Wednesday, December 3, 2014

Question raised....attempt at an answer...

A good friend of mine posted this question to social media...

Social Topic #6: Ferguson 
So I don't know if I have a stance on this one. I feel, however, that I don't understand what's really going on. The forensic evidence clearly showed that Michael Brown had some part of his body within Officer Wilson's police car (Mr. Brown's blood was found in the car) and that Michael Brown was trying to grab Officer Wilson's firearm (Mr. Brown had burns on his hands from the hot gun barrel). What are the riots and mayhem really about? Is this a systemic, national problem of abuse of police powers specifically aimed at African Americans that just happened to find its powder keg in a St. Louis suburb rather than a more common urban area like NY, Chicago or LA? What I am looking for here is someone who can help me understand what the protesters and rioters are really upset about.


I took a moment to possibly attempt an answer...but know first and foremost I don't claim to know it all or have it all right...but I do know the end of my answer is without a doubt spot on!


I concur in that the facts of the case itself as laid out in front of the grand jury (anyone questioning NY Times and other sources have the released documents in GREAT length to read through, google search will reveal the official docs). Michael Brown did in fact fight in the car with the officer…and at some point his hand came in contact with a firearm being/recently fired explaining the burn marks. Everything in the case itself points towards justice was served…however mistreatment to the victim did occur…which I feel is part of the reasoning for the issues.

One such mistreatment is the amount of time Michael Brown’s body simply lay in the streets un-touched or shielded from view…surrounding vehicles, a sheet or shoot a tent would have been more respectable to a death and family of the deceased than what was done.

However, that in and of itself isn’t enough for this keg to explode like it has. In part it is due to misinformation and confirmed lies to news reporters and investigators of how Michael Brown had done no wrong at all, and the whole “Hands up, don’t shoot” phenomenon started by now discredited statements made by his acquaintance walking with him at the time.

Those words heard over the nations’ multitude of news stations triggered many a pent up or frustrated feeling amongst many African Americans with ill feelings or experiences with law enforcement…and let’s face it, the community of Ferguson is when judging criminal records, have its fair share of folks not “cop friendly” for many reasons (some most likely justified and others not). This added powder to the keg.

Then there are the proven cases of cops abusing their power, and in some cases race is a factor (but not always as some would make us think). Without a doubt profiling occurs, and without a doubt more African American young males statistical are most likely on the receiving end of this….but this isn’t without  justification proven by crime records proving a young African American male is more likely to commit a crime than that of a white, Hispanic or Asian background. A fact that most likely is why more young African American males probably get looked at longer, suspected more and questioned at a higher frequency than any of their counter parts. Many feel this is an injustice and many have their freedoms threatened by cops assuming they’re “up to no good” (again some most likely are justified and others not). Add more powder to the keg.

However, this paragraph is where I feel the BIGGEST aspect of why all the frustration and rioting is occurring. There is a common misnomer in culture that something is always to blame for what is going on…that something is always on the outside or exterior portions of our lives. I don’t cast a broad net to all African Americans but I do feel that there are a good number of African Americans that are afraid to accept the fact the problem isn’t with the law enforcement or the rules concerning how cops are reprimanded…or the imbalanced make up of the grand jury….or anything else…THE PROBLEM IS THE FAMILY CULTURE INSIDE THE AFRICAN AMERICAN COMMUNITY (same to be said for ANY nationality too!). I work with a lady who mentions all the time “In the black community you don’t do that…or you’d be a snitch and snitches get stitches…” It’s a sad state of affairs when your community, culture or family concepts view doing the right thing as wrong and teaches you to be fearful of law enforcement. So just like many of us scream about others issues to hide our own or are really good at pointing the finger to avoid dealing with our own skeletons we just simply deflect…that is what I see this as; ONE HUGE DEFLECTION.

Now I’m not saying nothing can come from all that has been brought up. More training to law enforcement, body cams and the such are all great things that should come from this and truly are good things. However, we are going to miss the biggest thing that should come out of this and that is attempting to re-construct the family and cultural make up of not just the African American community but that of the Urban communities….and EVERY COMMUNITY IN AMERICA. The family structure once present in America is gone, and gone with it is any sense of what it means to be human in many ways.

But looking inward like that and striving to re-build families would involve accepting the importance of family and the structure of its design...just as God intended it to be. Ugh-oh…I said the key word…CNN is gonna cut me off. Perhaps if we worried a little more about God and Family…everything else would solve itself.


I stand with Officer Wilson. 
My mind worries for Ferguson. 
My heart breaks with the Browns. 

Most importantly though I pray God takes it all and He is found through it.

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