Internet Courage Does Not Equal Real Courage
The Internet has always given people a false sense of strength and courage.
Online, people love to say what they would do in a certain dangerous situation or how they would handle violence, while sitting safely behind a keyboard with no threat on the horizon.
On UGK’s 2007 song “Quit Hatin’ the South,” rapper Willie D said that anyone typing that much can’t be a danger.
But in true fashion, social media users went in on Capitol Police Officer Eugene Goodman for appearing to run away from violent insurrectionists who stormed the United States Capitol on Jan. 6.
Many in the African-American community called Eugene Goodman (who is African-American) every variation of sellout and Uncle Tom that they could think of.
Some in the African-American community wondered why Goodman did not just use lethal force to kill all of the treasonous traitors instead of retreating.
I have to keep it a buck with my readers; I questioned why Goodman chose to flee too.
On the surface, it looked weak to me before I got the details.
When White or Hispanic police officers say that they fear for their life and therefore have to shoot an unarmed African-American, many times the officers get exonerated.
Honestly, even when an African-American woman like Breonna Taylor is sleeping in her bed, officers that shoot to kill often get the benefit of the doubt.
Therefore, it seemed baffling to me that a brother facing down a gang of thugs trying to overthrow the American republic and turn our beautiful democracy into a dictatorship could not justify shooting the out of control hooligans.
After all, blue lives matter and police officers have a dangerous job that sometimes requires using deadly force.
Nevertheless, I chose to keep my thoughts to myself because I did not know the whole story at the time.
We live in a society in which media personalities and regular social media users have gotten so overly fascinated with their own opinions and the desire to go viral that many do no take the time to get all of the details before disparaging another human being.
And the African-American community can become truly unfair with its quick desire to label everyone an Uncle Tom or coon just because they said something we disagreed with or did something that we did not fully understand at the time.
But Eugene Goodman deserves our praise and respect, not our ridicule.
What the brother did to steer the MAGA mob away from the Senate chambers in essence saved American democracy.
Unknowingly, the traitors were feet away from Vice President Mike Pence who hid in a nearby room.
Many of the MAGA hooligans wanted to assassinate Vice President Pence because he would not betray his oath to this country and the United States Constitution by overthrowing a legitimate election just because our twice impeached, and almost former president could not accept the fact that he is a loser.
But Goodman probably realized that one police officer could not shoot that many out-of-control lunatics.
Some have said that if Goodman shot one time, the other losers would have just scattered like fleas.
But who is to know what really would have happened in that situation?
What would have happened when Goodman ran out of bullets?
Could he have been beaten to death like his colleague?
Sure.
What if by standing his ground, the thugs could have discovered Pence hiding in a nearby room?
What if those insurrectionists would have gotten ahold of those precious electoral ballots?
America could have experienced a lot of carnage and we could now be experiencing King Trump’s reign and an end to our freedoms.
Rep. Stacy Mace (R-S.C.) said, “The actions of Officer Goodman were heroic and represent the best of law enforcement. When he was the only thing standing between Members of Congress and the violent mob, he quickly and selflessly redirected their fury upon himself so these Members could escape. Thanks to his valor, we are here today.”
As a result of Goodman’s bravery, a bipartisan group of United States lawmakers have put forth legislation to grant Goodman the Congressional Gold Medal.
The trio of lawmakers pushing for the award includes Rep. Mace, Rep. Emanuel Cleaver (D-Mo.) and Rep. Charlie Crist (D-Fla.).
In a statement, Rep. Crist said, “He’s a hero! The United States Capitol was under attack by armed, violent extremists, and this man, Officer Eugene Goodman, was the one thing standing between the mob and the United States Senate.”
But Eugene Goodman did not just show his heroism by protecting the Congress.
He showed heroism by behaving like a true police officer should.
Real police officers protect and serve, not shoot and kill the underserved.
By displaying such restraint, Eugene Goodman showed other officers who quickly pull the trigger on African-Americans how to dissolve a hostile situation without resorting to deadly violence.
Eugene Goodman showed that real police officers dedicated to serving the community do not always have to shoot first just because they believe their life is in danger, or so they say.
On Jan. 10, police in Killeen, Texas shot and killed Patrick Warren Sr., an unarmed African-American man with mental health issues, on his own property.
Eugene Goodman showed that if a cop can restrain from shooting countless White people intent on assassinating our leaders, then any officer can resist shooting an unarmed African-American.
While the Internet has given people a false sense of courage, many in conservative media circles have painted a false sense of officers having to shoot unarmed African-Americans out of fear for their lives.
On Jan. 6, Eugene Goodman proved a lot of conservative media personalities wrong by showing how a true hero responds to danger.
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