The tragic attack in Dallas is emblematic of, I fear, an escaclating cycle of violence between radical elements of the Black community and the police. Each incident of violence brings more violence. Now, the planned execution of five officers will take this conflict to a whole new level. I fear we’re headed for some very difficult and dangerous times for all of us.

I think, fear is the operative word here. As things escalate, fear increases and trust diminishes, leading to more liklihood of “untended” violence. Then, add planned, intentional attacks on the police as we just saw in Dallas, and, understandably, the level of anger increases among officers. On the “flip side”, each questionable shooting of Black men increases the anger among African Americans. Fear…..distrust…..anger…… a recipe for disaster. Then mix-in our polarized and factionalized politics and beware of a nationwide explosion… IMO, we all need to work together to try to de-escalate things… with hope, Gary Crum