You know, those quiet conservative thinkers might actually be right

I am not one to come down strongly on one side of an issue before amassing a fair amount of evidence, at least on social media. Long-time readers also know that I am a somewhat snarky individual. Therefore, on the recent developments of public opinion on George Floyd's untimely death, I present a commentary on various links and videos.

Was the police pursuit of Floyd justified?

• One conservative commentator says that it was, but that the restraint technique was not.
• Floyd did have an extensive criminal record; per one attorney's social media post, he was likely under the influence of psychotropic drugs at the time, and the MPD was trained to use the specific technique Derek Chauvin employed with such individuals.

What about systemic racism?

• Racial inequality in housing and finance has been an issue in various places for decades. However, mayors of a certain political persuasion have been either unable or unwilling to solve that inequality, given up to 125 years.
• Racism may or may not be a part of who we are as a country.
• Systemic racism may not actually exist as we are told. Focus on facts, not on emotions. Beyond that, actually, focus on values.
• White-on-Black violence is comparatively and absolutely quite low compared to the ignored other categories of interracial violence (Black-on-White and Hispanic-on-White). (Check out also the Bureau of Justice Statistics' NCVS 2018, Table 14).
• White privilege is not something to focus on, as it actually disadvantages those who claim it. Don't apologize for it, either.

What about the protests and police response?

• Things are not as they seem, in this case of force that was not excessive, combined with deliberate antagonism of the officers.
• Black officers have been killed, but it is not in line with certain agendas to acknowledge that.
• Police, as a whole, likely do not have systemic racism.

What about Black Lives Matter?

• Unborn Black lives do not matter, apparently. Killing the unborn should matter.
• Black gun deaths in Chicago don't matter unless they're caused directly by law enforcement.
• BLM as a movement does not care about free speech, and therefore, not about ending racism either because free speech is a prerequisite to informed, courageous discussion of issues.

How do we respond as thinking Christians?

• Don't dilute the gospel. Don't prematurely side one way or the other - the world's actions are not in line with the whole counsel of Scripture.
• But, if you are going to side on a political position, weigh very carefully which side faces facts more, which side prefers to escalate versus discuss an issue, and who thinks about consequences.
• Also, don't listen to the media as a preferred factual source. Hasty generalizations are one logical fallacy that diminish their credibility.
• Drop the color mindset.
• Realize that each of us is as bad a sinner as the one who died and the one who lived.