man is an island, entire of itself, every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main. If a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe is the less, as well as if a promontory were, as well as if a manor of they friend's or of thine own were. Any man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind; and therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee...

Nuff said..
TJ Smith
San Antonio, TX



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