After a little internal debate (simply because I know this was and still is a subject of much controversy), decided I didn’t want this to post to disappear into the ether when it’s removed from RI. Will most likely be the last of the old content to go up, but you never know….
Was going to do this as a podcast originally, but with the current climate around this subject didn’t want anything I said taken the wrong way or misconstrued. First and foremost what happened between Mike Brown and Officer Wilson is nothing less than a tragedy. One person’s life is ended. The other person’s completely uprooted and will never be the same again. None of it had to happen. None of the riots, none of the protests, none of the destruction.
Here’s where the problem comes in, I’m a white male. Doesn’t matter that I grew up outside DC where technically that makes me a minority, or went to a majority black high school, or currently live in a neighborhood where my wife and I are the only white couple in a 10 block radius. That one factor, the lack of pigment in my skin, means anything I say can be easily taken out of context or belittled by so many of the social media outrage warriors. Those who instead of looking at the evidence have been convinced by the media and powers that be in this country who wish to still use race as the great divide and not look at a situation on the whole, that this nothing more than a racist act. The same media who gets up in arms when a school shooting happens but doesn’t care when it comes to how many kids and teens are killed in South Chicago every day. Same media that loves to whip people into hysteria to sell more ads and create more revenue.
Which takes us back to where none of this had to happen. If you follow the evidence, you see Mike Brown and Dorian Johnson robbing the convenience store before the shooting took place. We know that they were both walking in the street when the officer came up on them. This is where the stories diverge. A grand jury sat and looked at all this evidence. They looked at the autopsy reports, done by three different forensic experts. Each ending with a conclusion that supports more of what Officer Wilson’s version of the events that took place than that of the other witnesses. That is how our justice system works. You look at the evidence, you compare it to the testimony, and then decide what to do based on those findings. What this means is had Mike Brown not come after the cop, he would still be alive. Ferguson and surrounding cities in Missouri would not be destroyed or looted today. Of course there is one other factor could have prevented all the aftermath. Had the media and all the special rights activists not pounced on this as a “race” issue, we would not be waking up today to destruction in Ferguson.
Recently was in a discussion with a close friend about 9/11. I was 19 at the time when it happened, and here in DC, and he wanted my take on it. I only wish it had been worse. After 9/11, specifically the two weeks after, people in this country were united in a way I had never seen before or since in my lifetime. People didn’t care what race, religion, sexuality, background, etc. you came from, they all united on the simple fact we were Americans. Had it been worse maybe those two weeks would have extended. We could still be in that state of unity today. Imagine all the great events that could have taken place if we stopped dividing ourselves into little sub cultures and actually worked together?
What gets to me most is the fact that I see people invoking the name of Martin Luther King Jr. with this whole Ferguson debacle, when it’s obvious they’ve never really listened or paid attention to his message. The “I Have A Dream” speech was not about one race being over the other. It was about realizing we all are human, no matter what physical differences we have, and judging people on “The contents of their character.”
This is why we are not the greatest country in the world. The dream of America is still one of the greatest in history, a society based on melting pot of cultures where it’s government is determined by the people for the people. Special interest groups have put a stop to the melting process. Now every group has their word and cause to fight for. Everyone has to be special. As we all know the government has long since stopped caring about the people, those who “represent” us only do for themselves….
Mind of Morandir 