Me: So, what do you think about the mess in Ferguson, Missouri?
Geeorge: I think the govt [Jay Nixon] is missing the point. It's not about Michael Brown, it's about pent up rage from a culture of police harassment, differential treatment for whites, economic inequality, and remnants of the separate but equal mentality. If I was governor, I'd say that I understood that, but that I don't know if Brown was the victim of police misconduct when he was stopped and shot and that I'm gonna let a process that I believe in (and that will be assisted by the FBI) take its time to sort through the evidence. Then I'd lay out a strategy to help the citizens deal with the issues that are at the root of their anger. I'd strike a deal with Ferguson Police to immediately offer early retirement to senior officers and hire 5 (10?) new (black) officers. I'd establish a review committee for complaints of racial harassment and make that an evaluative criteria for advancement. I'd get the county police to commit more black officers to the area. I'd fund a new state office for voter registration in Ferguson to be open through the April elections, and then I'd establish the Ferguson Black Democratic PAC with a $50,000 donation from my personal election fund to be used to support black candidates for city council and mayor and tell them to get out and vote because that's how democracy works.
Me: I think you should be Governor of the State of Missouri.
What George recognizes is what I see as the pain and perhaps irrational thinking and behavior demonstrated by those outraged (at least at this point) by the killing. To my mind, the facts are simply not yet in and/or have not been disclosed. No reason to start looting at this time (or perhaps anytime). The fact that so many people are outraged without knowing all the facts suggests there is much more going on from an emotional level. I was startled to see my own Facebook and Twitter feeds of several African-American acquaintances. These individuals did not live in Ferguson or nearby Ferguson and had probably never been to Ferguson. These were educated African Americans with Graduate degrees. Their Facebook posts changed completely from the "normal" inane posts of family, friends, vacation etc to a vitriol that I didn't recognize. Their whole pattern of linguistics changed. From the "normal" English to an African American dialect that I scarcely recognized outside my passing familiarity to "rap" lyrics. Perhaps even stranger is the reaction of some of white people also outraged and indignant--but this in so many ways is not about them.
It calls into question my own prejudices--and perhaps irrational thinking. To me, I see the video of Mr. Brown in the convenience store prior to the killing and in my mind I see a thug. To me, the video shows complete disregard to civilized society. I see him take the cigar box or whatever and when the grocery clerk moves to stop him, Mr. Brown pushes him away and then when the much smaller grocery clerk continues Mr. Brown leans into him threatening. From there, we will probably never learn the truth. Mr. Brown allegedly walks in the middle of the road stopping traffic. He is stopped by the police. To my prejudices, I can see the thug who just committed petty theft and assaulted the store owner continue on his frankly somewhat evil and indifferent ways to walk in the middle of the road, stop traffic, be stopped by the policeman, threaten the policeman, have an altercation with the policeman and get shot. In my world, policeman should probably carry tasers in such a situation, but if Mr. Brown did indeed threaten the officers life, go for the officers gun, he gets shot. In my country, people don't fight with cops. If they do, they should not be upset if they get hurt. Indeed, it is interesting that the outrage in the black community became more intense after the video was released. As if at some level, the protesters suspected all along that Mr. Brown was a thug--but in so many ways, this is not about Mr. Brown.
Of course, all this comes to my mind when I, like my African American counterparts do not know all of the facts. This is my prejudice. They see the same incomplete set of facts from a completely different perspective illustrative of the yawning gulf between us. I wonder if OJ Simpson walks free on their jury? George Zimmerman?
But what if the cops are jackbooted Nazi thugs? What if they are oppressing the people? What if the cops have threatened and intimidated me and my family day after day for everyday of my life. I can never know, experience, feel what it would like to be to live in that society.
And I probably want the African Americans to be more like me. Perhaps that is what made Obama so successful. He has skilfully distanced himself from the Jessie Jackson's, Al Sharpton's and other traditional black leaders and forged his path to political power independently. I listened to Obama give an interview to the Economist magazine the other day and was impressed at how thoughtful he was about Americas' place in the world and his earnest attempts to make the world a better place. I felt a kinship and perhaps brotherhood with him that I'd never felt with the last several Presidents who never impressed me with their deep thinking and earnestness. And yes, Bill Clinton, this applies to you.
It saddeneds me that our country has this apparent divide. I fear for our future. Hopefully this is all temporary media hysteria but I have this fear of each of the great nations on this planet going forward like giant corporations competing with each other. Corporations and citizens (those with money) moving freely to the most attractive venue. By my prejudices, Germany, Japan, Singapore, South Korea, Canada do not have such a large segment of its population in such a state of pain. Can our country compete when there is such a large segment in prison, unemployed, on welfare etc? If there is a future day of reckoning where countries are required to sacrifice and slim down because of austerity, economics, or the fact that the Chinese refuse to subsidize our massive government debt anymore--where will that leave us?
And even in George's world where the African American's in Ferguson are empowered and taking control of their government, I want them to be like me as well. I don't want them to end up empowering themselves and turning into Detroit. In the end, how are we going to complete with the Germans with our major cities turning into Detroit? Such is the way my prejudices flow.
No comments:
Post a Comment