Stood on my deck now, looking at the gorgeous crescent moon and Venus and thinking how lovely it is tonight. Iβm also thinking how incredible the zoom is on my iPhone.
A 1-year-old baby, Kohen Kartier Wiley, is dead because police opened fire over an alleged shoplifting incident in a Walmart parking lot. We are treating items on a shelf as more valuable than a child. That is not just bad policing; it is a moral collapse. We need officers who honor the sacredness of life more than the thrill of power and control. A badge is not a license to shoot first and ask questions later.
Reports indicate that officers were called to a Walmart on a shoplifting complaint, encountered a family as they went to their car, and then opened fire on the vehicle with a 1-year-old child inside. A mother says she tried to tell them her baby was in the car before shots were fired. In the name of βlaw and order,β a child was killed and a family was shattered over items that could be restocked, written off, and replaced.
This is what happens in a βshoot first, ask questions laterβ culture of policing. When those entrusted with public safety reach for a gun faster than they reach for their conscience, they are declaring that property is more precious than people. That is not public safety. It is a spiritual crisis.
No item in any store is worth the life of a child. Kohen should be alive today. We cannot simply grieve and move on. We must raise our voices, demand accountability, insist on policies and training that put the preservation of life above the protection of property, and refuse to accept a culture where it is thinkable to fire into a car with a baby inside. Our charge is clear: until the sacredness of human life is the starting point of every police encounter, we must demand changes in training and work unrelentingly to reform policies around police accountability.
#KohenKartierWiley #HumanityFirst
πΊπ¬π§ Today marks the anniversary of the death of Dame Vera Lynn, whose voice became a source of comfort, hope and connection for so many during times of uncertainty.
Known to generations as the Forcesβ Sweetheart, Vera Lynn's support for serving personnel and veterans extended far beyond the songs she sang. Her commitment to those who served helped strengthen the bond between the Armed Forces community and the nation they protected.
As we remember her today, we also recognise the importance of continuing to back the organisations that support veterans, serving personnel and their families across the UK.
Her legacy lives on in the spirit of community, resilience and care for those who have served.
Photos: Imperial War Museums / Ministry of Information, 1941 β Public Domain (via Wikimedia Commons)
Nationaal Archief (Joop van Bilsen/Anefo, 1 July 1962) β CC0 1.0 Public Domain (via Wikimedia Commons)