Friends, I apologize in advance for the long post but felt it necessary. I have to admit I’m still struggling with this and would like some wisdom and insight. Please feel free to comment. I’ve been waiting to post on the Michael Brown killing and subsequent events for some time. With new information being made available almost daily and the story changing so quickly I thought it prudent to reserve judgement and let events unfold before weighing in. Once upon a time such tragic and violent incidents in American culture seemed a rare occurrence. My comment is more an observation of how American media reports the news than about the actual Of course in reality violence has been a part of all societies since the emergence of our species. It would be naive in the extreme to think otherwise. None of us has first-hand knowledge of the shooting, the investigation that followed or the events leading to the grand jury deciding not to indict Darren Wilson. This always gives me pause and creates doubt so I end up forming my opinion based on the best information I have. I don’t feel qualified to say anymore about the shooting, Michael Brown or Darren Wilson. I do want to talk about the rioting and unrest that followed and continue to occur. It’s hardly surprising given the nature of what happened. And as President Obama correctly put it, “it’s a clear indication of the level of distrust between law enforcement and communities of color in this country”. Most of American and really world history is the story of two groups pitted against each other with one being in control and the other being oppressed or subjugated. It seems the same dynamic is at play here. I won’t attempt to teach a history lesson on the history of civil rights or police enforcement. Many of you know more than I and could school me on it. What I find most distressing about the aftermath and how it’s playing out is how powerless and oppressed the black community (if there is even such a thing anymore) feels. I certainly won’t deny that inequality in this country runs deep and wide. As ugly as the situation is groups are not as powerless as protestors are currently behaving. We are not living in Stalinist Russia, Nazi Germany or Cambodia under Pol Pot. Nor are we living in the US of the 1950’s, 60’s or 70’s. The fact is we have a system in which there are legitimate avenues of expression which are not being exercised and illegitimate forms of expression that are. As citizens and residents of this country we have a personally vested interest participating in the system. The only civic duty that is required by law is jury duty. All other forms participating in public life are the responsibility of the individual from writing our representatives, going to city council meetings, parent teacher conferences attending public debates where candidates are asking for votes and yes voting are all things we can do to participate in the system. Fact: The 2014 mid-term elections had the lowest voter turn out since 1946. In Missouri, 32% of eligible voters cast a vote. While the election had nothing to do with Darren Wilson shooting Michael Brown the fact that two-thirds of eligible voters in Missouri didn’t show up either out of apathy or cynicism is yet another clear indication as to where we are in this country. There is a long history of protesting in this country without which we wouldn’t have made the advances we have but there are more effective ways to go about it than are currently being done. To the protestors: March but march peacefully and respectfully. There are a lot of people in this country who respect police officers but have come to distrust police culture. Destroying neighborhoods, holding up traffic and disorganized disruption reinforces negative stereotypes and turns people off who would have otherwise supported you. The dysfunction in police culture that exists needs to be addressed but is this the best way to go about it?
Posted on: Wed, 03 Dec 2014 02:29:59 +0000
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