I have wanted to write about what is happening in Ferguson,
MO for some time, but the events are so confusing, I have been stuck on what to
write.
In August a Ferguson police officer, Darren Wilson, shot and
killed an African- American teenager, Michael Brown. According to the articles I have read,
Michael Brown and another teenager were caught on video stealing cigarillos
from a liquor store. They proceeded to
walk down the middle of the street.
Officer Wilson stopped the two asking them to clear the street. He determined the two fit the description of
the two men who stole from the liquor store.
Officer Brown used his SUV to block the sidewalk and traffic. An altercation occurs while Officer Wilson is
in his car. Shots are fired and Mr.
Brown flees on foot with Officer Wilson in pursuit. What happens next is the source of
controversy.
Mr. Brown turned and faced Officer Wilson. According to some, Mr. Brown was turning to
put his hands up in surrender, to others he turned to threaten and rush the
officer. Officer Wilson shot and killed
Mr. Brown.
After the incident, the town has erupted with protests,
riots, and looting. The distrust of the police, which already existed before
the incident, was glaringly evident. At
one point the governor opted to deploy the Missouri Highway Patrol to try to
reestablish law and order.
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The incident was turned over to the Grand Jury to determine
if a crime had been committed by the officer.
On November 24th the Grand Jury chose not to indict Officer
Wilson with the shooting death of Michael Brown. This has restarted the protests, not only in
Ferguson, but across the country.
These are simple details of the events. If you are interested in the complete
timeline, below is a link to the timeline from USA Today:
The entire incident is so confusing and troubling. I cannot make sense of the issue and how to
resolve my feelings. I read a release
from Benjamin Watson, a football player with the New Orleans Saints. His words helped me to at least reconcile why
I am so torn by the events. His words
are below:
Benjamin Watson 82,476 Likes
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At some point while I was playing or preparing to play Monday
Night Football, the news broke about the Ferguson Decision. After trying to
figure out how I felt, I decided to write it down. Here are my thoughts:
I'M ANGRY because the stories of injustice that have been passed
down for generations seem to be continuing before our very eyes.
I'M FRUSTRATED, because pop culture, music and movies glorify
these types of police citizen altercations and promote an invincible attitude that
continues to get young men killed in real life, away from safety movie sets and
music studios.
I'M FEARFUL because in the back of my mind I know that although
I'm a law abiding citizen I could still be looked upon as a "threat"
to those who don't know me. So I will continue to have to go the extra mile to
earn the benefit of the doubt.
I'M EMBARRASSED because the looting, violent protests, and law
breaking only confirm, and in the minds of many, validate, the stereotypes and
thus the inferior treatment.
I'M SAD, because another young life was lost from his family,
the racial divide has widened, a community is in shambles, accusations,
insensitivity hurt and hatred are boiling over, and we may never know the truth
about what happened that day.
I'M SYMPATHETIC, because I wasn't there so I don't know exactly
what happened. Maybe Darren Wilson acted within his rights and duty as an
officer of the law and killed Michael Brown in self defense like any of us
would in the circumstance. Now he has to fear the backlash against himself and
his loved ones when he was only doing his job. What a horrible thing to endure.
OR maybe he provoked Michael and ignited the series of events that led to him
eventually murdering the young man to prove a point.
I'M OFFENDED, because of the insulting comments I've seen that
are not only insensitive but dismissive to the painful experiences of others.
I'M CONFUSED, because I don't know why it's so hard to obey a
policeman. You will not win!!! And I don't know why some policeman abuse their
power. Power is a responsibility, not a weapon to brandish and lord over the
populace.
I'M INTROSPECTIVE, because sometimes I want to take
"our" side without looking at the facts in situations like these.
Sometimes I feel like it's us against them. Sometimes I'm just as prejudiced as
people I point fingers at. And that's not right. How can I look at white skin
and make assumptions but not want assumptions made about me? That's not right.
I'M HOPELESS, because I've lived long enough to expect things
like this to continue to happen. I'm not surprised and at some point my little
children are going to inherit the weight of being a minority and all that it
entails.
I'M HOPEFUL, because I know that while we still have race issues
in America, we enjoy a much different normal than those of our parents and
grandparents. I see it in my personal relationships with teammates, friends and
mentors. And it's a beautiful thing.
I'M ENCOURAGED, because ultimately the problem is not a SKIN
problem, it is a SIN problem. SIN is the reason we rebel against authority. SIN
is the reason we abuse our authority. SIN is the reason we are racist,
prejudiced and lie to cover for our own. SIN is the reason we riot, loot and burn.
BUT I'M ENCOURAGED because God has provided a solution for sin through the his
son Jesus and with it, a transformed heart and mind. One that's capable of
looking past the outward and seeing what's truly important in every human
being. The cure for the Michael Brown, Trayvon Martin, Tamir Rice and Eric
Garner tragedies is not education or exposure. It's the Gospel. So, finally,
I'M ENCOURAGED because the Gospel gives mankind hope.
What do you think can be done to help Ferguson heal
and move forward in the immediate future?
What needs to change in society to prevent these types of situations
from occurring? I want you to think hard
and provide a well thought out, articulate recommendation. I encourage you to talk to others about it to
work out some ideas. I am not asking for
you to tell me who is right or who is wrong.
I want you to try to find an answer.
An essential question we need too ask ourselves is, what is the main problem? Social inequality, un lawful courts, did a man attack Mr. Wilson? The main problem is that a black man walked up to a white cop, and was shot after assaulting, and then running away from a cop. There was an answer that came from the court, and that was that the case was unruled, because there wasn't enough evidence. Now people are under protest, and are willing to kill Mr. Wilson. So what is the solution? Simple, you put yourself in Mr. Wilson's situation. A man walks up to you, while you are in your car. he punches you in the face, and tries to TAKE your firearm. What will you do? let him take your firearm, and shoot you. No you would try to defend yourself. There is not really a lot of things we can do to prevent these things in society, but some things that we have been trying to reduce, such as crime, and drug use. Most of all we need to have a greater respect for all of humanity. It's simple things that can allow us the have a greater, and more mature understanding, and respect of, and for each other.
ReplyDeleteI think thats the governors job but I think they the need a robo cop or helmet cams on them. We need to see african Americans as any other person but we don't we acuse them. I shared it on face book
ReplyDeleteFrom what I can see, the government leaders have three choices. One is that they give the people what they want and out Mr. Wilson in prison, but then other people would see this as unjust and unfair and then they would be fighting back. Second is that the suppress the riots by force, but then supporters of that cause might see that as unjust and unfair and more riots would occur, or maybe the people will stop. Mr. Wilson would also be put somewhere safe with something like Witness Protection Program.Third is to try to convince the people of the courts decision, and the people will either eventually calm or a big movement will arise. Basically, there is no easy decision and each one has a risk. I think that its too early to make a big decision, however they can't wait until its too late. This whole issue wouldn't be happening if it was prevented in the first place.
ReplyDeleteIf you think back to the events of earlier today, none of this would've happened if Micheal Brown hadn't robbed a store. Mr. Wilson wouldn't have needed to question him. I think that society needs to care for each other more, then people wouldn't have the idea to rob and beat up other people and they wouldn't be forced to go steal. one other thing could be a satellite that can see everything, then we could know what really happened. This satellite would be used only when needed, such as situations like this.
It will definitely take quite some time for Ferguson to heal from this. It would be difficult for the community as a whole to just blindly move on from the matter; it starts with the individuals who need to move on themselves. Of course, there is a problem with racism in our society. And people don't like it, but they need to realize that the riots are only making this issue more transparent in our country. The riots start with one, two, then more large groups sharing the same opinions and furiosity with the matter at Ferguson. Each person one by one needs to muse about the matter; think about the events leading up to the controversial situation, try to look at it through different perspectives, and think about what would happen if there were different circumstances. They just need to sit down and take the time to fairly consider the matter before hearing the only words "white policeman shot a black teen" and getting angry. So thinking fairly about the controversy, and hopefully seeing reason, would be the first step to healing. The next step would be to understand that there is a racial problem in our country; but the major way to end that would be to not make a big deal about tragedies happening to African American citizens.That's just emphasizing the issue. Once some people start doing this, they can share these thoughts with many others, and perhaps as a society understand all the factors in the situation, seek reason, and agree to stop rioting and protesting for what may be false reasons. And after doing this, they can think about these questions when other controversial events like such occur in the future, and choose to not protest against the decisions of the police and the Grand Jury.
ReplyDeleteFerguson, Missouri will have a long process of healing ahead for the entire city. Problems in race relations take time, just as friendships do. The racial divide is not widened by this case, but it shows the already large gap in race relations that exists in Ferguson Missouri today. This conflict demonstrates the lack of proper education that some students in Ferguson Missouri receive. This education deficit is not, however, the school system's fault. The attitude that it is “cool” to be uneducated, or “uncool” to be smart is becoming more and more accepted within our society. This starts with parents and teachers. Good teachers are the way to move our entire country forward in education. Teachers in the K-12 system should be receiving more than what they get today. Benefits and higher pay may motivate teachers to excel in their jobs. However, with these better bonuses, teachers should also be held responsible for their test results and failure rates. An example of this would be, if a teacher has 50% of their students fail the class, and the students failing are known to be good students, then there it is not the students fault entirely. The same goes for success, the teacher should be rewarded for their students successes. The educator and the student share responsibility for their mistakes and achievements. The entire town needs to come to a consensus that for some arguments that all might not agree with, there is no reason to loot, steal, or plunder other people’s property. If you destroy a store or convenience mart of any kind, you can only hurt yourself. Looting and destroying your local Seven Eleven may lead to the job loss of many people, those people who may be supporting families or trying to do so. They might even be your neighbors. You possibly would have never known until it was too late. Now, that the closet Seven Eleven is destroyed for a time, assuming they rebuild it, you have to spend more money on gas to drive to the nearest gas station. Everything you do in your community comes back to affect you one way or another. This mentality will help neighbors to help each other out, knowing that looking out for their neighbor will help them as well. Another mentality to embrace is that any decision that you cannot control such as the Ferguson shooting case, will not be helped by violence. Trust is another major factor, the citizens of Ferguson Missouri do not TRUST the court decision, they do not TRUST officer Darren Wilson in that he speaks the truth, and now, they do not trust each other. Benjamin Watson words are correct “ the problem is not a SKIN problem, it is a SIN problem. SIN is the reason we rebel against authority. SIN is the reason we abuse our authority. SIN is the reason we are racist, prejudiced and lie to cover for our own. SIN is the reason we riot, loot and burn.” I believe that this “racial divide” that many speak of is not a RACIAL problem, but one of FRIENDSHIP. People are not willing to be friends with one another, judging another by the first impression that was given. If we were all willing to not judge other people initially, but more so when you have time to get to know them, then society will benefit from your patience. I believe that a possible solution to these kinds of shootings would be the adoption or development of a new kind of technology that would be non-lethal. It Would act similar in the function of a taser, but would have the capabilities of a gun. Expensive, probably, practical, hopefully, do-able, definitely.
ReplyDeleteI think a way to help Ferguson heal and move forward in this tragedy is maybe have a funeral service for mike brown and have a lot of people attend so they can understand the the real story about a kid got shot not about who shot him. I think that society needs to change in a huge way we need to stop being so rebellious and thinking that we can alway win against law enforcement. We as a community need to see that violence is not the answer and that if you are fighting with the law you are not going to win. Also we need to stop thinking that we are all so great and powerful when we are all the same really. We are all just people in the world and we are all just a tiny plant in a big universe.
ReplyDeleteI think that for Ferguson to heal, the people will need to stop being so prejudiced. Yes, Mr. Brown was black and Mr. Wilson was white, but that most likely had nothing to do with Mr. Brown's death. If the people started looking more at the events leading up to his death instead of only what happened, maybe they wouldn't be so upset. Mr. Brown and his friend had stolen from a liquor store then Mr. Brown attacked Mr. Wilson in his car. He tried to take the policeman's gun!
ReplyDeleteTo keep this type of thing from happening again, the people will need to learn to trust the police, and the police will need to stop abusing their power. If we had a better way of monitoring what the police do, maybe we would know which officers do not deserve the position they have and/or encourage the bad police officers to not be so power-abusive.
I don't think anything can be done to help heal Ferguson IMMEDIATELY because the problems that exist there have been an issue for a very long time. The Michael Brown case was not the beginning of racial inequality in Ferguson. The police forces had always been primarily composed of white people while the majority of the general population was Afrian-American. For now, all we can do is lead by example and pray for the people who are feeling upset and mistreated by these events. Society needs to become less biased to prevent terrible happenings like this from becoming a big problem again. People need to treat others with respect. I'm not saying that we are all the same, because that would be lying. But if we acknowledge and accept or differences for what they are, we would be able to go by life a little more smoothly. While Wilson had most likely been fighting for his life, he should have given Brown a chance to surrender. And Brown, a legal adult, should've obeyed the officer when he told him to stop. Like Pharrell Williams said, "...whatever happened in his life for him to arrive at a place where that behavior is OK. Why aren’t we talking about that?” There were so many things wrong with this while situation, I don't even know where to start with what to fix. We need better security in gas stations. We need to enforce the laws about staying on the sidewalk better. We need to have more street and police car cams. We need to educate our society on the fact that you shouldn't fight with the law. We need to educate our policeman to only use their guns as a last resort and to not abuse their power. We need to come up with a weapon that merely causes the victim to become unconscious. I hope that the people in Ferguson and rioters all over the country realize that they are only making their lives worse. Nothing good can come from all this unjust violence. At this point, it isn't even honoring Michael Brown; it's causing trouble for the heck of it
ReplyDeleteWhen I'm sitting here reading everbody's comments, I'm thinking "Why don't they just hold a vigil for the kid? Why do they have to burn down their community instead?" So I've been thinking about the good points that other people have made, and now I'm gonna try it out. The people of Ferguson should hold a vigil for Micheal Brown. One day where the entire United States can hold vigils nation-wide and people can mourn his death. At the vigil, his parents can talk, maybe the President could speak, somebody could say something. While this person is talking they could mention that they really really wanted people to educate themselves - instead of rampant protesting. The speech itself could be educational, saying things like, "I can see both sides of this because ..." As long as the words weren't insulting, and didn't create even more tension. ANOTHER thing I think can be done is somebody needs to sit the media down and have a serious chat about the way the media these days is all about "what sells" All the media is doing is covering the facts that Brown was a black man shot by a white police officer. The aren't focusing too much on the fact that he robbed a store! Or the fact that his PARENTS have asked multiple times for people to stop the violence. The media wants to make the situation as big as possible. If people become more antagonized by the situation, they will become more violent, if they become more violent the media will have more to cover, and then the chain will continue until we have a big, stinkin mess. The last (certainly not least) thing we can do is pray. And hope.
ReplyDeleteThe people of Ferguson need time to morn the death of this young man. They went straight to violence which made an even bigger mess of the situation. We need to change how situations like this are viewed. Yes, a white officer shot a black man. That should not be the only thing that comes out of this. The media has played a big part in this whole racial fight. This is about the death of a young man, not that he was black. We need to be treated the same. We just went over the Constitution in class. It says " All men are created equal". ALL men. Some might say that we have come past the segregation of these races, and yes, in some ways we have. Yet, the whole story here is that he was black. We need to get past this as a country to make situations like this go away.
ReplyDeleteI think one thing that could change is all of the violence and chaos. Why would the people make violence if they are trying to stop it. The people need to know that you can't make a problem go away by making another one. One thing that needs to change in the city is that the people need to make an agreement with the police protecting the rights of the people. Another thing that could change is racism. Racism had a huge part in all of the violence. Everyone needs to be treated equal and everyone needs to know that we are all the same.
ReplyDeleteI think that this should not be a huge deal for the people living in Ferguson. Just because the white officer killed a black man that attacked the officer and already had caused a lot of chaos should not create violence, if anything they should be ashamed of how they are treating the law black or white human beings. We are all human beings the color of our skin does not change the law at all. All of this bologna is going to happen until society realizes that. Last but not least I think that racism should end and make this world a better place, it is not just going to happen by the snap of our fingers but every individual needs to stand up and make the change that you want to see in the world.
ReplyDeleteFerguson is not going to heal fast at all. And it is definitely not going to be easy for them to heal. I think that there is one main thing that can be done that help Ferguson the most is that they need to reach out to the rest of the world for support. And the world needs to reach in to help them. We need to show them that they are not the only ones that are going through this. They need to be able to look to us for help and we need to give it to them. I think that as a country we could show that we are supporting them, not as to different groups, but as a whole. It would show them that there are ways that they can fix this racial problem. Because of this they may think, "Hey the rest of the world is supporting us as a group, and not as two different sides. Why don't we do the same and try to mend this problem that we are facing. I think that one thing needs to change. We need to be educating our children in a different way. Yes the racial thoughts have changed a lot. We have gone from killing them freely to excepting them into our community. But have we excepted them fully? This incident shows that we have not. Not the shooting, but the riots that happened after. I think that if people really decided to raise their children thinking of colored people as just another person, or friend. If we did this the next generation of people would respect colored people as one of their own color. I think that all of the world could work at this. If all of the United States did this we would become a happier and closer Country.
ReplyDeleteThank you Mr. Grant for making this blog. It has really me to better understand what is going on in Ferguson
Personally I don't think that Ferguson will heal fast. I think that one of the things that needs to be done is for them to accept the fact that the grand jury ruled Darren Wilson not guilty. Also they need to accept that they will never know what happened after there was a chase. So we will never know if Darren Wilson was being attacked or wasn't and shouldn't of shot. I think that people in Ferguson need to mourn, but I don't think it was ok to use violence to mourn his death even though that's not mourning. Also they need to look at who they are listening to. Micheal's real father is saying to bring peace because he doesn't the protesting to be his son's fault. While Micheal's step-father is saying to break cars and burn it all down. I think that people need to stop judging. I saw this one picture and it said not all black people are criminals. I think that that is completely true and some people think that all black people are thugs and that is not even close to true.
ReplyDeleteI think both sides of the argument have their own pros and cons, but they shouldn't necessarily use violence to prove it. Their are arguments made to show the violence each side has done/made, but violence is never the answer. Both sides should come to some sort of agreement. The whole incident happened at a bad time and place. Some at Ferguson think the violence is crazy. Even Micheal's own dad said the violence is crazy. We are all human beings and we need to see that. And their are people out there who use their own race to others advantage. We need to stop taking advantage of each other and respect everyone as human beings.
ReplyDeleteI think that the people should be promised that once a body has been killed it should immediately be picked up. I think that in society that police officers should be trained more thoroughly when they are serving their duty in places where crime is more rampant. I also think that the black community should dial down a bit because it happened and they can't really do anything about it. They can't bring the kid back to life but they should fight for whether they are being treated equally or not. The officer was in a very tight situation and reacted like many human beings would have reacted. I don't think people should be blaming him for acting like he shouldn't have, but when you ask them what they would have done they would not be able to answer because they have never been in that type of situation. I honestly think that both sides of the argument have really good points. I think that they should come to a compromise where each city has the same amount of black and white officers.
ReplyDeleteThere is a reason it took me so long to write back, asking middleschoolers to comment on such a huge issue is very ambitious and I expect that you will receive many different opinions on the topic, my personal opinion however, will not really be an opinion (I am not used to presenting my personal opinion in such great events, so I plan to try to take a more factual approach). I think you can never "move on" from something like this. We all know this wasn't the first example of an unfair trial. I am not completely on the side of Brown however, because, even though I recognize what is wrong with this picture, I cannot say the police officer was extremely reckless. When an officer says freeze, YOU FREEZE; this man wasn't going to injure you unless he thought you would take him away from his family. I think the fact protests were still going so strong after months shocks me, but not horribly so, relations were rocky and when the body that broke the camel's back finally dropped, something was bound to happen. For something like this to be avoided something serious needs to happen, the facts are officers won't shoot if they trust the person the gun's aimed at and citizens won't run if they trust the man behind the gun. We need to be colorblind, because if anyone told me this wasn't a little bit about Brown's race I wouldn't believe them. It's truly a sad day when a 13 year old in Idaho is raised so that they know that. I offer my condolences and pray that with no racial divide, and mutual trust something as horrible as this can Never happen again.
ReplyDeleteI think that in the future to help Furgesen heal faster we they need to talk to the police and find a way to solve the problem and make sure that peoples rights are protected. I also think it would help if they had a nice funeral for the boy. People need to stop protesting and realize that they might never know the whole story of what really happened to the kid. I think it is good that the black people are standing up for their rights but violence is not the way to do it in this situation. I think that Ferguson will take a while to heal but eventually we will get to the place where there will be some solution even though we might not know exactly what it is right now.
ReplyDeleteThere are many opinions on what had happened in Ferguson, MO. There were many things that happened that raise questions about our justice system and how it is run. I think that what happened in Ferguson tested our society, and raised awareness of how our society is run with social media and our justice system. I think that there are many things that can be done about the current situations in our society.
ReplyDeleteSomething that I think can be done to help heal Ferguson is a few times where there is a day, say this month, where everyone in the city pauses and remembers the events in the world that changed and affected them. I think that if this is done, even if it is only for a short period of time, will help people reflect on the horrors, such as all the deaths that fill our newslines, that affected them and how that can be changed. I think that another good way of healing is reading all the things that people have put in the social media. For example Benjamin Watson's post is a great example of the many feelings, I think, the society is feeling right now and that the way this football player put them is very intelligent. I think that the people of Ferguson will be comforted hearing all these things that people are putting out there to show their feelings for Michael Brown's death. I think that these are only few ways to solve this situation.
One of the things that could be done in our society to prevent these things from happening is people realizing how much protests and riots can worsen a situation, and how peaceful protests is the way to go. With people realizing this, that there are so many things that people can't control and that you just have to move on, I think that citizens would stop to think about how their actions reflect around their city and then around the US. I think that the relatives of Michael Brown, calling for peaceful protests, is one way of showing how much they love their son enough to make sure people don't disrespect and cause more violence in his name.
I think that the Michael Brown situation opened the eyes of many, and called for people to think about our situation and how low we have gone to get our way. I think that, though not all agree with each other, we should all keep in mind the right thing that God would want us to do in these kinds of situations.
What can be done to help Ferguson FULLY will take a very long time. Fist of all, the citizens and the whole police squad need to regain a load of trust. I think the citizens need to respect the law and not protest anymore because what is done is done, you cannot change the past. Brown's own parents want to protesting to stop! I think the people protesting should realize that his parents never wanted to protest, to start controversy over their son's death, or to create loads of mistrust between the law enforcers and citizens. They want peace. I think it's hard enough to know your son's dead, but have people create this much craziness over it? This thing with the media is, if his parents decide to move, this will follow them. The media is accessible to most parts of the world and everyone is sharing their comments, tweets, and more. Say his parents wanted to move from home (Ferguson). In the end, they are "home", because there are too many thoughts, comments, and more leading them back there from wherever; too many little thoughts leading them home, reminding them of their son, thanks to the media. I feel like the people need to STOP PROTESTING. What is done is done. The actions that can be done to help Ferguson move forward is: accept what has happened including the jury's decision, make amends with community, know that his parents want the protesting to stop, and start building up trust again with the officers. I know this is more easily said than done. Things that need to be done in society is that people cannot chose a side on something based on race or gender….. We need to look at the facts and not immediately react on things we have no knowledge or understanding about.
ReplyDeleteI think that they should have a memorial service for Michael Brown and have all the police officers should attend. I think a lot of things in society should change but for this I think that the people need to focus on the entire story instead of just half of it. If I was to think about it strongly I would say they need to look at the part were Michael Brown robbed a store then attacked a police officer. I'm not saying the people of Michael Brown's race shouldn't do anything about it but they shouldn't be protesting to the point of horrible violence.
ReplyDeleteThe recovery process in Ferguson, MO will defiantly take a long time. I am positive that most people are very confused. In the immediate future, citizens and the law enforcers need to regain each other's trust for each other. If we cannot trust the law, what do we have as a country? Nothing. No one will be able to feel safe in their own homes if they do not trust the government. In Ferguson, many of the protestors are becoming very violent. They do not trust the government and believe that violence is the only answer. It is not. I know that what happened in Ferguson is very sad, but the protestors need to look at the facts. What happened is over. They cannot keep attacking the city because of something that happened months ago. Michaels parents need to be given some peace and serenity. They did not even want to protest. In order to make peace in Ferguson and surrounding cities, we need to: educate the people that VIOLENCE IS NOT THE ANSWER, regain trust with our law, make peace with others, and to accept what happened and move on with peace. In our society, a person's thoughts can be easily manipulated by the media. We need to think for ourselves and not make direct conclusions on things right away. The race or a person should not affect a person's thoughts about something. What happened in Ferguson is truly sad and I pray for everyone affected by it and I hope we move on with peace and serenity.
ReplyDeleteI think that what needs to happen is that people need to become more socially equal. It's all you hear about these days. In the news you always hear about a black man killed by a white cop or a black cop killing a white man. There was another incident that involved a white cop choking a white man to death. Tonight, LeBron James joined teammate, Kyrie Irving in wearing a shirt that said, "I can't breathe" this is to show support to the community about white cops doing these things. That is the huge problem. We are not social equal.
ReplyDeleteThe recovery for Ferguson, MO will take some time. I think one of the things they need to accept is that Officer Wilson has been ruled not guilty. That does not mean that what he did was right though. I think they should hold a funeral/memorial service for Michel Brown. The people are very confused at what has happened and I think closer would help. The fact that a white cop shot a black teen is making people mad because they know that they are not equal. We all tell are selves that we are all equal and there is no racism, but the truth is there is lots of racism still in our country. The police force that Wilson was on should got to the service and pay their respect and should do their best to work towards peace between ferguson. One of the big problems with our country is that we focus too much on what people look like. If we did not focus so much on what people look like this would not be such a big deal but because what people look like is such a big deal to us and black freedom is new it causes many problems.
ReplyDeleteRecovering from what happened in Ferguson will definitely take a long time. I think to help, the people need to stop being prejudice and we need to become more socially equal. Also, we need to gain back our trust with the government. If we don't trust them, who do we trust? And I think thats what led to some of the violence in Ferguson. I think the people were so enraged about the government's decision that they just let it out through violence. In our society, we need to view each other as all being equal. I think racism plays a role in some of the incidents that have happened today. Also, we need to change how we think violence is the answer. We don't need to be destroying and setting things on fire. Michael Brown's father even said that he didn't want people reacting in violent ways. We need to come together as a whole and see each other as all equal.
ReplyDeleteThe main reason why people are upset and have caused this havoc to occur is because people are being prejudiced about the situation. Yes, the man shot was black and the man shooting was white, but if we linger on that fact nothing will be resolved. People also have a great mistrust in the government, thinking that they as well are prejudice. Those two things tie in together: the government and prejudice. They are also the two main things that are causing the problem and upset in Ferguson. In order to recover, the trust in government needs to be brought back, people should stop being prejudiced, and everyone needs to be taught to realize that violence is not the answer in any situation. The more educated citizens are about these type of things, the better. We can use what happened in Ferguson as an example to everyone and help people realize that we are all equal and realizing this will prevent even more dangerous activities from occurring.
ReplyDeleteI think everyone in Ferguson needs to ask themselves questions, one of the main reasons this has gone so out of hand is because a WHITE man shot a unarmed BLACK man. They need to ask themselves, "Would we be protesting if the man who was shot was white?" Personally I don't think they would be. People need to point out that the police officer had the right to defend himself if he thought his life was in jeopardy, and supposedly Mr. Brown had attacked the police officer and made a run for it, and then turned around to either surrender or attack again. They really need to think about why they are protesting and if the situation was different would they still be protesting. I think what needs to happen in Ferguson is that police need to be more careful about when they fire there weapon, and they need to have a good reason why, such as, "He was trying to kill me."
ReplyDeletenot "He turned around and charged at me." I think the police should carry some sort of weapon that knocks out the suspect if they are attacking, and that the police can only fire their fire arm if the suspect is armed and has shown possession of the weapon. I think as a society we need to learn to stop over reacting to things and let both sides of the argument give their statement before anything such as protesting occurs. Police need to have a better reason for shooting someone six times. We need to grow as a more patient society before we act up.
I think that the people in Ferguson need to calm down. They need to ask themselves what would they do if they were in both positions. Nobody is talking about the events leading up to the shooting. We also need to look at African Americans as another person. Not as someone dangerous or scary. They are no different than white people except for the color of their skin. this horrific event will take time to heal, but should also be a wake up call about how racism is still around.
ReplyDeleteI think that before anyone makes a decision on anything, we need to here what the community (black and white) of Ferguson thinks they can do to become unified. I am also very confused about whose side to be on. Micheal Brown physically assaulted a Police officer but did he have the right to kill him. I think that white and black communities are still a little divided. We need to bond more within our racial society. I don't think It is my place to say what others should that is in their best interest. I think that there are lots of things like meetings, sports, and just being friends.
ReplyDeleteThis is a serious and heart wrenching topic that makes all stop and think. It is not a topic you hear and automatically take a side, actually it's not about taking a side at all. It's about laws, rules and understanding the consequences of your actions. Whenever you have a situation where there are two different races, religious believes, sexual orientation the situation can easily turn into a heated controversy where automatic assumptions and believes take over. If the roles had been reversed and it was a black officer and two white teenagers would this situation be different? If it had been a white women officer and two black teenagers would this situation be different? What needs to be stressed and worked on with children today and for all generations to come is that laws are to be followed, the consequences for not following the laws is punishment. Those who abuse their power will face harsh consequences too. There needs to be clearer guidelines for officers of the law who carry guns. When they hold the power to take someones life the rules need to be simple for all to understand. If you run, you will be shot. Knowing this criminals understand along with those being accused of a crime that are not guilty understand you do not run from an officer. Working on making the rules more clear will help. Working on overcoming racism will take time, love and education. God did create us all differently for a reason. God loves variety, people need to learn to love variety too.
ReplyDeleteI think it will defiantly take a will for people to heal. espiacly of the many options that everyone in Ferguson and also out of Ferguson. The fact of not knowing what really happened. But people should try to have an open mind and becoming socially equal. I believe something else that might help is having more trust or regaining the trust of the govern. Who are they going to trust? How can people feel safe and structured. Aseptically without the trust. Many of these things led to violence and frustrated. People were so frustrated confused and outright mad and it led to violence. They also have to change the way the think about violence. We can overcome and get through this. Also that we are all equal and open are minds.We need to love and accept everyones opinion Working on overcoming all the confusion, anger, racism that has been draw to this can be the best way of healing.
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