First, you're probably wondering why that's the title. Second, you're probably curious if this is being quoted from Coming of Age in Mississippi, or something from the prime of the Civil Rights Movement.
It's from less than two weeks ago.
This quote was from Mike Brown's father, referring to the city of Ferguson, after the police officer who shot his son was not indicted. This quote is from the same man who over and over spoke of his son as someone who would never do ill will against another person, and wasn't a criminal.
Before I say anymore, I don't want this post to become a place for hothead political comments, because I'm just trying to look at an angle that many people won't because it makes them a racist, or because they don't believe Mike Brown should have been killed. I don't think he should have been killed at all, but I also don't believe he should have been trying to rob a store.
What I want to get at is the precedence American citizens set for one another when situations like this occur. One can't simply say take race out of it for a moment, because, like with Mike Brown, race could have been the only underlying issue-- but for the sake of this, try to imagine true equality, every single person no matter what race being 100% equal.
Something happens, an incident occurs when someone isn't treated equal-- would we all start burning buildings, churches, flags, and putting other people in situations to be killed too? Probably not.
I can't imagine how angry, and hurt Mike Brown's family is, but shouldn't they set more of a precedence of working forward, progressing, rather than destroying property, and shouting "burn this bitch down!"?
Another man's life was lost in the process of all of these riots.
We can't wage war on each other as a nation, we will fall apart. Yes, a lot of these issues being racial, the power structure, are all imbedded deeply in our foundation but that is not to say we need to find a way to destroy that and try to get rid o it-- that's almost impossible. But truly working in positive means to move forward rather than digress is what needs to happen.
I think that Mike Brown's family has a lot of influence with the media right now, and could be doing so much than what they have chosen to do. What do you think they could have done differently, or can do more positively to impact the community of Ferguson, as well as the United States as a whole?
A blog for the Civil Rights Movement class at Rhodes College, Fall 2014
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ReplyDeleteI think you bring up a lot of good points. I do think that the Brown family is obviously getting a lot of press at the moment. They are in a position of power and America will listen. I agree with you that they could be doing more positive things, but they also just lost their son. It is definitely easy to speculate as to what this family should be doing and saying, because we are not involved. That being said, I think they could be doing other (possibly better) things.
ReplyDeleteIn my blog post I talked about Benjamin Watson's response, and he said,
"because the looting, violent protests, and law breaking only confirm, and in the minds of many, validate, the stereotypes and thus the inferior treatment"
This is true. These riots, burning down businesses and buildings, and the death threats are a result or product of the verdict- but that is no excuse in my opinion. They just add fire to the fire.
Answering violence with violence is never going to solve anything.
Like we talk about in class, we need to consider how to move forward.
Violence and burning things makes a statement but is it the appropriate one for the future? Is that the message we want? I think instead of reacting out of violence and hatred, we ALL need to think about how to combat this in the most effective way.
This kind of relates to the Yik Yak and state of Rhodes College right now. While I am certainly not glad that Michael Brown died, I think a good thing that came from this was awareness. Just as at Rhodes, I am certainly not thankful that these Yik Yaks were/are there and hurting people, but it makes EVERYONE aware that this is going on in our community. Mike and Yik Yak have made us aware of our condition, and it is up to us to change.
I think both of you are presenting excellent ideas that bring a new light to the situation.
ReplyDeleteAnother idea I feel everyone should consider is that the officer, Darren Wilson, was acting in self defense. In the eyes of the law, it is legal for an officer to kill an aggressor when he feels that his or her life is in danger. I thought it was interesting that while on trial, Wilson explained he felt uncomfortable and scared because Mike Brown was larger than him. This could not have been the first time Wilson had encountered someone larger than him, so I found this hard to believe. I feel that Wilson was more uncomfortable and scared that Brown was a black man that was larger than him--and could therefore overpower him. This is racism at its core.
Overall, Americans need to own up to their racist tendencies and thoughts, realize the absurdity of them, and eradicate them. As Magdeline stated, it's up to us to change. The US cannot change as a whole until we as individuals change ourselves.
What I think is interesting about that quote from Mike Brown's step-father is that it was said directly after the announcement that Darren Wilson would not be charged with any sort of crime. However, the 100 or so days before and leading up to the announcement, both of Mike Brown's parents called for peace in any and all protests for their son. I don't think that Brown's father actually meant for any violence to occur the night of the announcements as he apologized for what he said earlier this week. He may have just been overcome with frustration and grief and had a lapse in judgement. I believe over 100 days of tension overwhelmed the Brown family especially with Thanksgiving coming up and know that there will be an empty place at the table.
ReplyDeleteMike Brown's parents have spoken to the United Nations about their son's case and have stated that all they truly want is at least a trial of Officer Darren Wilson. Not once before the night of the announcement did they ever imply they they support any violence. Mike Brown's mother, in fact, lead several of the peaceful marches in the more than 100 days of protests, so I do believe that they are doing as much as they can while grieving for their son.
This is an interesting perspective.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I don't agree with this quote: "...but for the sake of this, try to imagine true equality, every single person no matter what race being 100% equal.
Something happens, an incident occurs when someone isn't treated equal-- would we all start burning buildings, churches, flags, and putting other people in situations to be killed too? Probably not."
Even after admitting that it's impossible to do so, you encourage us to pretend that race is not a part of human experiences.
We probably would not encourage burning and looting because we haven't experienced centuries of oppression at the hands of another (seen as superior) race. Although the "colorblind" perspective is interesting, in my own opinion, it is simply too far from reality to even begin to consider.
The riots in Ferguson that allegedly resulted from Mike Brown's father's outburst remind me of a theme from the Black Arts Movement. In the essay "Dynamite Growing Out of Their Skulls," Hernton paints a scene eerily similar to Ferguson. During the Black Arts Movement (c. 1960- early 1970's) African Americans were getting frustrated with the lack of progress toward integration and equality. Herton predicted that the black community would tire of enduring the discrimination, oppression and violence. In response they would turn away from western rationality and act out their anger and pain on their oppressors. I view Ferguson as an enactment of this. The law has failed the Black community in Ferguson (from their perspective) so they have turned away from it and western morals to act out their anger and frustration.
ReplyDeleteAs mentioned in the post the Brown family has the media's attention. I believe that they and Ferguson are using it effectively as previous cases of police brutality upon black bodies have been coming to light and sparking conversations. Violence forces the issue into the open. The resulting conversations could bring about the solution to the issue.
You make a valid point, to a point. I agree that there is inherent value in looking at every perspective , not just the ones that line up with yours. So bravo. That said, we must all remember that people whose every word get repeated in the media are still that: people. People have emotions. A father who has lost his child, is going through something few people (and certainly not me) can fathom, and it is accompanied by a whirlwind of emotion. Even if he deep down still believed at his core in his calls for peace, it is not unreasonable to assert that his emotions may have gotten the better of that one. People who experience any significant loss often try to blame SOMEONE, to avoid feeling guilty themselves (whether or not they actually have a reason for that guilt is irrelevant). My point is this: that is a statement of an emotional reaction. Emotions are irrational by definition. Imagine what your life would be like if everything you’d ever said while pissed off, was said into a microphone and broadcast across the country. Noone is exempt from human nature, for better or worse. And whether Mike Brown’s unquestionably unfortunate death was the result of a ‘good shoot’ or a ‘bad shoot’ as police officers call it, I don’t think anyone can blame the parent of dead child for being angry at the world.
ReplyDeleteThis is a very interesting take on this subject, and you bring about some great points. I definitely agree with the fact that the Brown family could be accomplishing more right now than I think they realize. They should not be condoning violence that will only lead to more destruction and damage to their community. It is as simple as that. Yes, I completely understand they are grieving and the death of there son has probably brought more pain than I can imagine. That being said they have been dealt a very unique hand, and they could bring about real change if they were to play that hand in the correct way.
ReplyDeleteListen their are two things being lost on this blog post 1) Michael Brown was killed while having his arms raised in an act of surrender 2) a father lost his son. We must also understand that what had gotten the cops attention was racial profiling, something that is legal in some states, and while illegal in others is not enforced. Then we must look at the precedent of cops killing unarmed black men and women, and the incarceration rates of black people at large to understand why a black man would suggest to "burn this shit down"
ReplyDeleteTyler Jones
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