I attended a Sunday showing of the new David Ayer film, “END OF WATCH.”
At its conclusion, I couldn’t help but make some linkages and indulge in a tad bit of introspection.
First, “End of Watch” is not “Training Day.”
I would recommend EOW to everyone looking for a remarkably accurate portrayal of police work in a big city rife with gangs, violence, mixed races and endless challenges for law enforcement. It does an excellent job of displaying the best and the worst of humanity. It does an excellent job of illustrating how the current young mixed generation of cops deal with the concepts of evil, sacrifice, history, courage, violence, reality, insanity, family, support, camaraderie, cliques, teams, and a greater awareness and sense of self. And, moreover, how they are the video, social media, explicit, unabashed, put-everything-out-there generation — with little concern for the concomitant consequences.
That said, I wanted to investigate the making of the film. America Ferrera has an interesting insight in this article. As in: the neighborhoods were true and correct. As were a bulk of the “actors” in the “background.” I won’t event speculate as to the amounts of cash that had to flow for the movie company to work unimpeded in L.A.
And that made me think further:
Perhaps there is an actual coming “end of watch” for our nation as well. Further: the reasons are so clearly illustrated in this film.
There are not only individual persons but gangs and neighborhoods and communities and areas and subdivisions and cities and states reliant but upon the continual flow of local, state and federal cash. Welfare cash. Free cash. Cash undeserved but still proffered.
As in:
But: how did we get there? And what will we do now? And how can we rid ourselves of this denigrating and corrupting plague?
And how did these two disparate persons/races manage to not only survive but — until the de nou mas — thrive?
How did we get here?
How did we get our cops to battle death edicts called in from foreign countries?
How did we allow MS13 “Big Evil” to exist in our suburbs in the first place?
Why do we or should we pit our civilian cops against militaristic cults, groups, gangs, unions, units or brigades from foreign military groups?
In one car: two Glock 17 pistols, six magazines, and one shotgun with six shells?
This, ladies and gentlemen, is a proverbial setup for failure.
Open borders. Versus closed borders.
Right vs wrong.
How did we get here?
And a final question:
Would your dead grandparents recognize this current country?
BZ