I wrote this article shortly after the announcement was made about two weeks ago that Darren Wilson, the police officer who fatally shot Michael Brown, would not be charged by the state. I watched a live video feed of what was happening in the town of Ferguson, MO, and read Twitter feeds for #FergusonDecision and #PeaceInFerguson. The first Twitter feed terrifies me for the future of our country because our society has become so entitled and rude, but the second restores my faith that there are still good people in the world.
We don’t know what happened August 9 in Ferguson, and honestly, we will probably never know. That is not what we should be focusing on now. Yes, unfortunately a life was lost and that is something that no number of rights can fix. The idea of losing a loved one in such a public and controversial situation is frightening and numbingly horrifying. It is our right as citizens of America to be strong for both the families of Michael Brown and Darren Wilson, to be proactive in the issues of racial profiling, the power of our law enforcement and the relationship between community and officers. I urge you to take a stand in what you believe in, but also ask yourself this: is how you are making a stand acceptable?
I reach out to anyone reading this and implore you to think about your actions and the decisions you have made up until this point. Violent protesting, rioting, and disrespecting of cops will accomplish nothing. I understand; not all of you have been violent and disrespectful but unfortunately that is what was replayed over and over again on TVs around the nation.
What is most frustrating to me is that all acts of violence committed with a gun are viewed in the same category of wrong. That is how this situation is being represented: a racial profiling act by a white officer. In no way, shape, or form can ANY shooting be compared to another. That is beyond disrespectful to the victim or victims in every situation. The cop may have acted in sheer protection, and he may have not. My point is that this is not our decision to make. Our decision to make is whether or not each and every one of us wants to make a stand to respectfully voice what we believe should be the next step. Violent protesting does nothing but to discredit what you are fighting for and, quite honestly, gives people a reason to make fun of you and not take you seriously. Write letters, sign petitions, schedule meetings with police chiefs and politicians, become the system. That is how change can be made and progress towards a more unified country will happen.
I urge all those who protested in Ferguson to take a good hard look at why and how they are standing for what they believe. Use this as an opportunity to better yourself, your community and our nation.
