Deadly Weapons

       The Washington Post reports that 558 people have been shot dead by police in America so far this year. That's an average of almost 80 people a month. Almost every one was in possession of a deadly weapon when they were shot, according to police reports. Everything from a stick, to knives but mostly guns to even a sword.
       Who threatens a cop with a sword today, or a stick? Now some have been nationally publicized, like Abdulazeez in Tennessee over the marine recruiting station shootings, but most are more locally reported. These numbers seem way out of whack. And it's not just minorities being singled out. There's plenty of whites and blacks and some Hispanics. It seems to be non biased.
       But why so many? Reading some of the reports, can't help but bring you to the point that some cops must be trigger happy and more importantly, far too many unstable people are in possession of firearms. The police seem not to have the respect due them and maybe with cause in too many cases.
I'm not convinced that a lot of police have the proper respect due the citizens they're charged with serving. Maybe I'm way off base. but I don't think so.
       Now the police I know of, here in my little town seem respectful, but even them, I don't know how they would treat someone not local. What's going on in America? Is respect just a quaint custom of the past? Nice sounding but not practical or deserving? When did we change? Has politics changed us? I know that politicians are far from respectful of their opponents, but that's nothing new. Has their disrespect for one another deteriorated to the point of bitterness not previously seen? Historians say no.
       No, I think that politicians have resorted to lying about their opponents so publicly because of 24/7 news cycles that they feel the need to one up their own comments. As for disrespect, I think it's disrespect for the citizenry that's the cause. And the support for "guns across America", that's the root cause.