UNACKNOWLEDGED ASSHOLEISHNESS

By Bob Walsh

There are many assholes in the world, yet very seldom do family members acknowledge their assholeishness. Once in a while a battered spouse or child will speak up, but that is about it. I sometimes wonder why.

Much of it is no doubt simple denial. Few people want to acknowledge that they have a family member who is an asshole. Some of it could be a frame of reference. If you have several family members who are assholes, your definition of assholeishness might place the bar very low indeed. Some of it, I expect, is visions of dollar signs.

The Stockton (CA) P.D. shot an asshole to death yesterday morning. The asshole had an active warrant out for his arrest and was fleeing from the cops at the time of the incident. He carjacked and kidnapped a female who just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. As the asshole was attempting to flee with the kidnap victim in the car and attempting to run a cop down at the same time the police shot him to death. Judging from the family reaction you would think the cops just shot Kim Kardashian down in the street.

The dead guy is-was Rodney Watts Jr. 35, a career criminal.

The relatives did acknowledge Watts’ extensive criminal history, but assert that he never carried a gun and would never have carjacked anyone. They were unable to offer any other explanation for his presence in the lady’s car. May he just forcefully solicited a ride?

He was wanted on a no-bail burglary warrant out of Tracy. He had also been recently arrested after, among other things, driving a U-Haul the wrong way on the freeway in an attempt to elude police.

Maybe I am just being judgmental, but I believe that Watts was a criminal asshole and is now a dead criminal asshole. It is unfortunate, but I am not going to lose any sleep over it. I am far more worried about how badly the kidnap victim might have come out of it had the cops not acted promptly and effectively.