Barbarism clashes with reality in Ferguson

Barbarism clashes with reality in Ferguson

 

Michael Brown was both a victim and victimizer in a society fueled by racism. Fuzzy reporting by elite left wing media outlets created a myth behind the death of a youth whose life was extinguished too early. Concentrating on race not reality media sources elevated Brown to Sainthood when the facts pointed in another direction. Absconding with a box of cigarillos, after a confrontation with the manager of a convenience store, Brown and fellow thief Dorian Johnson encountered police officer Darren Wilson. Many accounts of the subsequent interlude with Officer Wilson are murky. As the evidence worked its way through the investigatory process a picture emerged of a hostile young man and a determined police officer. Descriptions of an innocent child gunned down by a rogue cop were absolute nonsense. Fifteen weeks after Brown succumbed to Wilson’s fatal shot the Grand Jury’s findings were released. In their view Officer Wilson had probable cause to act in the fashion he did. Therefore no indictment would be forthcoming against him. In the aftermath members of the Ferguson community, egged on by outside agitators, deprived their small city of the sanity it deserved. http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/11/25/us-usa-missouri-shooting-idUSKCN0J80PR20141125

 

Two nights of unrest followed the Grand Jury’s decision not to indict. Businesses were looted and burned to the ground. Automobiles were set ablaze as the mob continued its rampage across town. Assaults, too numerous to count, set the stage for intense police and state militia involvement where dozens were arrested for their barbaric acts. Though the consequences of the decision were highly predictable police response to the initial rioting was minimal. Questions have arisen whether the police were told to stand down during the hours after the Grand Jury spoke their collective minds. Subsequently political voices filled the airwaves encouraging calm in the wake of this decision. President Obama’s message to the protesters contained nebulous dialogue which, on the surface, appeared to encourage violent outbursts by the crowds. As other community leaders voiced their concerns many appeared to accept violence as part of the process to heal a fragmented city. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-11-26/obama-says-anger-over-ferguson-outcome-no-excuse-for-violence.html

 

Discussions throughout social media circles were harsh on both sides of this issue. Many suggested Michael Brown was deprived of decent parenting therefore had no respect for authority or private property. Perspectives of others questioned whether the police could have managed their response in a less insidious format. No one denied Brown’s initial criminal offense, yet some tried to diminish its value in a larger frame of reference. Was Brown a victim of circumstance and bad parenting which led to his death or is he the poster boy for crime endemic in many of our cities across the country? The latter can only be reconciled when communities and their guardians exchange ideas not bullets in their search for peaceful solutions to issues.

 

Mark Davis MD, President of Davis Writing Services, www.daviswritingservices.com  Dr. Davis’ most recent book is, Obamacare;

Dead on Arrival, A Prescription for Disaster. For media requests please contact Dr. Davis at: platomd@gmail.com  Join him on twitter at: twitter.com/americassage