Old Habits Refuse to Die

            I will state right at the outset that I do not have the wisdom, the intelligence or the information to make an appropriate and legitimate decision in the case of Officer Darren Wilson’s shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri.

I was not part of the grand jury and thereby did not hear the multitude of evidence given both pro and con to make any judgment in the case no matter what has been printed or discussed in the media. Nor can I begin to imagine the kind of pressure these people were under by the community in Ferguson and like communities around the country. To everyone, there was one and only one outcome that could be accepted – that the officer was guilty. This is the latest in a series of similar crises over the years.

In this passage I will not render any determination or opinion as to the grand jury’s finding. However, I will address the outcome that occurred away from the court.

            In a previous post, I indicated that the tone of racism has been an ongoing issue around the country and especially in the South since the Civil War. As an example, I’ve heard in clips of the way some white people in the South talk about President Obama. They hate him, not because of any policies, but because he is black. There can be only one reason to me, and that is the way that they are taught at home and perhaps in school. The kind of education that exists reflects the attitudes that people have toward each other.

            The family of Michael Brown indicated that they want a country where all black people can live in a nation without being impaired by their skin color. I absolutely agree with the sentiment. But someone needs to tell me how this is at all possible when we see the result being the jury’s decision going opposite of the community’s passion. As we have seen in similar episodes in the past, immediately after the issuance of the decision, we saw arson, gunfire and looting. People were stocking up on guns before the decision was made public. How can anyone looking in from the outside take any stance other than the negative picture of the black people? The nature of education indicated above must change if we are ever going to make any progress and put the heinous issue of racism behind us.

            I for one am passionate with the desire for a time when we can get past this. When I look at people of other colors and creeds, I do not see a black man, a white woman, an African child, an Australian individual, etc., etc., etc. I see a person. That is all we should see. I may be an idealist in this matter, but I’m a realist.

Racism is ugly, sickening, disgusting and revolting. We must, as a society, find ways of putting an end it.