The Bear's Den: "Reality is Disconcerting"

I never watch reality TV, mostly… because the ´reality´ of people nowadays… is truly disconcerting. Our culture seems to be morphing more and more into one that is Roman-like, where spectators gained glee from watching someone else´s pain and misfortune. The Romans cheered as the Christians were eaten by lions and the Gladiators beat, hacked and sliced one another to death. Today, two-leggeds check their morality at the door and somehow think that the Great Good Spirit is okay with that. This mode of entertainment is real, alright, but the Creator´s satisfaction with the viewers of it… is not. I find the fact that there are so many people so enchanted with viewing variations of this demented "reality" very disconcerting.

It´s seriously as if most everyone has checked their God-given choice to do what´s right, along with their hat & coat, at the door. I mean, really – people on an island trying to screw one another, others racing around the world back-stabbing each other and some allowing hidden cameras in their homes so we can watch how degenerated, depraved and selfish they are, that´s just too stupid… for the likes of me. Sorry – but it is. Um-hmm, and I think that the epitome of these is the televised trial of someone accused of doing something heinous. It is indicative of this basic human ´reality´ and cause for an increase in my disconcertion.

That is why I never watch court TV. I didn´t watch the OJ Simpson trial or the Rodney King proceedings, and this is absolutely why I didn´t view the Casey Anthony murder trial, either. Now, not watching tawdry TV doesn´t mean that I don´t follow the highlights. They are important to be able to gauge our society. But I have ta tell ya, if public hangings come back in vogue, I won´t attend those either. That said I´d still want to know the sentence was carried out, see what I mean? It would be important to know as a member of society. And that brings me to my basic traditional American Indian quandary concerning this woman who is absolutely responsible for her little baby´s death and... she suffers no consequences for it.

Almost anyone with a law enforcement background knows that the CSI television shows have more hooey in them than a politician´s promise. And, 99.9% of the gadgets they routinely play with, and spend hours on per episode, either don´t do nearly what they´re depicted as being able to do, cost more that the whole department or… flat-out, plain-old don´t even exist – period. Yet, it seems that the 12 jurors in the Anthony trial were waiting for one of the CSI actors to pop up on the stand and show them ´exactly´ how the mother killed this two-year old baby, by using their TV make-believe, cool tools… from their CSI lab in Miami, Las Vegas or New York. See what I mean? It´s too ridiculous and truly disconcerting that these so-called ´peers´… can´t tell TV reality from fundamental actuality. Holy cats, man, for a Traditional American Indian, it´s not all that complicated.

Once, after watching a documentary on the sinking of the USS Indianapolis during WWII, my domestic boss asked why the captain was court-martialed when everyone said that the loss of his ship wasn´t his fault. I looked at her and said: "When in command – command!" I was taught this in R.O.T.C. It means, simply, that good or bad, right or wrong, anything that happens to your command – the ship and her crew, etc – is the commander´s responsibility. The powers above, had basically given the C.O. the power of life and death over the crew and the vessel. This is a mighty responsibility, and one not to be taken lightly. So, along with any successes and rewards, the captain had to accept any failures and consequences, too. The buck stopped with him. From a Traditional American Indian point of view, it is the same with a mother or father – parents.

Once a child is born unto you, it is like the ship and her crew. You accept full responsibility for whatever happens to the little one – when in command – command and when a parent – parent! This baby was gone from her mother´s care for 31 days before she was ever reported as missing. And the mother was judged sane – not tetched in the head. That´s more than enough to make her guilty as charged for this Traditional Indian. But the ´reality´ of the situation is that children… are not considered sacred anymore by many in this country. Abortion has helped with that and an ever-accepting of pedophilia forms champions the cause even further. It´s the adult who has more value nowadays. It´s sad but true. But´cha know, I just wish the baby could get a Rodney King deal.

Years ago, I had to arrest a who was high on PCP along with two other officers. That´s what happened in the Rodney King case, so I know what it´s like. Back in those days, it was almost impossible to subdue these users. That guy threw us three big cops around like we were rag dolls. So, good, bad or in between, I had to side with the state jury who acquitted the L.A. cops. Of course, ´reality´ came into play for the L.A. officers, too. The Clintons couldn´t let this verdict stand, because their supporters were screaming for the cops´ heads. Unlike children, a Rodney King was considered sacred. So, the Clinton administration tried the poor cop sods again under a different name (federal civil rights). They used the same evidence and same theory, etc, and this time with a malevolence… managed to eek out a conviction on them. Never mind that it´s illegal under the U.S. Constitution to try someone twice for the same crime – whether you change the name or not. The squeaky wheel had to be greased and the Clintons applied the gun to the grease fitting.

The really sad thing here is that I don´t think justice was served in the above instance. Nope, not at all. Originally, the cops were exonerated, and they should´ve stayed that way. But if we´re going to mangle the Constitution, let´s try the mother, Kaly Anthony, again for violations of little Casey Anthony´s civil rights, eh. It would be just as wrong, but at least… justice would be done if... we had a jury who had never watched reality TV or CSI, anyway. Alas, the ´reality´ is that this won´t happen. Little ones are hardly sacred anymore when compared to such as the mother Kaly Anthony. And overall, I find it very sad, and quite disconcerting.

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David Walks-As-Bear is an Inter-Tribal Elder and Kispoko Shawnee Indian. He works as a private game warden and detective and is a novelist and syndicated newspaper columnist living in Northwest Michigan. Contact him at his home paper The White Lake Beacon: 231-894-5356 or visit his website at: www.Walks-As-Bear.com. You can hear David´s brief "Traditional Elder´s Reflections" Mon-Sat, after the 10:00AM (EST) news on the radio. Go to: www.hometownradio.us and click WEEH-FM.