There are many examples but I will only use a few here to make my point. When Jeffrey Dahmer was about 22 years old (1981) he was arrested for exposing himself at a Wisconsin state fair but he only received a slap on the wrist. In 1986 he was again charged for masturbating in front of two boys. This time he actually served 10 months of a 12 month sentence. In 1988 he was again arrested for sexually fondling a young boy in Milwaukee, for which he served another 10 months, this time in a work release camp. He should have served a longer sentence but he convinced a judge that he needed therapy and so was released on 5 years probation.  

   Officials would later learn that it was shortly after this release that Dahmer would begin killing his victims in extremely brutal ways. In the early morning hours one May morning in 1991 a 14 year old victim would be found wandering the residential street where Dahmer lived. The boy was naked, bleeding from the rectum and appeared to be under the influence of drugs or alcoholic beverages. When police questioned Jeffrey Dahmer, he told them the boy was his 19 year old lover who had become drunk and argumentative. Despite the boy’s apparent condition and over his pleas for help, the police officers released the boy back into Dahmer’s custody while ignoring the foul stench emanating from Dahmer’s home. The stench would later turn out to be the decomposing corpses in a back room of his residence. Dahmer would kill the boy shortly thereafter. The police officers would later be fired but after appealing their case they would be reinstated on the police force and even be named officers of the year by the police union.

   This is a pretty clear case of exactly what I am talking about. We can see a disturbed young man’s actions continuing to escalate in the severity of his crimes. From “simple” exposure which could easily be explained away as the act of an overly intoxicated young man with no prior criminal record, to openly masturbating in front of young boys, to sexually assaulting another young boy, to killing his victims, all between 1981 and his final arrest in 1991.

   Despite the evidence of his actions, both judges and the police officers involved obviously paid more attention to his words. He was the victim, and just needed therapy, certainly not incarceration. He counted on a homophobic response from the police officers and his plan worked better than he could have possibly hoped for. Then you have the extremely unprofessional actions of the police officers who were able to “talk” their way back into the police force despite their actions which so obviously supported the initial termination decision.

   Then we have all those “moderate” Muslim “civil rights” groups which continually bombard us with just how non-violent and misunderstood is their “religion of peace.” Yet where are these so called moderates when the Danish cartoon riots were taking place around the world? Where were they when Theo Van Gough, the Danish film maker and “artist” was killed for exercising his right to free speech? These same moderate Muslim civil rights groups that claim they are the persecuted ones even as they openly demand “special rights” not accorded any other religious or minority group, who openly support terrorist organizations and express their intentions of overthrowing the society that they have joined and their stated intention of imposing Sharia Law and Muslim supremacy over all Muslims and non-Muslims alike.

   Yet the thousands and thousands of violent acts committed around the world today are not committed by any significant numbers of Christians, Jews, Hindus, or Buddhists, but they certainly are committed by the followers of that religion of peace. Remember the images of tens of thousands of Muslims dancing and celebrating in Muslim communities around the world at the death and destruction wrought on 9/11? Anyone who attempts to so much as criticize the smallest aspect of the Islamic violence and the horrendous ways with which they treat non-Muslims always seems to bring a firestorm of violence or the threat of violence to those who dare speak out.

   Yet we see people in many Western cultures continue to listen to the words of these totally supremacist religious zealots, even as their 1400 year history is full of the violence which they initiate against the infidel populations unfortunate enough to live within striking distance. Again, I don’t believe that every self professed Muslim is a stone cold killer or even a supporter of Islamic terrorism, but they are not the true Muslims they claim to be as they fail to adhere to the Arabic ranting of their prophet and his god.  Anyone who has ever bothered to take the time to actually read what the Quran, the Hadith’s and the Sira demand of all true Muslims, and understand the Muslim concept of the Medina, or essentially the “new testament” of the Quran, which makes null and void any earlier teachings or similar statements such as those found in the “old testament” portion of the Quran, or Mecca period of Islam’s history should be able to add two plus two equals four. Barring that, the sheer numbers of Islamic violence perpetuated around the world today should put any doubts about the true nature of this so called “religion of peace” to rest.

   Again, deeds not words speak to the true character of people and governments. No one is perfect and we all make our mistakes but the way we arrived at those mistakes and perhaps most importantly, the way we deal with the aftermath of those mistakes will always show the true character of us as individuals and nations alike. Be that for the better or worse, the answer will almost always be clear to those with the eyes with which to see.

   Recently, the Uniontown Area School Board in Pennsylvania proposed equipping their school police with Tasers, a non-lethal device which fires two metal prongs or can be pressed directly against an offender, delivering a controlled electrical shock that incapacitates rather than kills. It should be mentioned that this same school board already refuses to allow their school police to carry any firearms and to date they are only equipped with nightstick-type impact weapons and pepper spray. The proposed guidelines for the use of the Tasers would only be for “outsiders” and would never be authorized for use on school students or staff members.

    At a contentious meeting with several groups and parents the director of safety and health tried arguing that the issuance of the Tasers would be a proactive step as opposed to a reactive measure, while also noting the increase in serious crime in the Uniontown area. One of the many vocal opponents from nearby New Salem implied that if the students saw school police officers with the Tasers that they may think it was alright to bring Tasers of their own to school! Ignoring the fact that even the cheapest “civilian” model of the Tasers cost about $300 dollars a pop, what world does this person live on if they believe that students would one, be able to go right out and shell out that kind of money for such a device and two, would ever think it would be ok to bring such a device to their school? They already have to abide by a fairly lengthy list of prohibited items which they are not permitted to bring to school.

   Perhaps the most shocking statement was made by a Uniontown parent who said, “I can’t see using violence to combat violence. It’s wrong. There’s got to be another way to conduct this. Kids’ lives, security guards lives are in danger.” Eventually the proposal to equip the school police with this non-lethal device was aborted and the meeting turned to looking at security training and the possible use of metal detectors in future sessions.

   Again, all we have to do is look at the past actions of kids in the numerous school shooting that have been taking place around our country since the mid-90’s and ask ourselves how on earth a well intentioned (not to mention incredibly brave or recklessly stupid) and unarmed person, school police or anyone else, would have ever been able to stop the focused killers such as those two killers at Columbine, Colorado? Even school police armed with Tasers would have been useless against two or more heavily armed homicidal killers such as the ones who ravaged the Columbine school. The concept that only “bad people” use violence is so far removed from reality as to defy any cognitive thought. Violence is the weapon of choice for the bad guys to be sure, but violence has also been a tool of necessity for the good guys to.

   Hitler wasn’t defeated with pleasant thoughts. World Wars I and II were not won by turning the other cheek and greeting the bad guys with hugs and salutations. They were defeated by the good guy’s courage, sacrifice and determination not to simply roll over for evil, period. Today with the Russian – Georgian conflict we see the Russians repeatedly paying lip service to peace and treaties, while their actions tell a vastly different story. If you were a Georgian which Russian activity would you be giving the most credence to? 

   For me the answer is very simple. Actions not words!