I have been very reluctant to speak about this, but I feel it needs to be done. After hearing and researching accounts and evidence, I personally do not think that the officer was posed with a credible enough threat to fire on Mike Brown. I personally do not think his death was justified at all. I think the officer was in the wrong. But this brings me to two huge points: 1) I, Ben Ricketts, do not (and never will) fully and truly know and understand what happened in Ferguson on that tragic night. 2) Do not riot. Racial inequality and separation are still very alive in this world, but violence is not the answer. As I flip through the news this morning, I dont see the protests that Dr. King encouraged. Of course, some are peacefully demonstrating. But I see images of public destruction and anger. The Brown family (the ones really suffering loss) and the President have both asked for peaceful demonstration, and those requests should be honored. My friends, violence never ends violence. If you destroyed one of those businesses or vehicles or hurt someone, have you not committed an act from the same spirit of hateful violence that led us here? So demonstrate, but do it peacefully. True peace and love arent conditional. Theyre constant. May we find peace between each other before more young men die. And may we find it before we commit more violence in the name of peace. John had it right about some things. youtube/watch?v=RkZC7sqImaM
Posted on: Tue, 25 Nov 2014 12:35:31 +0000