Enough Excuses

Many people may argue that the government isn’t perfect and that mistakes are going to be inevitable, which is very understandable, but to act like a majority of their decisions were the lesser of two evils is absurd. When the FBI failed to investigate Nicholas Cruz after reports of violent intentions and morbid social media posts, any other action taken would have been more beneficial. For instance, instead of ignoring these reports and doing nothing, the FBI could have confronted Cruz weeks before the shooting; as reports of cruises deteriorating mental state were documented on January 5^th, 2018, while the shooting occurred on February 14^th, 2018. This is why any other action would have been better, if the investigative branch of our government actually investigated these reports than seventeen people would still be alive today.

The squid ink tattoo scandal refers to an undercover operation conducted by the ATF, it is claimed that this operation’s purpose was to lower overall crime and to apprehend drugs, guns, and the people connected to illegal circumstances. The ATF opened multiples sting houses across the country in predominately low income areas, but we will limit this to Aaron Keys involvement in the ordeal. Key was a 19 year old boy that began to frequent a smoke shop near his home in Portland, after many encounters he was asked to support the shop by getting a neck tattoo of a squid smoking a joint (marijuana wrapped in paper), this was asked of him because it helped the stores reputation with the locals (I.E. if a resident saw another resident representing the shop then it will be hard to think that the store was illegitimate). After this, they asked key and an associate of his, Marquis Glover, to search the streets for people with connections to illegal drugs and firearms. When he found people that fit that description, they were directed to the smoke shop, upon entering the undercover agents said that they were an organization that dealt with illegal drugs and arms trading. After gaining trust among the community many people came to buy and sell firearm, arms were sold so the community didn’t get suspicious and they were bought to be used as incriminating evidence, if shotguns were brought to the shop the agents told the customer to go home, obtain a Pine saw, and cut off a good portion of the barrel; thus making the firearm a short barrel shotgun (SBS) which is a felony charge in itself. When the shops thought they gained enough evidence they started a mass apprehension of suspects, one of which was Key. Well, after they arrested him it turned out that Aaron key was a low IQ individual and was registered as mentally disabled. So yeah, I’m not going to sit here and act like I know how to lower violent crime, but I am going to say that we shouldn’t entrap mentally disabled people, make them think we are friends, then tell them to run the streets to converse with criminals. I shouldn’t have to tell you that this is wrong, it doesn’t matter how effective it was or wasn’t, they tattooed and endangered a boy with mental illnesses and issues.

A lot of people may hear this and think that I am some kind of conspiracy theorist, but an assessment such as that is deprived of fact, I only wish to spread the truth. It does not matter that you are a Democrat or a Republican, or whether you’re white or black, the government has routinely used horrible judgment and has knowingly committed atrocities that effect or have affected every demographic. The purpose of this essay is not to divide those who believe in the governments causes and those who don’t, it is to inform you that the government’s interests do not concern you in many cases. if there is a government funded institution that’s paid for by our tax dollars then we should have the right to say no. no you can’t entrap mentally ill persons, no you cant ignore violent potential shooters, no you can’t fire a women for trying to enhance national security. But sadly, this isn’t the case, the American people are too disorganized in today’s political climate to even see what’s going on. If problems such as these are to be handled, then people need to put aside their differences and focus on the issues that affect all of us. If we as a community can solve problems that help everyone it will be that much easier to solve the problems that only effect certain areas or demographics.

Squid ink tattoo scandal

https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2013/12/feds-paid-a-teen-to-get-a-neck-tattoo-of-a-giant-squid-smoking-a-joint/282279/

https://archive.jsonline.com/watchdog/watchdogreports/atf-uses-rogue-tactics-in-storefront-stings-across-the-nation-b99146765z1-234916641.html/

Stoneman Douglas and Nikolas Cruz

https://www.fbi.gov/news/pressrel/press-releases/fbi-statement-on-the-shooting-in-parkland-florida

https://www.fbi.gov/news/testimony/summary-and-timeline-related-to-parkland-shooting-investigation