There are several articles circulating the various news sources about the Michael Brown shooting. This is the first I have heard about the August 9th shooting, as I don't usually keep up on the news. So, looking at this situation with a fresh perspective, I found the article in USA Today to be fallacious. Even the title screams judgement, "Mo. police told no bracelets backing teen-killing cop." This headline condemns the police officer.
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| Michael Brown |
The Justice Department has stepped into this controversy in Ferguson, Missouri, and is not allowing officers to wear bracelets that read "I am Darren Wilson." He is the officer under investigation in the shooting death of Michael Brown. These bracelets are meant as a show of support for the officer. The issue is further being amplified as a race issue because Brown was an 18 year old black male, while Officer Wilson is white.
As I delved further into this story, I can understand why Brown's family was frustrated. Brown was unarmed, and as far as Wilson knew, his only crime was walking in the street instead of on the sidewalk. Here is the other side of the unarmed claim. Michael Brown was not a small boy. He was 6' 4" tall and weighed in at just under 300 lbs. There are also conflicting stories about whether Wilson knew that Brown was involved in the strong-armed robbery when he initial approached him and his friend, Dorian Johnson.
When Wilson instructed Brown and Johnson to walk on the sidewalk they told him that they were almost to their destination and then they would get off the sidewalk. Isn't that disobeying an order from a police officer? Regardless, Johnson claims that Wilson stopped his vehicle in front of the teens, blocked their path, and then pulled Brown into the car window by his neck. A witness claims that Brown actually prevented Wilson from exiting his vehicle and physically assaulted him through the window, and that is when the first shot was fired, during that initial altercation.
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| Officer Darren Wilson |
Conflicting reports as to what ensued next are plentiful. Some report that Wilson drew his weapon and told Brown to freeze, at which point Brown charged toward the officer. It was then that Wilson shot and killed Brown.
Johnson reported that Brown turned around when he was told to freeze, and told the officer he was unarmed, and put his hands up, but the officer just came out of his car firing until Brown was dead.
The truth of the matter is that we may never know what really happened. Though it is difficult to draw an educated conclusion for yourself when the media is telling you how you should interpret what happened, according to their spin and agenda. This article was opinionated and full of fallaciousness from the very beginning when it talked about a "teen-killing cop." It failed to show the extensiveness of Officer Wilson's injuries and painted the cops backing Officer Wilson as villains.
There have been a number of stories about police brutality and excessive force recently. I was listening to NPR and they were talking about a white police officer who choked a "large" black man to death. Apparently the man wouldn't stop struggling and now the officer is under investigation. Of course when I heard this story I had my own automatic assumptions about the situation. I think that is a human tendency; to hear something and then have an automatic reaction NOT based on facts, just emotions. In August there was a situation where an "Unarmed White Kid Shot (was) Shot and Killed by (a) Black Cop in Salt Lake City". The title itself also screams judgement. The police department doesn't consider the officer "black". He is considered "other than white". How can we sift out the racism in the news and really see things the way they are? Personal feelings and influences tend to find their way into media. Written or otherwise.
ReplyDeleteI think that the title alone would lend this story to be fallacious. It is one sided before you even read it. I do think we all are guilty of jumping to conclusions based on our prejudice and our background. We would need more facts in order to take a side on this story. We were not there and we do not know what happened. Regardless of ethnicity, we would need to know what happened before we could make a statement such as "Mo. police told no bracelets backing teen-killing cop." Get the facts first and then make a decision.
ReplyDeleteIt's always amazing to me the spin that can be put on a story. The incident takes on a life of its own when federal government and Al Sharpton come swinging in on a vine, and then the facts don't matter anymore cause the media spin has begun. I wonder how the officer got his injuries if he came out of his car shooting. Maybe the car door attacked him?? I agree there are racial issues in this country, and maybe there always will be. But, let's not make them worse by spinning the facts to that end. There are many good people, both black and white and hispanic, who choose to live together in peace and look after each other as humans. Let's focus on that for a while and see if we can help the racisim issue. (Wow! I'm a little out of sorts. I think I have had enough 'news' for today.)
ReplyDeleteI have actually been following this story off and and on when it occurred. I had not seen the pictures of the cop and I know for awhile it was kept secret who the cop was. I really feel their needs to be more recourse for companies, news outlets, associates, activists, and individuals who stir up the public to violence. This is exactly what is wrong with our country they way we twist the truth to fit a cause or a point of view and then abuse it in the media. It is ridiculous and needs to stop it is ruining our country and creating an even larger divide between our fellow citizens.
ReplyDeleteIt is extremely hard to draw a conclusion as to what happened and what side should be justified with all the different sources saying different things. It is evident that racism is still a big thing in the south. Many people can easily say it was a racial issue although they do not personally know officer Wilson. No one can say it was at this point. No one can say whether it was self defense that lead the officer to shoot either. It is a sad story and I hope it makes people more aware of what is happening out there and that it makes officers more careful about what happens so things like this don't happen again. My thoughts go out for both of these families for all that they both have to deal with.
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