Well it's time to talk about this. I didn't think I'd have to. But it's been less than two weeks since officer Darren Wilson was cleared of an indictment, and now the lack of indictment for officer Daniel Pantaleo, general ignorance and hate and apathy seem stronger than ever. And that's just not good enough. I've tried for four months to properly express myself on this issue without offending and simultaneously enlightening as many people as possible. Well thats all gone now. I'm very, very angry.
First of all allow me to explain my anger over a lack of indictment, because many people I've spoken to seem to think Wilson was tried for his crimes. No, no, no you naive little baby bird. He was not tried because there wasn't a trial. There was an indictment, during which the prosecutor crapped all over the justice system and ensured a murder walked free. That's what happened: the jury (13 members - 9 of whom were white. Only 9 votes were needed to overrule) decided that no crime had been committed. Let me repeat that: the jury decided that despite the dead body in the street and the empty chair at the Brown family Thanksgiving last week, no crime had been committed. One more time for good measure: the jury decided that shooting an unarmed 18 year old over six times (AKA to death) in the middle of the street in the middle of the day because he called you a pussy is not a crime. Lets ignore the fact that more than one prosecutor has called out Robert McCulloch's "attempt". Let's ignore the fact that McCulloch's bias has been questioned numerously. We could talk about how Darren Wilson has a questionable history. The fact that his testimony seems a little rehearsed, and just plain ol' horse manure. Let's look at the self defense laws for police officers in the state of MO & - keeping in mind that the store owner claims it was such an inconsequential item that no one from the store called the police - the alleged theft was legally considered a misdemeanor. So legally, based on the law of the state of Missouri, Darren Wilson did not have a legal right to shoot a teenager - he didn't even link to the robbery - to death. But the jurors decided, forget the law! It's not like it was put in place to protect black people. They must have been drinking the nations koolaid.
Here are some stats to help prove the racial bias in police brutality. In case you're deluded into thinking it only happens to 'guilty' citizens, allow me to introduce you to John Crawford, who was shot & killed in a Walmart for holding a toy gun. That's it, folks. A toy gun is apparently a deadly weapon in the eyes of the law. Look no further than 12 year old Tamir Rice, shot and killed by police because he was playing with a toy gun in a public park. Seems kinda reasonable? Let's check out this armed San Diego man whose altercation with the police last over a half hour. Still, you might be thinking "well maybe if those boys hadn't been armed at all they wouldn't have been seen as a threat!" HAHA. Eric Garner could've used that benefit of the doubt. Watch this video and watch a man die on the street. You still want to tell me race isn't the issue here? Did you hear about this lovely misunderstanding? Oh! Of course I forgot about the man that shot up a movie theater in 2012 - Americas largest mass shooting to date. He was killed by police. Wait, what? Oh he's white. So he wasn't. Wasn't even shot.
Look I'm no expert. Let's look to the professionals: NYPD officer Serrano has recently spoken out about racial profiling, and this retired officer has also voiced his experience as part of a corrupt system. If that wasn't bad enough, the United Nations has condemned the US on it's racial disparity. This is 100% a race issue. Unfortunately these young men had to die before the nation would take notice.
"There are accepted revolutions, revolutions which are called revolutions; there are refused revolutions, which are called riots." -Victor Hugo
To those complaining about rioting, let me remind you of the numerous sports events that have ended in burning vehicles or/and property damage. I can't even begin to elaborate on the brutality and complete disregard for the First Amendment the police of Ferguson are showing to the peaceful* protestors they took an oath to serve and protect. For your own research & reference purposes, here is the transcript from the GJ hearings, all the publicly released documents via the New York Times, & finally HPs GJ assessment.
Now at least we can start to have educated conversations.
(*most of this was written before last night's announcement. I don't have the heart or the strength to delve into that rabbit hole.)
