To which I responded, No, I just don't have a strong opinion. Surprised?
And I still don't; the more I read about the incident, the more confused I get. But a dangerous blog topic? Heck no. (I've actually been mulling one on race in my head for the last few weeks.)*
I just don't know what happened, exactly, between Michael Brown and Officer Darren Wilson on that August day. I don't suppose anyone else does, either, even -- perhaps -- Wilson himself. (The whole thing lasted less than 90 seconds.) How many times has something sudden happened to you and, in the retelling, changes slightly as you go along? And how many people see the same incident from different perspectives? Memory, indeed reality, can be a difficult thing to get your arms around.
So . . . I guess . . . having said all that, maybe the best course of action would have been a trial after all. Regardless of the result, at least everyone, as they say, would have had their day in court. It seems to me that there was at least enough ambiguity to warrant a trial. Oh, well.
* Want a dangerous blog topic? Try this. (It's one my editor at the Oak Leaves wouldn't even touch.)
2 comments:
Dr. King said riots are the voices of the unheard. My personal theory is that people of color thought things would change after Obama was elected. Things have changed only for the worse for them. The outpouring of racism and hatred has been awful. And now vigilantes and cops are shooting unarmed kids and getting away with it. I certainly would feel I was unheard.
"If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor."
~Desmond Tutu
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