A little seriousness for everyone. Keep it civil in your discussions, please. My news feed is littered with Michael Brown was murdered. But, based on the evidence presented so far, it does not appear to be a murder. It is my professional opinion, based off what has been made known to me, it was a legal and lawful shoot. BUT--because of rhetoric, people have become entrenched in an us vs them mentality. The public often doesnt even understand the force continuum that can be used against them yet they continually spout ignorant ideas such as number of bullets and shoot him in the leg. I even had one person on my page suggest that if a police officer is not skilled enough to shoot the knife/gun out of someones hands, they should not be police officers. People need to learn how force is lawfully applied. So when the time comes to stand against an authority, you know the rules by which they must adhere to, and when they are moving beyond those rules. If I was Officer Wilsons small size and stature, and in the his position, I would have shot Michael Brown. Would we even be discussing this had Officer Wilson been a FEMALE officer? We cannot combat an over use of police force/aggressiveness on the back of a justified legal shoot unless we want to provide justification for the very thing we want to prevent. The worst thing that could have happened--has happened. And if the GJ announces no charges against Wilson--people will rise up against an increasingly abusive authority with no foundation for success and further the need for an increased police presence. I get there is an alarming unbalanced rate of incarcerations of people of color when compared to white people. But, this is a reflection of a long term socio-economical problem that has become deep rooted in our law enforcement. Persons of poverty commit more crime. Persons of color have a greater level of poverty. Therefore, an increasingly amount of police EXPECT persons of color to be criminals. Thus, they are harassed, stopped, searched, etc more than other races. No one with a sane mind would disagree that this is a terrible problem that needs addressed. And often, sweeping social change occurs with a Martyr. But, Michael Brown was no martyr. He was a troubled young man that made a poor decision to attack and injury a police officer to the point the officer had legal justification to shoot him. There are PLENTY of excessive police force situations that could have been turned into a movement. But, it didnt. I fear nothing good will come of this, and in fact, it will set back the very thing it hopes to change. Build a house on sand... DISCUSS.
Posted on: Sat, 15 Nov 2014 16:36:25 +0000
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