This report was written in the fourth week of August, and was posted on BillMoyers then, but it applies as much to events going on now, tonight, in Ferguson, MO, and in mostly-black neighborhoods across the country, as it did in August, maybe more so. I must keep in mind that I wasnt there, and neither were you. And Ive seen good reason, which I may post in the comments, as soon as I find the bookmark, to suggest that, even in the aftermath of the grand jurys release of their report, we still may be far from knowing all there is to be known. about the incident that started all of this. That said, bear in mind that Officer Wilsons initial stop of Michael. Brown was for *jaywalking,* and bear in mind that the fact that it escalated so quickly, and got so out-of-hand, might well say as much about the aggressive-towards-blacks culture of policing in suburban St. Louis and about Wilsons character as it does about Mr. Browns character. Also bear in mind that asymmetrical-power rules apply, that is, Mr. Wilson was armed and Michael Brown was not. Therefore, of he who has more power, especially to kill, more wisdom and good judgment is expected. I am not saying anything here that other folks who are much wiser in the ways of police work havet said. Theres a police captain in Philly, for instance, whose name escapes me at the moment, who has been very critical of the way this was handled. Please discuss this: Salon Rules apply. That is, keep it cordial, civil and collegial. Bring your A-game when commenting, and strive to enlighten, rather than settling for heated venting. *Warning:* I will not hesitate to warn only once, then unfriend and/or block anyone I deem guilty of using knee-jerk reactions, political buzzwords, hijacking the conversation, jumping in without reading the discussion, or generally in any way moving the conversation backwards rather than forwards. The mere fact that I am posting this on my pages timeline does not give you license to narrow-cast your rhetoric. That includes invoking the President, whether you, as the saying goes, come to praise him (or to) bury him. Please be aware of and sensitive to the fact that who you are addressing is an audience of world-views wider than probably 98+ percent of peoples friend circles you will find anywhere, and I like to keep it that way. As novelist John Scalzi often says on his Whatever blog, I will wield the mallet of correction as i see fit to do so. billmoyers/2014/08/23/six-vital-conversations-jumpstarted-on-the-streets-of-ferguson/
Posted on: Wed, 26 Nov 2014 05:58:02 +0000
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