"POWER CORRUPTS, ABSOLUTE POWER CORRUPTS ABSOLUTELY" LORD ACTON
Rutgers University Violates State And Federal Laws
Originally published: Sep 27, 2013
By Ronald Bakley
Rutgers University’s disciplinary policy, or lack thereof, affecting their police officers violates several State and Federal Laws, not to mention Supreme Court decisions affording all employees certain rights under the Department of Labor and State Statute.
Over the past several years, Rutgers police officers come to work on a daily basis not knowing if actions they take as police officers will result in immediate disciplinary charges against them that may result in reprimands, suspensions or terminations without these officers having the opportunity to defend themselves and receive the proper representation afforded them under such Court decisions as Garrity, where an employer must advise an employee if any charges may result in criminal prosecution, Weingarten, which affords an employee to have the representative of his or her choice present during an interrogation by the Internal Affairs Unit of the Rutgers Police Department and New Jersey State Statutes which afford all New Jersey law enforcement officers certain due process rights during internal affairs investigations.
Rutgers University violates these laws on a daily basis.
For several years, the Rutgers Administration, including their Vice President responsible for Public Safety and the Police Department, have refused to negotiate a fair and equitable disciplinary policy with The Fraternal Order of Police (FOP), which represents the Rutgers Police officers. As a result, these officers work under constant fear of reprisals and disciplinary charges as they go about their assignments, which can greatly affect their ability to perform their duties. These situations can have an adverse effect not only on the officers, but the student body, faculty, administrators and residents living in and around the Rutgers’ facilities.
Also, due to the Governor’s consolidation of Rutgers, UMDNJ and Rowan University, these policies will definitely have an affect on these other officers as well due to the fact they will all come under the administration of Rutgers.
The Rutgers mentality is that an officer is guilty before even having an opportunity to defend himself or herself. They are given what the University calls a “Pre-determination” hearing which amounts to nothing more than a “kangaroo court”, after which the officer receives whatever discipline the administration deems necessary. All without being given the opportunity to have proper representation or bring in defense witnesses.
The only way for these officers to get a somewhat proper hearing is to file a grievance through their Collective Bargaining Agreement (contract), which, during the first three steps, the administration denies, causing the FOP to file for grievance arbitration which is a time consuming, expensive process.
Over the past three years, there have been 31 Rutgers Police Officers who have resigned due to the stress they have experienced because of the disciplinary procedures that this Administration has forced upon them.
(When it comes to Rutgers University Police; corruption empowers, and absolute corruption empowers absolutely)!
Also, there have been two law suits brought by two Rutgers officers who were illegally fired as well as the numerous arbitrations filed by the FOP on behalf of these officers which have overturned or amended almost every reprimand, suspension and firing of those officers that were not afforded the proper protections given them by the aforementioned Laws and Court decisions.
Parents of Rutgers students, and taxpayers, should be aware that this Administration is spending tens of thousands of dollars in tuition money and tax dollars defending themselves for these frivolous charges. They should also be aware that the existing conditions affecting these officers also poses a public safety risk to the students and others in and around the three campuses and could considerably affect those at Rowan University and the University of Medicine and Dentistry campuses as well when all are consolidated into Rutgers University.
All we, the Officers of Rutgers University who protect the students and citizens and the FOP ask for is to be able to sit down with the respective Administrators and negotiate the implementation of a fair and equitable system that affords all police officers, and the University, the rights under the above mentioned Statutes and Court decisions. The Officers that protect and serve the communities of our State Colleges deserve these protections.
Ronald Bakley, National Trustee
New Jersey Fraternal Order of Police
Be sure to click on my labels at the top or bottom of this page for more information exposing Rutgers University Police corruption.
Even the Chancellor of Rutgers University thinks she's above the law. See video below:
In the beginning of the movie Enter the Dragon Bruce Lee
admonishes his young disciple to feel, not think! He wants to see
“emotional content,” not anger, in developing his practice. Technique is
like a finger pointing a way to the moon, but we must not focus on the
finger or we will miss the heavenly glory. Lee sends his pupil away
after several slaps on the head, convinced he has mastered the lesson.
This scene illustrates the close connection between the martial arts
and Zen Buddhism. Lee’s lesson was entirely Zen in approach. Its object
was the perfection of a kick technique with enthusiasm; a mere
mechanical performance was insufficient. The student must feel his art
as well as accurately execute it. This means the technique should be as
natural and unconscious as breathing. It must become second nature. On
the other hand, Lee’s object lesson was not really about kicking but
feeling as a means to enlightenment or nirvana, a state of realization
that the self does not exist.
But does practicing the martial arts mean we must also adopt Zen
Buddhist practice as well? Can we separate the martial arts from Zen
practice and belief and embrace a Christian approach? In order to do
this we must first distinguish the goal of Zen from the martial arts and
then see how the martial arts may be practiced from a Christian
perspective.
Zen believes that words cannot adequately convey meaning. They are
only the sign posts on a map and not the destination, or the finger
pointing to the moon but not the moon itself. Zen relies on flashes of
insight connected to feelings or intuition. Zen adopts the Taoist view
in world religions asserting that “he that knows does not speak and he
that speaks does not know.” This means that the truth or enlightenment
they are seeking cannot be expressed in words. It cannot be found in a
book such as the Bible in Christianity, the Koran in Islam, or the Torah
in Judaism, or even the sutras found in other forms of Buddhism, but
must be experienced. They have little place for theory, but stress
action and encounter with the practical world. Buddha mind transmits
only to Buddha mind. They do not just talk about Nirvana but viscerally
pursue it.
Zen means a way of meditation, a method for attaining enlightenment,
not gradually as in other sects of Buddhism, but suddenly through shock
and illogic. Zen practitioners are the shock troops of Buddhism. Zen
monks are known for their acts of irreverence by burning Buddhist
scriptures or defacing statues of Buddha, all designed to demonstrate
their protest against theoretical learning. Truth is found in ordinary
life and the practical as illustrated by the movie the Karate Kid
whose main protagonist must sand the floor or paint the fence and wax
the car before he can learn to throw a punch. Karate was not something
that could be learned from a book.
Zen in America
In their practicality Zen adherents are not unlike Americans, which
explains Zen’s popularity in the United States as part of the
counter-culture movement of the 1960s. Americans do not like theory,
metaphysics, and laborious arguments, but are practical, to the point;
action oriented, not cerebral. Americans are pithy in their word usage
and prefer axioms and pearls of wisdom succinctly stated as opposed to
the long winded arguments of scholars and professors.
Zen relies on dialectical thinking or paradox to frustrate
traditional logic in order to shock its followers into realization. Zen
uses the koan, an insoluble riddle that can only be understood
through persistent contemplation and application to one’s life. For
example, a famous koan asks, “what is the sound of one hand clapping?”
The smart-alecky response of snapping your fingers together like Bart
Simpson will earn you a smack on the head or a rap with a bamboo stick
from the master and a seat at the back of the class.
Zen does not emphasize detachment from life, as earlier Buddhism did,
but the embrace of life. People learn not by retreat but through
immersion. There is no sacred and secular distinction as in traditional
religions, a point a monk may prove by burning a statue of the Buddha
and declaring, “there are no holy images.”{1}
The koan is learned by intuition and cannot be articulated in words.
Koans are not meant to have strict logical answers you can verbalize,
but only understand for yourself in meditation. Pointing to a flag
waving in a monastery, the monk says, “What is moving, the flag or the
wind?” The answer is neither; the mind is moving.{2}
Zen appealed to soldiers in Japan and was adopted by the military
creed known as Bushido where it was mixed with the martial arts around
AD 1300.{3}
It is this Japanese version that is most familiar to Americans.
However, Zen originates with the Indian sage Bodhidharma who brought the
message that cannot be spoken to China in AD 520.{4}
In Zen we see a clear connection between Taoism, the ancient Chinese
religion, and Hinduism. Both believe in a similar view of God as
ultimate reality or the impersonal principle of the universe. In popular
culture we know this as “the force” from Star Wars, the active
energy of the universe that animates all things. In theological studies
we call this pantheism or the belief that all things are God.
Separating Zen and the Martial Arts
Legendary history says Bodhidharma brought the martial arts with him
in the spread of Zen across China, but modern scholarship notes that the
martial arts were practiced in China prior to the coming of
Bodhidharma.{5}
The founders of the famous Shaolin monastery were probably military men
who retired to monastic life in AD 497, and most monks came from the
general population where the martial arts were already practiced before
the spread of Buddhism. Monasteries were sources of wealth in ancient
China and required defending. The martial arts scholar Donn Draeger also
notes that the martial arts were established in Japan prior to the
acceptance of Buddhism, and the joining of these two practices
represents a modern innovation.{6} These historical facts lead to the conclusion that the martial arts were practiced centuries before the arrival of Zen.
The martial arts or fighting arts have a long and diverse history in
ancient China, India, and Greece that certainly precedes Zen or the
founding of Shaolin and long predates the Samurai by thousands of years.
These arts include hand to hand fighting, wrestling, boxing, and
weapons use such as sword fighting and even gladiatorial combat
training.
There is certainly a synthesis created between Zen and the martial
arts in Shaolin and later in the Code of the Samurai, but the fighting
arts of all kinds precede Zen. Historically speaking there is no
intrinsic connection between Zen and the martial arts. People practiced
these arts before Zen and will continue to practice them without Zen
today.
Also, philosophically speaking there is no necessary connection
between Zen and the martial arts. Zen is a method to achieve
enlightenment through shock and illogic that awakens followers into the
realization of unity of essence with ultimate reality, which means
emptying and loss of self. The martial arts, on the other hand, were
developed for the practical reason of self-defense, sport and warfare.
Given the austerity, paradox, practicality, and composure of Zen
disciples in the face of death, the warrior appears naturally attracted
to it as a philosophy. Draeger points out that Zen contributed to the
fighting technique of the Samurai by helping him empty his mind of all
distractions and prepare him for the rigors of military life. It enabled
him to transcend mere physical technique.{7}
However, there is nothing intrinsic to either system that makes their
practice necessary to each other, any more than fencing and the fighting
techniques of the knights of the Middle Ages must involve Christianity.
Zen’s contribution to the martial arts is a convenience or incidental
and not a philosophical necessity. This means the two can be logically
and practically separated without harm or inconsistency to either
system. It is possible to engage in martial arts without eastern
religious philosophy. What Christians are responsible for, is to find
martial arts instructors who teach the techniques without the Zen
aspect.
Christianity and Zen
A basic principle of apologetics is finding the common ground between
two different systems. This includes similar things such as beliefs and
morals. This allows for a conversation and friendship to develop. Do
not underestimate the power of friendship and empathy. In the final
analysis we are not about winning arguments, or breaking bones for that
matter, but winning people, individuals whom God loves; the hardest
hearts can be softened by a little kindness and understanding.
There may be many points of contact between Christianity and Zen such
as love, truth, realism, and even paradox, but the one I find most
interesting is individualism. Both beliefs place a strong emphasis on
individuality and respect for individual dignity in terms of
self-discipline and self-defense, a common ground where both Christians
and Zen Buddhists alike share their interests in the martial arts. And
we must make it clear that the martial arts are not the sole province of
Zen teachers. Christians and Zen Buddhists simply have a common
interest in these techniques for the purpose of self-growth, exercise,
and sport. One need not be either a Buddhist or Christian to perform the
martial arts, but both may use them for their own purposes.
The second principle of apologetics is to define the differences
between the two systems and seek for the resolution in Christ. There are
many differences between Zen and Christianity. Zen is a faith that
seeks enlightenment through self-realization that there is no self.
Christianity does not pursue enlightenment, but salvation. Buddhism
believes that the individual self is an illusion, but Christianity
believes the self is very real and very sinful. Christianity seeks to
reconcile the self to a personal God through Jesus Christ. Christianity
does seek to empty the old sinful self and replace it with a new self
made in the image of Christ. This is not accomplished through works or
meditation or following the Eightfold Path, but strictly by faith.
Buddhists do not believe in a personal all powerful God, but an
impersonal force. Christians believe in a personal creator God who
stands outside of the created world, making reconciliation impossible in
terms of human effort. Buddhism stresses the importance of human works,
discipline and right attitude and actions to achieve Nirvana.
Christianity says salvation is impossible unless God saves us. Buddhism
wants to empty the mind and escape the world of change. Christianity
wants to save the world for the glory of God and fill the mind with his
word.
“The Buddha” means “one who is awakened,” which suggests that his
title is self-earned and self-appointed. All that the Buddha
accomplished has come from “within,” from his own abilities and merit.
“The Christ” means “the chosen one,” which suggests that his title
was given to him and not earned. It comes from grace and from “without”
or “outside” of him. One man leads to a system of works and the other to
a system of grace. This point should never be confused.
Christianity and the Martial Arts
The primary problem for Christians in approaching the martial arts is
violence. The martial arts are fighting techniques that can be used for
several purposes: the most obvious is self-defense, then exercise, and
finally sport.
We approach these techniques with the same Christian principle that
we use in our approach to any other subject: we are free in Christ! Paul
declares that we are saved in Christ and the world is ours. “For all
things belong to you, whether . . . the world or life or death or things
present or things to come: all things belong to you and you belong to
Christ; and Christ belongs to God” (1 Cor. 3:21-23). This means we use
the gifts and talents at our disposal not for self-glorification but for
the glory of God. Remember the first principle of Christian love: “Love
the LORD your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength” (Matt.
22: 37). Practice the martial arts with a commitment that reflects love
for God. “We do all things for the glory of God” (1 Cor. 10:31). Let the
two greatest commandments guide your behavior: love God and your
neighbor as yourself.
These principles do include self-defense. It is not unloving to
defend yourself or an innocent person from an unjust attack.
Self-defense has been an accepted point in Christian theology for
centuries. This principle has been part of “just war thinking” and
simply means Christians are justified under certain conditions to defend
themselves and innocent people against aggressive parties who will take
advantage of them. In fact, not to defend ourselves or the innocent
through inaction when we are capable of intervening to stop or prevent
assault is equally considered as wrong as the assault itself.
The martial arts present a much more suitable and even peaceful
alternative to self-defense than say a handgun, whose ease of use can be
lethal. In the martial arts one has the advantage of training and
discipline that act as a hedge to immature and reckless behavior. It
takes years to learn these skills and with it one is taught
self-control, discipline, and values, especially the value of human
life.
What is completely unacceptable is the idea of training remorseless killing machines, like the sensei from the Karate Kid
movie who taught his pupils to crush their opponents and “show no
mercy.” Such a view will only lead to your own destruction. For it is
not without reason that Jesus said, “Those who live by the sword will
die by the sword” (Matt. 26:52). But, “Blessed are the merciful, for
they shall receive mercy” (Matt. 5: 7). Mercy is the hallmark of the
Christian. We learn in order to serve, just as Jesus said, “The Son of
Man has not come to destroy life but to save it” (Luke 9:56). Those
pursuing martial arts should use their skills in the service of life to
achieve discipline and protection and to offer themselves as role models
of dignity and responsibility to the younger generation.
Notes
1. John Lewis, Religions of the World Made Simple, rev. ed., (New York: Doubleday, 1968), 49.
2. Ibid.
3. Ibid., 50.
4. Houston Smith, The World’s Religions: Our Great Wisdom Traditions (New York: HarperCollins, 1991), 128.
5. Salvatore Canzonieri, “History of Chinese Martial Arts: Jin Dynasty to the Period of Disunity.” Han Wei Wushu (February-March 1998), 3 (9); Ibid., “The Emergence of the Chinese Martial Arts.” Han Wei Wushu (23).
6. Donn F. Draeger, Modern Bujutsu and Budo (New York: Weatherhill, 1974), 128.
7. Donn Draeger and Robert W. Smith, Comprehensive Asian Fighting Arts (Tokyo: Kodansha International, LTD, 1980), 95.
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Dr. Lawrence Terlizzese
is a former research associate with Probe Ministries. He holds both a
Th.M. and Ph.D. in Theological Studies from Dallas Theological Seminary,
and a B.A. in Biblical Studies from Columbia International University
in Columbia, South Carolina. He is the author of two books, Trajectory of the Twenty First Century: Essays in Theology and Technology and Hope in the Thought of Jacques Ellul.
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