I’ve never been a big fan of Halloween and prefer to celebrate fall festivals and the harvest season.
Sure, as a kid I put on green picked up a toy gun and became an Army Man so I could get candy. I went to Halloween parties dressed as a cowboy as a teenager and even bonfires in my college days.
But I was taught there is a sinister side to Halloween and it is often hidden behind the pumpkins, sheets and plastic skeletons you put in your front yard.
Yes, I soaped windows in downtown West Point one year, there was even a water balloon incident that involved police and I did the toilet paper thing too.
And now you know the evil that can live in my heart.
Seriously
I’ve done bad things.
I’ve been caught doing things I am not proud of and paid the price.
And that has made me thankful there is judgement and a system that lets me pay my debt to society.
I’m also thankful there is absolution that can wash away that sin. There is no forgiveness – no justice – without someone paying a price for their transgression.
So are you a good person or bad person?
“There is a good dog and a bad dog inside each and every one of us. The one that grows stronger is the one you feed.” That quote is attributed to Sitting Bull, a man that many would call a savage.
I have no doubt he did some pretty bad things in his life.
If a man who lived without churches, police or 10 Commandments could realize this, I hope we can, too.
Judgement
In another lifetime I worked the oilfields of Texas. There were bikers on this crew and they were men who grew up without fathers or mothers and they grew up fast.
On our crew was a biker named Cleave. His actual name was Cleveland, but you only called him that if you wanted to fight. The word cleave means “to adhere firmly and closely or loyally and unwaveringly.” Cleave carried a meat cleaver in his truck.
But I digress.
Cleave once told this innocence Southern Baptist boy something that left my heart cleft.
“In my world there is instant judgement,” he explained. “You don’t go to jail for six months where they feed you, give you a place to sleep and then send you to court. If you hurt someone or steal from someone there is instant justice. I’ve always felt that makes bikers some of the most wise and polite people on earth.”
His point was you need to carefully make good decisions in his world because there are instant consequences. You steal from him and there is justice. You assault a member of his gang/family and there is justice. You offend him and there is instant justice.
True Justice
We’ve had some pretty bad things go on in Clarksdale in October.
People want to point to underlying factors as the reason. They said the Devil is in it. They make excuses and try to figure out why children die from bullets.
Clarksdale needs to look this one straight in the eye. Clarksdale needs to look evil, sin, lawbreakers, gang members and big bad bikers straight in the eye every day and say there is judgement and a penalty for those who break the rules around here.
We need our courts to stand up and fairly and legally look at not just recent incidents but a tide of transgressions against others and against this community. They need to make those found guilty by their peers pay a price.
This judgement needs to come down on local government, our schools and political leaders, too. If you break the rules there are authorities who will haul you into court. The rules don’t just apply to some and not others. That isn’t justice.
This town has good people and they need to be protected so they can live happy productive lives in a thriving and growing community.
We need to seek justice.
So are you one of the good ones or are you one of the bad ones?
Happy Halloween Clarksdale, because this community really needs to figure this one out.
Floyd Ingram is Editor of your Clarksdale Press Register. He is one of the lucky ones who has found grace and peace in life. Call him at 662-627-2201 if you want to talk about justice.
