One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest

Returning to the complex, from this morning’s workout, I spied a lone survivor.

Time will tell if there are others who managed to fly over the cat traps, stay free.

Today is my Day 3 of Moderna, and the few side effects I experienced were minor and have dissipated.

The injection site is no longer sore.

I only had the one episode of feeling really really hot, which I’ve since learned is known as “flushing”.

I was tired yesterday. So tired that I literally slept the day away and had an experience I’d not heard or read about as being a side effect of the vaccine ─ my pee burned.

Logically thinking I couldn’t possibly be the only one to have experienced such, I did some online sleuthing and found “burning urination is a rare side effect of both Pfizer and Moderna” — .4% of the Pfizer, 0.12% of those having the first shot of Moderna.

Too bad one of the side effects isn’t removing excess body fat/weight loss.

The news this morning was a teacher in Alaska who instructed her online class that, though she did not agree with Chauvin's action, it was Floyd’s failure to "comply" with officers' orders to get in the back of a squad car that resulted in his death.

That’s nothing new. I’ve read similar sentiments, and it saddens me there is an element that just cannot see that years of experiencing the dark side of law enforcement has instilled a fear of compliance with law enforcement in the Black community. Actually, no matter what the topic, there will always be a segment that falls under the category of “There are none so blind as those who will not see”. In other words, understanding cannot be forced upon someone who chooses to be clueless.

This teacher carried it a step forward with "If any of you find yourself in a situation where you are - justly or unjustly - being addressed by the police and ordered to do something, please comply. Do not fight the cops. Don't try to run away”.

I would — run, resist that is, because I'm aware of what can go wrong when one complies.

There are several documentaries about officers in jail now for having stopped women, ordered them to exit their vehicles. Compliance got these women sexually assaulted by those officers.

When I lived in San Diego, there was a young lady who was pulled over, rolled down her window, drove to a secluded spot as instructed, exited her vehicle when told to do so — in other words complied. She ended up raped and murdered.

Terrance Williams was stopped in Florida for a traffic violation. Complied by getting in the back of the squad car when told to do so. No one has seen him since 2003/2004.

Same with Felipe Santos. He disappeared off the face of the earth after getting in the back of a squad car, in compliance with orders given by that same officer.

So many old and new instances clearly demonstrating how compliance can get you harmed, disappeared, murdered — like Philando Castile.

Philando shouldn’t even have been asked for his license and registration, because he was just a passenger and, when he moved to comply, reached for the requested license and registration, compliance got him shot seven times.

If stopped by the police, asked for my license and registration, I would hand over such through a window rolled down just barely enough to be able to slide the documents through.

If instructed "Ma'am, roll down your window", it would be "No. I'm not comfortable doing that".

That one failure to comply alone could get me dragged out by my hair, like the 68 year old librarian in North Carolina, but I would be dragged out kicking, screaming, resisting. I'd try to run/drive away, because I'd rather risk being broken in body, tased, shot than roll down the window, step out of the car or comply with getting myself trapped in the back of a squad car.

Oh ... and by the way: