Akron and Karma

Plog Number 223

Akron and Karma

Hello Ploggers, how are you. Happy 🍁 Fall! I have to admit that this one has been pretty sweet so far. Hoping for a nice mild winter. If winter lasted thenormal amount of time it would be much more acceptable. Snow❄️ in November and December is great. Even January and February is OK, but March, April and May get a little long. So we take it as it comes.

I have been thinking about Akron lately. I am not as familiar with Akron but their stories are always include them in our local news. Earlier this year there was a big story about the Grand Jury failing to indict against the 8 Police who shot Jayland Walker over 60 times. Jayland had shot once at them and then left his gun in the car and fled on foot. The thing that stuck out was the disappointment of the family of the deceased. They lost their son and got no justice or even the chance via a criminal trial. Akron was in civil unrest with lots of vigils and protests after the decision came out. Things have settled down for them now.

This week there was a court decision that feels equally upsetting for the families involved. This time the jury came back hung, in regards to the Manslaughter charge. Two brothers beat up a 17 year old white male, Eathan Liming who fell and hit his head on the sidewalk and died. Liming had approached the boys and had a gun which he shot at the boys. The victim was white and the defendants were black. This fight happened in front of Lebron Jame’s Promise 🏠school. They showed the families of both the victim and the defendants they were equally shocked.

I was listening to the 📻 radio this morning and the Akron story was being discussed. On black radio there was a lot that people had to say. People were calling in and saying that the brothers should not be charged with anything and be set free and sent home. They were saying that if the racial identities of the parties were reversed, they would definitely be sent home. Lots of opinions on this one.

As I learn more about the case I keep changing my opinion about the outcome. The brothers were fortunate not to be convicted. A hung jury was the last thing I thought I would see with this trial. An acquittal would be a different story. The victim and the defendants all looked young and likeable. A young man lost his life at the hands of the defendants. Felonious Assault seems like a plausible fit. But self defense against an armed assailant certainly played a role. I have heard that the victim came into the situation with a weapon and aggression. It seems like Karma did a turn around with the Liming case compared to the typical racial injustice we saw in the Walker case.

It must be incredibly difficult to lose someone to violence with no justice. Both the Walker and the Liming family must feel the same kind of pain and loss. God Bless them all and RECLAIM!