If you haven't been watching the news in the past week then you might want to drop by your favorite social media outlet and look up Michael Brown.
Here's a quick recap/timeline of events.
On
Sunday August 9th at about a hair past noon a call came into the Ferguson Missouri police department dispatch from another officer saying a young black male had been shot. The officer claimed it was a self defense shooting ie. he reached for the officers gun and the officer shot him.
What had happened is that a call was made about a robbery. The store clerk gave the dispatcher directions as to where the suspect was heading. Police later found eighteen year old Michael Brown walking in an area near where the supposed suspect was to be located. The officer stopped Brown and that's where the whole thing gets fuzzy.
The story quickly escalates as word spreads from eye witnesses that the officer blatantly shot Brown who was unarmed and cooperating with the officer because he was black.
Later that night a candlelight vigil was held in honor of Brown which soon turned violent as officers try to break it up. As a result over a dozen businesses are looted in protest.
Monday August 11th school is canceled as a safety precaution to walking students. Later that day hundreds of people gather in front of the Ferguson PD to protest Browns death. Police arrest at least seven of the protesters. Later that day the NCAAP holds a meeting to pray for Brown and an end to the violence. That night protesters in Ferguson are tear gassed for not protesting peacefully.
Tuesday August 12th the Ferguson police announce they have arrested fifteen people in connection to the protests.
Wednesday August 13th Ferguson police lock down the city blocking all media from entering and covering the story. They also detain two reporters from the Huffington Post and Washington post.
Saturday August 16th Governor Nixon issues a state of emergency and imposes a curfew in the Ferguson area.
What I think....
The reason this escalated so quickly and is picking up international concern so quickly is because this isn't just about a police officer shooting a man. This is about the police being bias toward blacks, it's about freedom and justice.
Michael Brown was an unarmed black civilian and the police shot and killed him in cold blood. That right there ladies and gentlemen is what this is all about. Peaceful protesters getting shot at with tear gas and rubber/wooden bullets because their protesting the shooting of an innocent black man.
Throughout the history of the US the justice department has favored white people to some degree. There are countless cases to use as a precedent to back that statement up and this shooting just creates another one. As a believer of libertarianism myself I am all about justice and freedom of speech. I believe that as Americans we all have equal rights as is stated in the constitution plain and simple. The fact that every time a black person is shot by a police officer just adds to the stigma that the police don't care about the rights of African Americans in this country which makes this is just as relevant now as it was back in 1963.
What also bugs me about all this is that so many people are still so ignorant towards what's going on. Creating hash tags like "iftheygunnedmedown". So many people are using that now to post pictures of themselves in a good situation and then a bad situation and making a joke of which picture the police would use if they got shot. The problem here is they are inadvertently making fun of blacks by posting these pictures because this is an actual issue with black people. The media always finds a way to use the worst possible photo of a black person when portraying them. Every time someone black ends up in the news there's always a photo of them drinking, smoking, looking thuggish etc to accompany it and it bothers me that people still don't get it.
Media is always out to create a commotion and to stir the pot. They always find a way to negatively portray a situation. As Abraham Lincoln once said “If you look for the bad in people expecting to find it, you surely will.” All you need to do is look at someones Facebook or read some of their tweets and that's all you'll need. Social media makes it so easy now-a-days to twist a story from "Boy scout saves cat in the street" to drunken teen gets hit by car while walking in the middle of the road". Remember, media is NOT always your friend. Don't always trust what you hear on tv or read in the paper.
As the whole situation has yet to resolve itself I would love to hear what you have to say. Tell me your thoughts and opinions by tweeting me
@prepidemic with the
#TPcoffeetalk.
xoxo Rebecca
