Uriel
11-25-2014, 04:30 AM
As a liberal, I find it ironic that many of my fellow liberals are outraged by the recent Ferguson decision.
The protesters--many of which are young, white, college students--display outrage at what they perceive to be the injustice stemming from the recent decision by the grand jury not to convict Darren Wilson, the police officer that shot and killed Michael Brown. The problem with these protests, in my view, is that there seems to be a reasonable amount of evidence to support the officer's action. Self-defense is protected by the law, and if we accept the premise that Brown physically assaulted the officer during an altercation, then we must also accept that officer Wilson was justified in his attempt to protect himself, even if it did lead to the tragic death of Brown.
Now, is racial profiling a problem in America? Of course it is. Is it possible that the fact that Brown was an African-American led the officer to subconsciously perceive him to be more of a threat than he actually was? No doubt. But the fact of the matter is, Brown and Wilson got into a violent altercation, and in situations where bodily harm may be involved, people are perfectly within their rights to defend themselves using any means necessary. It's not like Wilson killed Brown just because he was black; he killed him because he was trying to defend himself.
This is why I'm actually disappointed with my fellow liberals for protesting this decision. In doing so, they are, ironically, themselves participating in a form of racism--the bigotry of low expectations. By opposing the grand jury's decision, liberals are in effect sending the message, "Black people are inferior to white people, which is why they must be coddled and held to a different standard." If liberals were truly to believe in racial equality, then they must accept that blacks and whites must be held accountable to the moral same standards. All people should be treated equally under the eyes of the law. As Martin Luther King, Jr, said, "I have a dream that one day, people will be judged not by the colour of their skin, but by the content of their character."
This is not to say that there are no serious structural problems in how law enforcement officials administer justice to various racial groups. There clearly are. All I'm saying is that if people truly believed in racial equality, then they would hold black men like Brown to the same standard that they would similar white men to. Otherwise, they would be participating in the bigotry of low expectations.
P.S. Just my two cents on the subject. I'm neither white nor black, by the way, in case you were wondering.
The protesters--many of which are young, white, college students--display outrage at what they perceive to be the injustice stemming from the recent decision by the grand jury not to convict Darren Wilson, the police officer that shot and killed Michael Brown. The problem with these protests, in my view, is that there seems to be a reasonable amount of evidence to support the officer's action. Self-defense is protected by the law, and if we accept the premise that Brown physically assaulted the officer during an altercation, then we must also accept that officer Wilson was justified in his attempt to protect himself, even if it did lead to the tragic death of Brown.
Now, is racial profiling a problem in America? Of course it is. Is it possible that the fact that Brown was an African-American led the officer to subconsciously perceive him to be more of a threat than he actually was? No doubt. But the fact of the matter is, Brown and Wilson got into a violent altercation, and in situations where bodily harm may be involved, people are perfectly within their rights to defend themselves using any means necessary. It's not like Wilson killed Brown just because he was black; he killed him because he was trying to defend himself.
This is why I'm actually disappointed with my fellow liberals for protesting this decision. In doing so, they are, ironically, themselves participating in a form of racism--the bigotry of low expectations. By opposing the grand jury's decision, liberals are in effect sending the message, "Black people are inferior to white people, which is why they must be coddled and held to a different standard." If liberals were truly to believe in racial equality, then they must accept that blacks and whites must be held accountable to the moral same standards. All people should be treated equally under the eyes of the law. As Martin Luther King, Jr, said, "I have a dream that one day, people will be judged not by the colour of their skin, but by the content of their character."
This is not to say that there are no serious structural problems in how law enforcement officials administer justice to various racial groups. There clearly are. All I'm saying is that if people truly believed in racial equality, then they would hold black men like Brown to the same standard that they would similar white men to. Otherwise, they would be participating in the bigotry of low expectations.
P.S. Just my two cents on the subject. I'm neither white nor black, by the way, in case you were wondering.