Jerry Kane was not a man wanted by the police; he wasn't on the run for murder or any other serious crime. Instead, like a few we've seen emerge over the last year and a half. He was a man with a belief. A firm belief which suggests, that government encroaches upon his freedoms, here in the US of A. Yes, Jerry Kane was a right-wing, anti-government, white supremacist who made no bones about what he stood for or believed. He believed himself to be a sovereign citizen, or more specifically, a member of the Christian Patriot movement.
People like Kane with a similar mindset, or ideology, have long existed in this country. But the question I have is why does it seem like these folks are coming out of the woodwork all of a sudden? When within months of each other, an angry white man flies a plane into an IRS building, and a group of people identified as a Christian Extremist Militia are arrested by the FBI. One has to ask: What the fuck is really going on in America?What's causing all of this? Surely it cannot be the election of a black president, or the subsequent racist anti-government rhetoric that has suddenly dominated our political landscape. Surely that has nothing to do with it, no? I'm guessing we'll have to wait on an assassination attempt on the president before that question can be answered.
I mean this isn't exactly one of those cults waiting on a spaceship to take them to another world beyond the stars. These are people who aren't afraid to act on their beliefs. These are people who are resigned to the fact that if innocent people are injured in the process, then so be it. In the case of Kane, those innocent victims were not only two West Memphis police officers, but also his 16yr old son who he has withheld from attending school his entire life. A life cut short because of the marriage of politics and religion.
Look, I often highlight the wrong doings of police officers across the country on this site; police officers who are sworn to uphold the law, who deserve to be exposed for their actions. But I'd be remiss if I didn't acknowledge the fact that theirs is a function that is extremely dangerous. It is bad enough that they have to encounter the obvious criminal element among us, and risk their lives. But it is even scarier to think that there are people like Jerry Kane who though not criminals, are willing to commit murder and assault authority, all because of his belief.
I hate to say it, but the world is better without him. And lastly, his friends and family have some nerve demanding compensation from the West Memphis police department for the burial of this asshole. But hey, that's how that white privilege thing works, no? Ideology aside, I say that much of his entitlement is predicated on him being a white man. But I could be wrong, and Barack Obama could be right. Maybe they do cling to their guns or religion or antipathy towards people who aren't like them, as a way to express their frustrations.
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