May Editorial Winner

The right and the wrong of it all

By David Stringer, The Lawton Constitution

Those in the political realm have often used “deflection” as a method to divert attention from one bad behavior or policy to another. Listen to any TV interview and see how often they’re asked a specific question that they don’t want to answer, and they’ll go off on a tangent that they can defend. 
Sadly, private citizens are getting far too adept at the practice as well, generally using social media as the platform. And last week’s incidents in Minneapolis — as well as others recently — have pushed the angst to a new level, defending one bad behavior by pushing the spotlight in another direction. 
So here’s where we stand. 
Police were right to detain George Floyd when he was suspected of a crime. 
Police were wrong to ignore his complaints about their tactics which, at this point, resulted in his death. 
Protesters are right in their outrage. 
Looting is 100 percent wrong, no matter how outraged the looters are. 
Protesters loudly and passionately demanding change is right. 
People dismissing the entire incident because “we don’t know what happened before” are wrong. 
Individuals advocating a swift and thorough investigation are right. 
Demanding “justice” while also advocating suspension of Constitutional rights is wrong. 
Vigilantes, of the type who pursued and killed Ahmaud Arbery because they suspected him of a crime, are wrong. 
Justifying arson and looting because “They’re a big company” or “They have insurance” is wrong. 
Organizations — journalistically or otherwise — taking a stand, if clearly identified, against injustice are right. 
Journalists who inject personal opinions into their reporting are wrong. 
Holding individuals accountable for their actions is right. 
Branding a group of people — racially or professionally — as the “too frequently used” when they had nothing to do with the incident is wrong. 
Putting forth an uninformed opinion based on a few memes, biased news sources or information you haven’t personally validated is wrong. 
Law enforcement and public officials who have expressed concern, and even criticism, of the Minneapolis police action are right. Likewise those who have expressed outrage over the arson and looting. 
In today’s polarized landscape, far too many believe that “If you believe this, then you believe that.” In our opinion, that’s wrong.