In the wake of recent events in Ferguson, Missouri, I am struggling to find balance. My thoughts as it relates to the unrest and the Michael Brown matter as a whole are unsettled. In cogitating on this matter I come back to basic principles of human decency and propriety. And end up comparing that to what has taken place in that tiny poor community. It forces me to come to very negative conclusions about the state of our civil union.
We reside now in a place where facts do not matter. We reside in a place where the need for instant 'justice' has replaced the need to wait for the truth to be fully exposed. We reside in a place where people completely untouched by the event feel the need to commit nefarious acts of barbarism and associated crime. We reside in a place in which one community feels no responsibility for or need to ensure that everyone in their community is comporting themselves in an upright and noble fashion worthy of the blessings of liberty.
It makes me sad that this where we are. It breaks my heart that we have replaced the need for truth with the need to act now. It shocks me that looting and vandalism in the name of the aggrieved is the best response we can muster as a people. It is a far cry from our best aspirations. It is a gulf from the people we once were, and shakes my faith in the notion that we could ever be that people again. It forces me to reevaluate my faith in the inherent goodness of my fellow man.
The facts as of right now are these.
1. The initial reports that Michael was gunned down and shot in the back without provocation have been proven to be false.
2. The person responsible to telling those initial tales as it turns out is a person whose credibility is at best suspect. He has been found guilty of lying and obstructing official investigations in the past.
3. The image of Michael as an innocent teen has been shattered. The images of him throwing gang signs and holding firearms while smoking pot are everywhere now.
4. The video of him committing a brazen act of robbery and throwing a convenience store clerk around like a rag doll is everywhere.
Knowing all of this to be true, I am appalled that a community could rally around him. I am shocked that anyone could be willing to commit crimes in his name. I am apoplectic that knowing all of this, this community is still at odds over this matter.
Some of the blame for this resides with the media, not all, but some. They either did very poor research on the initial story or knowingly built a complete fictional narrative that was presented to the public as the truth. I want to believe in the essential incompetence of the news media, because incompetence is easier to accept than the alternative. If they weren't incompetent, then they were very selective in the narrative they crafted. And they presented a fictional representation of the matter.
The truth is that they did not present the whole story at all. Any elements that contradicted their narrative were discarded. They did not act with any notion of ethical or responsible behavior with this story. The narrative they told was fiction from the first word, and they were happy to report it. They were and some outlets still are reporting the initial narrative in spite of all of the evidence that has come out that contradicts it.
That blame honestly only goes so far. I have come to expect sloppy one sided fictional reporting from the mainstream press. History tells me that faced with a convenient lie that will drive monster ratings for a few news cycles and holding off on a story for awhile to effectively gather all the facts, that the convenient lie wins every single time. It is sad, but it is true. I hope for more from the press that has the responsibility to tell the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth every time, but I have come to expect otherwise.
There are many others that deserve blame in this situation. And I could go on to list them... A community police force more concerned with obtaining high grade military hardware than on developing a good relationship with all of the communities they serve. A focus by the poverty pimps and other charlatans to hold anyone but Michael responsible in this matter. And a nation as a whole that is focused on blaming the police for the whole situation all share some measure of blame.
I for one had hopes that as I came into adulthood that the dream speech of Dr. King that I had grown up hearing as a boy, either had already been or would be realized in my lifetime. The events in Ferguson have shattered that faith. I struggle to reconcile the concept, 'judged by the content of their character' with the desire to never judge anyone by the character, unless they happen to be a cop. And even then character seems to not matter when it doesn't fit the narrative, so it gets tossed aside in favor of a convenient fiction to justify what some elements of our society already want to do.
This is not the America I wanted to live my adult life. This is not the America I wanted for my children. I would say that we have a long way to go, but given that certain elements of our society have no interest in moving forward at all, I am not hopeful as of this moment in time. We seem to be bereft of any desire to rise above the grievances of the past. Many seem to believe we are now as we were in the days of segregation. Many seem to believe that nothing has changed. And until recently, I thought they were wrong. Now I am not so sure.
We cannot live as a nation in these conditions. If we continue along this path we will kill each, or keep killing each other. An eye for an eye may seem like justice, but it leaves the world blind. And we end up perpetuating the worst elements of human nature.
We must stand up and say enough. We need to say that if you are stopped by the police you must be respectful. We need to say that bad character is bad character. We need to hold people accountable for it. We need to say we will not loot or pillage for any reason. We need to say, we will wait for the facts to win out.
We need to revile the need to exact retribution that is essentially based on a lie. Or more simply put... We need to revile acts of violence in retaliation for acts of violence. We need to be a civil society that seeks truth in all things. We need to ensure this with all the blood, sweat, and tears we have. If we fail to do so, the worst pages of man's inhumanity to his fellow man are in our future, a not all that distant future if you ask me.
The real questions we need answers to are fuzzy at this point in time. I have strong suspicions as to the who, what, where, and how, but I don't have solid facts to support them. I am willing to wait for the various investigations that are underway to be completed before I come to any firm conclusions. As we all should.
We reside now in a place where facts do not matter. We reside in a place where the need for instant 'justice' has replaced the need to wait for the truth to be fully exposed. We reside in a place where people completely untouched by the event feel the need to commit nefarious acts of barbarism and associated crime. We reside in a place in which one community feels no responsibility for or need to ensure that everyone in their community is comporting themselves in an upright and noble fashion worthy of the blessings of liberty.
It makes me sad that this where we are. It breaks my heart that we have replaced the need for truth with the need to act now. It shocks me that looting and vandalism in the name of the aggrieved is the best response we can muster as a people. It is a far cry from our best aspirations. It is a gulf from the people we once were, and shakes my faith in the notion that we could ever be that people again. It forces me to reevaluate my faith in the inherent goodness of my fellow man.
The facts as of right now are these.
1. The initial reports that Michael was gunned down and shot in the back without provocation have been proven to be false.
2. The person responsible to telling those initial tales as it turns out is a person whose credibility is at best suspect. He has been found guilty of lying and obstructing official investigations in the past.
3. The image of Michael as an innocent teen has been shattered. The images of him throwing gang signs and holding firearms while smoking pot are everywhere now.
4. The video of him committing a brazen act of robbery and throwing a convenience store clerk around like a rag doll is everywhere.
Knowing all of this to be true, I am appalled that a community could rally around him. I am shocked that anyone could be willing to commit crimes in his name. I am apoplectic that knowing all of this, this community is still at odds over this matter.
Some of the blame for this resides with the media, not all, but some. They either did very poor research on the initial story or knowingly built a complete fictional narrative that was presented to the public as the truth. I want to believe in the essential incompetence of the news media, because incompetence is easier to accept than the alternative. If they weren't incompetent, then they were very selective in the narrative they crafted. And they presented a fictional representation of the matter.
The truth is that they did not present the whole story at all. Any elements that contradicted their narrative were discarded. They did not act with any notion of ethical or responsible behavior with this story. The narrative they told was fiction from the first word, and they were happy to report it. They were and some outlets still are reporting the initial narrative in spite of all of the evidence that has come out that contradicts it.
That blame honestly only goes so far. I have come to expect sloppy one sided fictional reporting from the mainstream press. History tells me that faced with a convenient lie that will drive monster ratings for a few news cycles and holding off on a story for awhile to effectively gather all the facts, that the convenient lie wins every single time. It is sad, but it is true. I hope for more from the press that has the responsibility to tell the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth every time, but I have come to expect otherwise.
There are many others that deserve blame in this situation. And I could go on to list them... A community police force more concerned with obtaining high grade military hardware than on developing a good relationship with all of the communities they serve. A focus by the poverty pimps and other charlatans to hold anyone but Michael responsible in this matter. And a nation as a whole that is focused on blaming the police for the whole situation all share some measure of blame.
I for one had hopes that as I came into adulthood that the dream speech of Dr. King that I had grown up hearing as a boy, either had already been or would be realized in my lifetime. The events in Ferguson have shattered that faith. I struggle to reconcile the concept, 'judged by the content of their character' with the desire to never judge anyone by the character, unless they happen to be a cop. And even then character seems to not matter when it doesn't fit the narrative, so it gets tossed aside in favor of a convenient fiction to justify what some elements of our society already want to do.
This is not the America I wanted to live my adult life. This is not the America I wanted for my children. I would say that we have a long way to go, but given that certain elements of our society have no interest in moving forward at all, I am not hopeful as of this moment in time. We seem to be bereft of any desire to rise above the grievances of the past. Many seem to believe we are now as we were in the days of segregation. Many seem to believe that nothing has changed. And until recently, I thought they were wrong. Now I am not so sure.
We cannot live as a nation in these conditions. If we continue along this path we will kill each, or keep killing each other. An eye for an eye may seem like justice, but it leaves the world blind. And we end up perpetuating the worst elements of human nature.
We must stand up and say enough. We need to say that if you are stopped by the police you must be respectful. We need to say that bad character is bad character. We need to hold people accountable for it. We need to say we will not loot or pillage for any reason. We need to say, we will wait for the facts to win out.
We need to revile the need to exact retribution that is essentially based on a lie. Or more simply put... We need to revile acts of violence in retaliation for acts of violence. We need to be a civil society that seeks truth in all things. We need to ensure this with all the blood, sweat, and tears we have. If we fail to do so, the worst pages of man's inhumanity to his fellow man are in our future, a not all that distant future if you ask me.
The real questions we need answers to are fuzzy at this point in time. I have strong suspicions as to the who, what, where, and how, but I don't have solid facts to support them. I am willing to wait for the various investigations that are underway to be completed before I come to any firm conclusions. As we all should.
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