Golf cart arrest? Blacks know this kind of pain every day

Blacks know pain of golf cart arrest

What happened to Julie Mall was an absolute nightmare for that family but gave us a clear picture of how the power of the police can very easily be abused; how one valid charge (letting an underage kid drive a golf cart) can morph into three or four serious additional charges with no merit or required tests (sobriety test). And how the outcome of even spurious charges can effect the “perp” for years to come.

This is something that happens to black people all the time, every day, since forever – most without the money for lawyers. Our jails and prisons are filled with people whose “transgressions” were blown all out of proportion by officers who clearly aren’t serving and protecting.

The Zika virus, abortions and N.C.

If and when the possibility of the Zika virus occurs in North Carolina and pregnant women who have tested positive seek to terminate their pregnancies, will the 72-hour wait be omitted?

If not, an infant could be born with microcephaly, a damaged brain and very small head.

Abortions would hypothetically reach an all-time high if this Zika virus spreads here. I wonder what the legislature and Gov. Pat McCrory would do then?

Don’t compare tobacco to burgers

Unfortunately, I’ve seen first hand the suffering my patients have endured due to preventable disease caused by tobacco use. Most of us do have some unhealthy habits, but comparing eating hamburgers, etc., to tobacco use minimizes the harm caused by tobacco products.

Sixty-nine of the 7,000 chemicals in cigarettes are known to cause cancer. Tobacco use causes more than 500,000 deaths per year in the U.S. alone, along with insurmountable suffering, disease, loss of productivity and wages. Nicotine in cigarettes is known to be as addictive as cocaine.

As you run past a group of smokers please don’t judge. Your thoughts should be how blessed you were to beat the addiction and to hope and pray they receive the help necessary to do the same before it is too late.

Why is American flag hijab offensive?

Forum writer Ed King found a woman wearing an American flag hijab offensive. I wonder if he would find a NASCAR fan at the speedway wearing an American flag tank top offensive?

How about a woman in an American flag bathing suit at the beach? U.S. Olympians wearing American flag sweaters?

I have seen all of the above and simply thought the wearers were proud to be American. And that was the stated point of the woman depicted in the Observer.

But I’m sure I get his point.

U.S. could use another Truman

I was touched by Edwin Yoder’s commentary on President Obama’s Hiroshima visit.

Thank God for Harry Truman, a president with guts enough to use the bomb to end a barbaric atrocity.

No, we do not owe the Japanese government an apology.

War is hell, but it takes real men and women to make intelligent decisions when it comes to foreign affairs.

We need another Truman in office, someone who can “stand the heat”!

Why threaten N.C. corporations?

Great job GOP strongmen – American Airlines disagrees with HB2, so let’s go quid pro quo and threaten to take away their fuel subsidies. Maybe they will pack up and move the CLT hub to another state.

And why stop there? There is a list of 200 companies that disagree with HB2. Maybe you can find a way to drive them all out of North Carolina.

I guess we can all go back to farming tobacco again. Who needs the Fortune 500 jobs anyway?

And maybe Bruce Springsteen will agree to perform in Rock Hill. It’s not really that far to drive.

This story was originally published May 23, 2016 at 4:09 PM with the headline "Golf cart arrest? Blacks know this kind of pain every day."