By the Light of Ferguson

Hey whitey, I'm talking to you. In the fire light of Ferguson, maybe my words can have some clarity. I'm guessing a lot of us white folks are keeping thoughts to ourselves about Michael Brown and the reaction in Ferguson. If you watched the video of Brown pushing the man in the market, if you heard the reports of his belligerence, and then violence towards the officer who shot him, I'm sure you can easily turn away from any sympathy for him. And a community uprising, burning stores in their own hood, throwing rocks at the police, shouting hands up don't shoot, all for a kid who likely was being aggressive towards a cop who was just “doing his job”, it's easy to dismiss them too.

Whiteys, we haven't got a clue if we're thinking that way. We live here in our little bubbles reaping the harvest of privilege, and buying some version of the story that maintains the injustice that allows the bad choices of Michael Brown to lead to him to be shot down and left in the street for hours, while the white folks and rich folks do stupid stuff all the time and suffer little consequence. We get the news reports that essentially tell us what and how to think about it. The coroner's report supports the officer's contention that Brown was blah blah blah. If you think any of the details of what happened matter, you've been sucked into the distraction that sustains the system of inequality and injustice. Please consider my summary of the pertinent details.

In a social setting where people are subjected to daily stress with no real relief in sight, a young boy made some bad choices and was shot dead by a man, in a stressful and badly designed job, who was legally allowed to shoot him. This particular shooting triggered a public reaction in the stressed out community, which was then broadcast to the nation and the world, giving it a symbolic importance. The incident, while deeply painful, especially to the families directly involved, isn't particularly tragic in the bigger picture.

What could matter, if we'd be willing to help, is that it brought the suppressed anger from years of economic, social, and psychological oppression out. We all know there is something seriously wrong with our country, with our economic system, with our political system, and most especially our system of law. Come on whiteys, you know it's messed up, and it's messed up bad. Let's rally around that and support our brothers and sisters in the streets of Ferguson. Hands up, don't shoot.