I Have A Dream and It's Not Ferguson Racism ~ Michael Brown and The Content of His Character

Fifty-one years ago today, Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered his famous "I Have a Dream" speech from the Lincoln Memorial steps in Washington, DC.  It was a defining moment in the American Civil Rights Movement and landed Dr. King a spot in history as one of the great shapers of modern American culture and thought.

"I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character."

The subject of modern day racism has been right in our faces for the last several weeks.  The fatal shooting of 18-year-old African-American Michael Brown by a white police officer in Ferguson, MO and the resulting riots and militarized police presence sent the subject of racism sprawling across national headlines and raised chatter on social media.

Accounts of what actually happened couldn't be more disparate.  I don't know what happened between the officer and Michael Brown, and neither do you.  And if someone tries to convince you that they know exactly what happened, you probably shouldn't believe them. (If you do, I have some really fabulous oceanfront property in Kansas that I'm trying to sell on the cheap.)  It's a he said/she said nightmare that will probably never be completely sorted out.  Good luck to the sorters, and should it be found that the officer in question used force outside the scope of his duties, he should be appropriately prosecuted.

There are some things we know for certain about Michael Brown.  For instance, it is undisputed that he was unarmed.

We also know that Brown was the chief subject in a reported store robbery that occurred just minutes before the fatal shooting.  Brown was seen by witnesses and recorded on video surveillance carrying a box of cigars from a local liquor store and aggressively shoving and using his significant size to bully the store clerk who attempted to confront Brown on his way out of the store.

We also know that more than half a dozen photos were recently discovered of Brown flashing gang signs with known gang bangers.

We know that Brown, a dabbling rapper, left behind a string of violent thug-like lyrics.  His songs contain flagrant boasts of murder and drug use and sex with hos. They feature poetry like this, "My favorite part's when they bodies hit the ground. I soak 'em up like I'm wringin' out a sponge."

Of course, performing and writing thug music doesn't inherently make Brown guilty of being a thug (although it does make him guilty of using horrible grammar). Nor does flashing gang signs prove gang involvement. However, it does give us insight into his mind and values.

While vulgar rap lyrics, incriminating photos, and liquor store theft certainly don't give local police carte blanche to gun down an unarmed man in the middle of a neighborhood street, it suggests that Michael Brown's character was at best questionable.  And as more information surfaces (the release of his juvenile record is imminent), the half truths and blatant lies of his family, friends, and neighbors are being exposed.  (Could their lies be further proof that Brown was involved in gang activity?  Whole neighborhoods have been known to lie to protect local gang members out of fear or loyalty or both.  No certainties here... just something to think about.)

In spite of Michael Brown's questionable character, his funeral this past Monday was quite the spectacle.  Thousands of mourners filled the sanctuary of Friendly Temple Missionary Baptist Church and spilled out of the building into the streets.  Among the grieving were celebrities like Snoop Lion, Diddy, and Spike Lee.  Famous public figures such as Rev. Jesse Jackson, Rev. Al Sharpton (who delivered the eulogy), Martin Luther King III and Rev. Bernice King were in attendance as well as three White House officials (Broderick Johnson of the White House's My Brother's Keeper Task Force, Marlon Marshall and Heather Foster both of the White House Office of Public Engagement... There are apparently White House Officials for stuff I didn't even know existed.). The funeral was televised and broadcast over the internet via LIVESTREAM (You can still view it here).

Michael Brown has become a hero and a martyr.  Not because of any great deeds performed or kindnesses given.  Not because he contributed wonderful things to society.  Not because he was selfless or talented or courageous or even because he was a productive member of society.  Michael Brown has become a hero and a martyr because he was a black man shot down by a white police officer.

Michael Brown is a hero and a martyr because of the color of his skin, not because of the content of his character.

I wasn't going to say any of this.  I wasn't going to publish this blog.  In our current society, being accused of racism is like a kiss of death.  There is no crime more heinous in our society, where political correctness has run amok and ruined many a good person, and kept many more silent.  People lose jobs, receive death threats, and suffer harassment or persecution, even when the accusations are unfounded and absurd.

Morgan Freeman said, "How are we going to get rid of racism?  Stop talking about it."

I deeply and passionately agree with Mr. Freeman.  The more attention we give racism, the bigger and more real the monster becomes.

But here I am talking about racism, which kind of makes me a hypocrite.  However, I also deeply and passionately believe that there are things that need to be said that aren't being said unless whispered in dark corners.  There are greater hypocrisies that can't go unchecked.  Either we want people to be judged by the content of their character or we don't.  Either we want them judged by their skin color or we don't (and I sincerely hope we don't).  We can't continue to pick and choose depending on whether the situation fits our political or social or personal agendas.

So I may be labeled a racist.  (It wouldn't be the first time.  See my blog essay on The Irony of Black History Month.)  But before you stitch that big red "R" on all of my sweaters, let me just clarify a few things...

Criticizing Michael Brown over his rough and aggressive nature and his romanticizing of thug lifestyle doesn't make someone a racist, even though Michael Brown was black.  Criticizing Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson for their fear-mongering hate-spreading exploitation of a tragic situation does not make someone a racist, even though both of those men are black  Criticizing President Obama over questionable decisions (and there are many) doesn't make someone a racist, even though President Obama is black.

Criticizing black people who deserve criticism isn't racism.  It's judging them by the content of their character.  Their being black has nothing to do with it.

Minorities don't get a free pass when it comes to criticism. Even though the fear of a racist label sometimes causes critics to keep denunciation to themselves, race shouldn't be a veil worn to hide from consequences of bad decisions or poor morality.

I'm siding with Dr. King. We should still be judging people by the content of their character... especially when their character is suspicious.

Whatever Happened To Officer Friendly?

Way back in the Dark Ages, which I like to nostalgically refer to as "the early 80s", I remember meeting Officer Friendly.  Because I was a wide-eyed and innocent little girl in patent leather shoes and pigtails, I honestly believed the guy's name was Friendly, which seemed rather unusual to me, but certainly handy for speaking at elementary school assemblies about how the police are our friends.  Officer Friendly was a super nice and overly smiley law enforcement officer dressed in a crisp uniform who talked to us about stranger danger, street safety, and dialing 911.  If we were particularly well-behaved, at the end of the assembly we got to shake Officer Friendly's hand and maybe even pet his super-cool dog.

It was awesome.  Not only did we get to spend an hour away from the school day drudgery of memorizing multiplication tables, practicing our cursive writing, and learning all 9 planets of the solar system, we got to meet a real-life super hero.  We learned that the police were incredibly awesome, and definitely on our side, and if we were ever lost or in danger all we needed to do was find a policeman and he would save the day.  I grew up believing the police were always the good guys, that they were always there to protect normal people like me from all of the horrible evil bad guys of the world.

Either times have changed or I was a seriously naïve little girl.

Because Officer Friendly would never have shot this family dog in his own back yard. Geist was shot in his owner's private fenced-in yard by a Salt Lake City police officer conducting a search for an allegedly missing child (it was later discovered that the missing child wasn't missing at all, but safe and snug in his own home).  The officer entered the back yard even though there was no evidence suggesting the child was on the property.  The family dog approached him, and BAM.

Because Officer Friendly would never have used a banned choke hold maneuver to subdue New York City's Eric Gardner.  Gardner was being arrested for selling single untaxed cigarettes on a street corner.  The asthmatic, who was heard telling police repeatedly, "I can't breathe" was pronounced dead on the scene. 

Because Officer Friendly would never have ignored a stop sign; t-boned another vehicle, seriously injuring it's occupant; and then arrested the sober driver for DUI.

Because Ferguson, MO.

If you are paying half an ounce of attention, you've seen the disturbing images of an overly militarized local police force.  It's like a frightening  post-apocalyptic nightmare or the latest cheap dystopian teen flick.  Complete with gas masks and assault weapons, the local police have bullied up on demonstrators (both peaceful and violent) with tear gas and rubber bullets, and they've shouted obscenities.  They've arrested news reporters and pointed guns at unarmed individuals and pretty much spread terror. It's pretty serious stuff (and I won't even get into the shooting incident of an unarmed teen that sparked the riots).

The Ferguson police department looks a lot like militarized force.  They hide their faces and brandish weapons in a way that makes them look more like monsters than those who are supposedly dedicated to protect and serve the public.  

The use of surplus military equipment by possibly under-trained police units has come under scrutiny since the images from Ferguson hit the press.  There have been questions about the level of training the police are receiving in the use of military surplus equipment, and questions about the necessity of military-grade equipment to keep peace on our civilian streets in the first place.  But you can't hand people flashy new toys and expect them to let them sit up on some storage room shelf collecting dust.  Just because you hand some a guy a rope, it doesn't make him a cowboy.  Giving a cop military-grade equipment doesn't make him a soldier... although he'll probably want to play at being one.

President Obama once said, "Weapons of War have no place on our streets."  Perhaps he should have qualified that statement by adding, "unless they are wielded by an under-trained police force using terrorist tactics."  Because these are arguably acts of terrorism.  The police are using intimidation and threats of violence to frighten and coerce.  That is terrorism.

With all of the news about police misconduct hitting the news on an almost daily basis, it's starting to become harder and harder to believe in good ol' Officer Friendly.  The police are starting to look more and more like the bad guys, like egotistical thugs who can do what they want without retribution because... well... they're police officers.  They ARE the law (and how dare you think otherwise or bother them with all of that Constitutional bull crap).

We can no longer cling to the notion that every policeman is our friend.  Statistically we are more likely to be killed by a policeman in the line of performing his "duty" than we are to be killed by official terrorists.  Innocent men go to prison after being falsely arrested.  Crime labs tamper with evidence.  Most police brutality cases are never investigated or are investigated from within, all but assuring that the offending officer is found to be operating within his official capacity.  There are cops that have their video equipment "fail" at very convenient moments.  Excessive force is rarely reported.  This is the way it is.

I know some police officers who are wonderful people.  They take their jobs seriously and generally have the public's safety and well-being in mind.  But police officers are, at the end of the day, just human beings doing jobs with a gun and a badge.  They deal with violent people on a frequent (if not daily) basis and could be justifiably jumpy.  After all, when their work day is done, they just want to go home to their families in one piece.

Policemen aren't morally perfect infallible super heroes.  They never were.  And because of their lack of super-human infallibility, we need more accountability for police officers.  Both individual officers and the agencies that employ them need to be held responsible when they step outside of the actions absolutely necessary to maintain order and control crime.  We can't allow the power they brandish to go to their heads.  They must obey the same laws that they are employed to enforce.

Because the more police officers get away with unnecessary brutality, the more they act like arrogant assholes, the more they act like they are above the law, the less faith people have in the system, and the more Officer Friendly seems like the enemy of the people instead of their servant and protector.