Page 5 - Florida Sentinel 7-2-21

Editorial/Column
FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN
(USPS 202-140)
2207 21st Avenue, Tampa Florida 33605 • (813) 248-1921 Published Every Tuesday and Friday By
FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHING Co., Member of National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA)
S. KAY ANDREWS, PUBLISHER
C. BLYTHE ANDREWS III, PRESIDENT/CONTROLLER ALLISON WELLS-CLEBERT, CFO
GWEN HAYES, EDITOR
IRIS HOLTON, CITY EDITOR
BETTY DAWKINS, ADVERTISING DIRECTOR HAROLD ADAMS, CIRCULATION MANAGER TOYNETTA COBB, PRODUCTION MANAGER LAVORA EDWARDS, CLASSIFIED MANAGER
Subscriptions-$44.00-6 Months Both Editions: $87.00-Per Year Both Editions.
Opinions expressed on editorial pages of this newspaper by Columnists or Guest Writers, do not necessarily reflect the editorial stance of The Florida Sentinel Bulletin or the Publisher.
Our Little Town Of Horrors
ast week, Ronnie
O'Neal, III, was found guilty of murdering Keny- atta Barron, the mother of his children, as well as killing his 9-year-old daughter, Ron'Niveya O'Neal. He was also found guilty of at- tempting to murder his then 8-year-old son Ronnie O'Neal, IV. He avoided the death penalty, but he has learned that he will spend the rest of his life in prison.
When O'Neal is finally hauled off to prison, it will be the tragic ending to one of the most horrific cases ever tried inside of a Hillsborough County courtroom. But, even with all of the gore and brutal- ity that O'Neal inflicted, (he beat his girlfriend with a shot gun before and after he shot her, used a hatchet on one child and a knife on another), his story will only be the latest
sensational murder case the City of Tampa has seen over the years recently.
From Richard McTear. Jr., throwing a newborn from the window of a moving car, to the Dontae Morris killing spree, to Granville Ritchie's rape and murder of 9-year-old Felecia Williams, to Howell Don- aldson, III's serial shooting in Seminole Heights, Tampa has proven to be one of Florida's most notorious met- ropolitan areas when it comes to heinous crimes.
While it may be true that every city has its fair share of murders, for some reason, those that occur in this west Florida town tend to lean heavily toward the satanically deviant end of the spectrum.
Tampa's reputation is so bad when it comes to these types of incidents, that I'm
often asked by individuals not from the area if there's "some- thing in the water down there that makes people bat-shit crazy?" It is a question that I've recently begun respond- ing to with the answer "I'm not sure?"
I want to believe that there's nothing in the aquifer causing the people in my hometown to go nuts. But, judging by what's been hap- pening, I can't say it's entirely impossible.
What McTear, Jr., did, what Ritchie did, what Howell, III, did and what O'Neal has now been con- victed of doing just isn't nor- mal, especially not for Black people. Yet, even with that being the case, there is no denying that these barbaric events actually occurred.
The sad thing is that O'Neal, for all of the head- lines he's received, is simply Tampa's madman of the mo- ment. And, unfortunately for us, it probably won't be long before someone else steps up to take his or her place under the spotlight.
Reality On Ice is © by the Florida Sentinel Bul- letin Publishing Com- pany. You can email Mr. Barr at: cbscribe2@- gmail.com.
POSTMASTER: Send Address Change To: Florida Sentinel Bulletin,
P.O. Box 3363 Tampa, FL 33601 Periodical Postage Paid At Tampa, FL
C. Blythe Andrews 1901-1977 (1945)
C. Blythe Andrews, Jr. 1930-2010 (1977)
The Catholic Pot And Kettle
n the century’s old tradition of separation of church
and state, we make the following comment. So, how did President Donald Trump escape criticism by the American Catholic Bishops, while President Joe Biden gets denied communion?
In spite of Trump’s infidelities, womanizing, hate- mongering, lying, bullying, consorting with criminals, and other behaviors, there was not one word of criti- cism of Trump by the American Catholic Leadership. Even when Trump nearly succeeded in overthrowing the American government, not one word was heard from the Catholic Church.
Even after the Vatican told American Bishops not to deny to Biden communion over the issue of abortion, they did it anyway. In essence, Biden is being punished because he won’t tell women what to do with their bod- ies. Abortions are personal choices between women and their own spirituality guide. And Biden is the pres- ident of a nation based on Constitutional Law and dem- ocratic principles.
A community that doesn’t want to take care of chil- dren already born, has no business deciding what a person does with and to their bodies. Moreover, a brotherhood of 414,582 Catholic priests, where more than 4,392 of its membership has been accused of sex- ually abusing children, can barely keep the glass of their own houses from breaking. These numbers do not include people who didn’t tell.
Since sin is sin, we wonder if the Catholic church de- nies communion to people who commit murder, theft, adultery, pedophilia, tell lies on their neighbors, work on Sundays, use the name of God while cursing, disre- spect their parents, worship graven images, or who jealously covet their neighbor’s belongings. Thus, we believe the Catholic Bishops should get their own houses in order.
We’re sure there are other churches in America that would be happy to serve communion to President Joe Biden. Meanwhile, we remain supportive of the sepa- ration of church and state.
Am I My Brother’s Keeper?
rom the Bible, we learn
about two brothers, Cain and Abel. One day in a jealous rage, Cain killed Abel thereby committing the world’s first murder. Knowing what Cain had done, God asked him, “Cain, where is your brother?” What was Cain’s response to God? “Am I my brother’s keeper?” In those days, there were no human courts. So, God dealt with Cain in his own way.
The dictionary defines brother in the following ways: a male who has the same par- ents as another or one parent in common with another; one who shares with another a common national or racial ori- gin; one related to another by common ties or interests.
In a biblical manner of speaking, as members of the
human race, all of man-kind share common ties which make us all brothers and sis- ters; the Bible is replete with scriptures that support this ideal. But too many of us take Cain’s position on this matter for it seems that not a single day passes without someone among us choosing to shoot one or more of our brothers to death. And not only do we try to deceive one another about our actions, we try to deceive the all-knowing, all-wise God.
In the United States of America, guns are way too plentiful and far too easy to get. And it appears that few of our legislative leaders at either the state or federal level have any appetite to do anything about it. In addition to the daily individual shootings, by some counts, across the Coun-
try so far in 2021 there have been more than 250 mass shootings.
There was a time in the African American community when the concept of brother and brotherly love was a way of life. Our suffering and the trials and tribulations that we experienced in our quest for equal rights had given us a common bond. We worshiped and prayed together and we leaned on one another for sup- port. We even called each other brother or sister as terms of endearment and we meant it. But like with so many oth- ers, it seems that plenty among us have adopted Cain’s phi- losophy and we kill each other unnecessarily far too much.
Like he did with Cain, God will one day judge us all. But until that time, we the peo- ple need to find solutions. I re- cently saw in the news where the City of St. Petersburg, in conjunction with various com- munity groups, has created an initiative to reduce gun vio- lence. From what I have read, it appears to be a good first step; especially since it in- volves so many ordinary citi- zens who believe that life is too precious to end by violence.
Just Another View.
I
L
F
FRIDAY, JULY 2, 2021 FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY FRIDAY PAGE 5-A