Sunday April 22nd 2018 was a tragically unlucky day for Waffle House, its employees and patrons. In a horrific senseless attack, a naked madman shot up a Tennessee Waffle House killing four and wounding four others. On the same day, an unruly trio entered an Alabama Waffle House in the early hours with a presumed alcoholic beverage and then created a disturbance when asked to leave. The ensuing altercation with police recorded on video went viral precipitating a social media firestorm.
Both incidents were nonsensical, but one was significant for its carnage and heroism and the other silly for its chaos and manipulation. The shooter in Tennessee was clearly a deranged young white man who was miraculously disarmed by a courageous patron, James Shaw, Jr.; or it could have been even worse. Shaw who happens to be black is rightly being honored for his heroism. With selfless valor, he defended himself and strangers.
In the Tennessee incident, race was not a factor. Shaw is revered for his valiant actions and the shooter is reviled for his murderous conduct; both regardless of skin color. Shaw is esteemed by all not just the NAACP. No group has come forward to defend the shooter or question Shaw’s motives.
In the Alabama incident, race was not a factor either, but race baiting opportunists seek to make it about racism. An objective examination of the cell phone video, security video, reports, and eyewitness testimony portray a commotion caused by simple bad behavior. Two intoxicated women were aggressively belligerent toward Waffle House employees. They threatened them with bodily harm and even alluded to having a gun; such intimidations should not be taken lightly. So the police were summoned.
Even giving the women the benefit of the doubt that they felt genuinely slighted by Waffle House employees, when the police arrive mature sober adults would comply with police instructions. A rational person would leave when asked and make their case to police in the parking lot. Disputes and misunderstandings can happen, but police cannot sort through every childish argument. Their duty is to diffuse the situation and if necessary remove the threat.
One of the women left, but the other repeatedly disobeyed officers and then resisted arrest. When you disobey and resist arrest, police will subdue you regardless of color. This incident involved three drunken black people, but the outcome would have been the same had it been three drunken white people. It was perhaps exacerbated because the scantily clad woman was exposed when she flopped on the floor resisting arrest.
There is no dignified way to struggle with a portly woman, but once police subdued and removed her, it should have ended there. But activists led by Al Sharpton intend to exploit this unfortunate episode; and there is the real tragedy. People of all colors misbehave everywhere. Common decency and abiding by the law are universal for all Americans. The disruptive woman is no more representative of all black people than the crazed shooter is representative of all white people.
The Alabama incident was a case of plain disorderly conduct, but to allege racism over bad behavior diminishes real cases of racism. If everything is racism, nothing is racism.
Supposed civil rights leaders are defending or overlooking the disorderly conduct of an inebriated woman with an arrest record for other disturbances as if she is the poster child of heavy handed racist persecution. To call this racism is an insult to all blacks because it exalts and excuses thuggish behavior as normal for blacks, so society must afford them special dispensation to misbehave.
This sad sordid scene should never have made it past this woman’s shame much less the news. It’s just another late night drunken confrontation our police encounter all too often. Don’t let someone’s bad behavior divide us; let’s unite to celebrate and honor James Shaw, Jr., a true American hero.
“The Lord hates . . . a false witness who pours out lies and a person who stirs up conflict in the community.” Proverbs 6:16&19
