Hello!
I’m Nick. I’m also a podcaster, producer, computer guy, recovering conservative, and an aspiring writer.
This email is due in about 45 minutes and it’s one of five I’ve halfway written in the last two days.
A few moments ago, my Twitter feed became a cascade of tweets that the court ruled the killing of Philando Castile was justified. He had been pulled over because “he matched the description of a suspect”, reached for his wallet when directed to, informed the officer he had a (legal) firearm on him—as you’re supposed to—and was shot in front of his girlfriend and her daughter. The immediate aftermath of the shooting was broadcast on Facebook live from inside the car where you can watch the officer frantically point his weapon between the dying man and his passenger. Later you can hear Jeronimo Yanez’s pained screaming just off-camera, shortly after police show up to relieve him.
Look it up if you want to be mad, it sucks.
In a country of around 350 million humans, mistakes are bound to happen. I have no delusions of a single law or policy that could fix them, and there’s certainly no amount of training for officers—or civilians—that could bring the number of accidental officer involved shooting deaths near zero.
But I do expect the people tasked with enforcing laws to be held to similar standards. If we must honor legislation that offers little forgiveness to mistake-prone 18-year-olds getting caught with a pocket full of weed, then a man charged with our protection should also see some consequences when his fear and inexperience results in the death of a civilian.
This jury however, felt otherwise.
I wanted to do something fun with this email, but I’m just bummed now.
Don’t be afraid to listen to people you disagree with. Twitter is great for that. We should all strive to figure out how someone’s opinion could be so contrary to our own, then use that information to educate them, or ourselves.
I’ve been broadcasting on the internet in one form or another for almost 15 years. I love it, even when it feels like I’m talking to myself. If you know any friends that are creating stuff on the internet, share it, review it. It would make their week. Hell, tell me about it. I love new shows.
If you like podcasts, I run two:
• The Storymaker’s Association: Five to ten minute stories written and performed by various authors.
• Failed Initiative: A weekly comedy/commentary livestream between a few friends and I.
Thank you for not archiving this the moment you got it.
Nick Sequeira
Long Island, NY
[email protected]