Icheoku says in as much as we do not ascribe to the taking of life of another under any circumstance including the present taking of lives of two workers, we make bold to say that Shareef was pushed before he jumped. Hear him "There's some racist people at my job. They're messing with me," as he complained to a friend of the treatment he was receiving at his job wherein he is the only black employee truck driver. As is usually the case, he is now being described as a "disgruntled employee;" and thankfully they have not used the term "an angry blackman" just yet in addition? Such accusations are easy to make and so is the placing of such singling-out labels quick to stick; but no one has ever asked or tried to find out why "that blackman is angry;" or who, similarly situated in his position would not be if always ignored and treated with disdain as not being good enough?
Most always, once you take the life of another in America and a manhunt ensues, the law enforcement agencies would not spare your life as they would shoot to kill upon sighting you. In this case they claimed that the dead suspect was "crouched behind a vehicle in the driveway of a home and displayed in a threatening manner his firearm?" Icheoku says we have heard such police narrative before, so it was not a surprise ending since 47year old African American male, Shareef Allman, became 'a dead man on the run' when he pulled his gun and killed those his co-workers. It was only a matter of time before he was tracked and dispatched to the world beyond with no questions asked.
His former employer, Lehigh Southwest Cement Permanente Plant in Cupertino, California according to him, is a racist establishment which employs him as the only African America truck driver in the company and he faced constant racism and repeated epithets until he snapped and became an enraged animal killing three fellow workers and wounding several others? Before that incident Shareef Allman had severally complained about the disparate treatment he is receiving at his work-place including punishment for offenses that are disproportionately applied just because of the color of his skin? Icheoku says any average Joe African-American male working or who have ever worked in the US somehow could relate to the experience shared by Shareef Allman of what transpired at Lehigh Southwest Cement Plant? That it lead him to the deep-end is quite unfortunate as he could have simply just walked away. Such unconducive work environment becomes more painful because most times the management is aware of what is going on but either chooses to ignore it and do nothing; or ask such victim-employ to put up or shut up and in some cases to leave the kitchen if he cannot stand the heat?
Icheoku says breaking the law or taking the life of another is not the answer nor would it ever stop such racist environments in American workplaces. The solution is for the management to intervene as early as possible and call parties to order and in some cases fire such racists co-workers before it creates such blood-letting environment. Shareef Allman's act was cowardly as he had other options including quitting his job and/or filing complaint with the appropriate authorities and agencies. What a pity that this latest killing at a work-place will not be the end of an employee with axe to grind snapping and doing something stupid at a work-place or some racist co-workers continuously taunting minorities in their work-places to such extent that they would lose it - their mind that is. His death in the hands of the hunters sent out to stop his madness and help end his misery has at least brought to an end to the tension in surrounding cities and neighborhoods that one pissed-off but certainly "not disgruntled" employee was out there with a gun, seeking vengeance.
Romney, and any Mormon offended by being referred to as cultists, need to be asked why they adhere to a religion whose prophet, Joseph Smith, referred to Christianity, in general, as being cultic.
ReplyDeleteHe actually, claimed that God Himself referred to Christianity as “all wrong,” an “abomination,” “all corrupt” and “far from me”—this is the very foundation of the Mormon religion.
Pardon the spam-like URL but, see: http://www.examiner.com/messianic-jewish-in-national/rick-perry-on-robert-jeffress-mormonism-as-cult
A week before he 'snapped' Shareef Allman was in the LiUNA parking lot looking for someone to talk to. I said to myself, this guy has kleinfelters syndrome, just like me, but we didn't talk about that. He asked me to go to that meeting and I got scared. I went up to Mendocino instead. I get superstitious vibes that I never talk about to anyone. I wish I had said something to someone this time. I believe that Shareef went over the edge in slow motion just as I did twenty years ago. I still have a lot of trouble accepting myself and I bet that he did too. Keeping intersex children ignorant of their condition creates the sort of mindset that causes a sort of time bomb. I was forty before I learned the truth about myself. I still get angry all the time, and after a half century of abuse and neglect, counseling is meaningless. A week after he died, I used what had happened at the quarry to convince the hall to finally vest me. I have over 10,000 hours but they were trying to avoid it.
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