On
August 9th, 2014, Michael Brown, a teenager from Ferguson, Missouri
was shot and killed by a police officer. The officer who killed Brown, Darren
Wilson, was being charged at by the 6’4”, 300 pound 18 year old when he shot at
him in self-defense. Brown was accused of robbing a convenience store for
nearly $50 worth of cigars, and a police report had been filed. Wilson was
aware of the robbery, but was not responding to the call when he saw a man
standing in the middle of the road. That man was Brown. Brown, who was reportedly
high, decided to attack Wilson, who was still in his car. Wilson told Brown to
stop, and he didn’t. Wilson drew his weapon, and shot at Brown six times, in
self-defense. Brown is now dead, and the town of Ferguson is up in arms.
The people of Ferguson, however, did not have all of the information. They saw
the 12 year old, innocent Brown that the media is reporting him as, not the
violent and disrespectful adult that he was. They reacted by protesting, some
peacefully and some not so peacefully. Stores are being robbed, and the store
owners are fighting back. Ferguson has turned into an all-out war zone.
Ferguson is a primarily black community, but only three of the fifty-three
police officers are black.
Brown’s death is, of course, a tragic event for the people of Ferguson, but
their reaction is out of proportion. If the people of Ferguson really want to
send a message, they need to organize. Rioting and looting is not the solution
to the so-called “racial crimes”, it is the reaction. All that the people of
Ferguson are doing by being so rebellious to the authorities and the law is
showing that they do not deserve respect, but that they deserve to be treated
like rebels.
Why are they rioting? Why is there a race war? Why does the black community respond this way to this event and similar ones like this? Is this really an unjust response to this tragic event? This blog lacks the understanding or empathy of what it is like to be the target of racial hatred.
ReplyDeleteThere are riots because they think the killing of Brown was simply because he was black, and they disregard any facts proving that there was a justifiable cause to shooting him. The community is responding negatively because of previous cases, such as Trayvon Martin's death. They saw his death as a racial shooting, and they already have the idea that the "white man" is evil from this. IF the shooting of Brown was in a similar manner, of course there would be reason to be upset (not to the scale it is now), but the people aren't looking at the facts of this case. Only then would they realize what they are doing is wrong.
DeleteRacial hatred is still an issue in America, even after the Civil Rights movements led by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and others. If Brown was white, and Wilson was a black officer, the standards for how people would react wouldn't be the same. Say in that scenario, a group of white people started rioting, destroying and vandalizing public property, would it be just if they didn't look at the facts? People, in any situation, need to step back and evaluate what is truth with an open mind, and assess the situation from there.
What about the Westboro Baptist Church? Surely they feel as if their views are what is right and true. Their expression of that, however is not appropriate. They also need to look at the facts and truth (The Bible) with an open mind and open heart.
Just because I'm not the target of this racial hatred doesn't mean I can't understand it. Understanding the hatred does not mean that I have to agree with the way that the people of Ferguson are reacting.
You say that Brown was reportedly high. Do you think because marijuana is another large controversial issue going on that it'll effect the outcome of this situation and the people who are against the legalization of marijuana in anyway?
ReplyDeleteI think the people who are anti-marijuana can only further strengthen their argument from this incident.
DeleteYou've got a great, easy-to-read summary, but it would be good to include a tad more background information although it is good to be cautious about releasing too much information as we do not yet know the entire story yet. I was getting a gist of a gist of the story so to speak besides the first and last paragraph.
ReplyDeleteFirst off, I'm not entirely sure if the smiley face is called for on the title, this still is a serious topic and needs to be treated with respect. As for the rest, in with Ethan, you need a little more information to back up your opinion.
ReplyDeleteIt was very one sided. I would have liked to see the other side.
ReplyDeleteToo biast, include other possible scenarios that could possibly explain the reason there are riots and why the people of ferguson are so affected by this event.
ReplyDeleteI feel your blog was very one sided, and lacked a lot of crucial information. It was confusing at times.
ReplyDelete