Space Jesus

Chapter 2: A Plot Thickens and Ideas Simmer

Bart started his drive to work. It took about an hour to get to his work in Windsor, the next town over. Plenty of time to sit and think about anything and everything. Bart was and is an exceptionally safe driver. He learned how to drive safely under various extreme circumstances. He drove through everything from being the designated driver in snowstorms to being the designated driver to deliver snowstorms. There will be more on that later, but for now, you can believe that Bart is an exceptional driver.

Bart lit up a cig and started in to his thinking. He would even make vocal comments out loud from time to time, despite that being ever so slow compared to thinking his ideas. He did this to see what the ideas sounded like. He wanted to critique his thoughts as if he were hearing them second hand.

If the four cops that got fired for their distasteful joke posts were to paint that house, surely they could have their jobs back. Community service is usually tied into being reprimanded for this or that. I had to do community service for dealing drugs and doling out justice on that rapist. Surely, insensitivity could be punished with community service. And what better service to the community than by removing a symbol of the gang life. Ayisha really did like the idea of me helping. I'll message her when I get to work and see what she thinks about a bunch of cops doing it with me. I'm diligent enough to swing a brush myself, and I definitely support my blue family. I support both sides of this chasm of a scuffle for certain and true. I just want everyone to get along and for this issue to fade into the history books.

Bart had a vested interest in the police brutality argument. A few years ago, he had been the victim of his own police brutality. He felt he was deserving of some of it, as was his mindset of how things were done in his home town growing up. You see, in Buenie (Buena Vista, Colorado), cops would pull you over for DUI and give you a ride home. They might rough you up a bit, but they hardly ever actually charged someone. The scare of public disgrace, as well as the trouble the parents would bring down on you, was enough motivation to never drink and drive again. This was also true about smoking bud and driving, as Bart had also found out. He had learned his lesson and took caution when driving. This was much more effective than jail time and fines. Alas, Bart was no longer in his quaint mountain town. He had had a little too much fun at a Polish Ambassador music performance at the local venue, The Aggie. Bart had drank a considerable amount of alcohol, and had crossed over to the point of destructive belligerency. Upon leaving the show, he began arguing with street signs. He tore a no parking sign clean off of its post. He also argued with sections of PVC pipe along the side of the old Sports Authority building. This had not gone unnoticed by the local authorities, and Bart quickly became the subject of a search. He was inebriated enough to think it wise to try and elude his assailants. He was also hobbling along, due to a recent knee injury caused by roughhousing with a friend the night before. Bart hobble ran as best he could across a vacant lot. The police had seen him start to run, and were in close pursuit. They followed Bart both on foot and with vehicles. The lights were flashing and lighting up the entire area. About halfway through the vacant lot, Bart had a change of heart. He realized the futility of trying to evade his captors with a bum knee and decided to lay down and surrender. He threw his arms out to the side and laid face down to await the police. When the police on foot reached him, they tackled Bart. One officer slammed Bart's face into the dirt, while the other officers piled on. They put handcuffs on him and pulled him up. This was already quite difficult with how much Bart had drank, but even more so now that his face was bruised and bleeding. He was upset, to say the least, but Bart remembered it was him that tried to run. He decided he deserved a bit of roughing up, as it was still him that got into those altercations with the no parking sign and the PVC piping. Bart was led to lean against the hood of a patrol car, where he began swearing up a storm. He told the officers he had a bad knee and apologized for running. Well, he apologized to all the officers except one: the officer that had slammed his face in the dirt. That officer, who shall not be named, realized his wrong doing. The other officers had him watch the perimeter, as Bart's friends circled in the distance. They had witnessed the brutality and were yelling threats and jeers. The other officers began to question Bart the best they could. They had to try to fit their words in edgewise as Bart would go back to yelling at the one officer, challenging him to a fight without handcuffs. Bart would then realize what he was doing, and go back to apologizing for his actions to the other officers. This went on until Bart needed to shift his weight. His bad knee was bothering him, so he told the officers his knee was hurting and tried to take the weight off of it. This was seen as an attempt to try and escape a second time, and was met with Bart being slammed down against the patrol car. Now, Bart was extremely livid. That was the final straw and Bart began challenging all the officers to a brawl. Except, Bart still respected the police enough to go back to apologies to all officers except the one. The officers had decided they had enough of Bart's story and Bart's friends, so they put Bart in the patrol car and took him to the parking garage nearby that also housed a police station. It was there that they wrote Bart a ticket for the damages and explained the situation. They then took off the handcuffs and sent Bart on his merry way. They saw the blood and realized the danger of what had been done.

And I'm as white as you can be. Yet, I got roughed up. I deserved some of it, but that's just how things are. I paid quite a bit in fines for that drunken farce. I still have the card for the one officer, the one that slammed my face against the ground. I'll never forget his name. However, out of respect and a desire for this current police brutality political movement to end, I shan't be releasing his name either. My father was beaten for being drunk in public as well. Like father, like son, and that's just the way things are done. But, it doesn't have to be like that. And neither my father nor I were in danger of being killed. THAT is why so many Americans are upset, and that is why something needs to be done. Had we been black and drunk, things could've been way different. I realize that now and am grateful.

Bart arrived at work and sent Ayisha a message through Facebook. He told her of his idea for the four Aurora officers to earn their jobs back and get her a painted house. It was a win win, and surely Ayisha would see it that way. As it turned out, she was more than excited to illicit help from the Aurora officers. She replied a few hours later via a Facebook message. She had said, as long as Bart knew what he was doing, she would allow her house to become a message to fix the divide between citizens and police officers. Things were getting out of hand, and besides, she really didn't like living in a purple house.