External Link: http://time.com/3605266/facts-and-ferguson/
Video(s):
Here is the gist:
On August 9, an unarmed black teenager, Michael Brown, was shot by a white police officer, Darren Wilson, in Ferguson, a suburb of St. Louis. From recovered video footage of what happened, Brown and his acquaintance, Dorian Johnson, robbed a liquor store. After officer Wilson had arrived, Brown resisted to be subdued and charged toward Officer Wilson. Officer Wilson then fired 12 shots ( 2 from his car and 10 more down the street) at Johnson.
A trial was conducted and a decision was made not to indict officer Wilson, setting off a wave of anger among people that gathered outside Ferguson’s police department. The situation grew more intense as night wore on. Multiple reports of looting and setting fires were made in several business.
Michael Brown’s death prompted weeks of protesting and looting that eventually forced Gov. Jay Nixon to deploy members of the MIssouri National Guard to assist the police in response to the chaos that occurred in Ferguson.
What really angered me off is the fact that people reacted to the shooting out of Michael Brown with violence and madness. A kid got shot by a white police officer and suddenly stores were looted and fires were ignited on cars, seriously? To solve violence, we must use violence? Protesters said this is an act against racism committed by a police officer, but what does it have to do with looting stores and committing multiple damages toward infrasture? This riot basically supports the stereotypes of black people made by other races. To fight for justice and equality, one must recognize equality in the society first before fighting for it.
Would Martin Luther King Jr. react this way? Would Gandhi, Nelson Mandela, Rosa Parks, and everyone else who fight for equality and justice react this way?
What happened in Ferguson is a great example of exactly how not to fight against racism. What ALSO angered me is the fact that Officer Darren Wilson didn’t choose the non-lethal method to take down Michael Brown. Aren’t tasers issued to police officers? Officer Wilson could have easily tased Michael Brown, but he chose not to. Talk about police brutality. I think the way people react these days through violence instead of diplomacy.
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