In the wake of the police shooting of unarmed teen Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, there has been a lot of conflicting information. Conflicting information about Brown’s interaction with the police, conflicting information about subsequent riots as the St. Louis black community attempts to deal with its rage and frustration, and conflicting information about how long they left Brown’s body lying at the scene of the crime, his blood running down the street.
But what does not seem to be conflicted is the mainstream media’s attempt to erase the victim. For instance, the Associated Press used the headline: “Missouri Crowd After Shooting: ‘Kill the Police’.”
[This] focuses instead on the most incendiary comment anyone heard at the scene….The only cited source stating the phrase “kill the police” in the AP story is the St. Louis County Police Department. It’s transparently obvious why the police would want the press to know they heard this phrase. This rhetoric, in their minds, justifies the outrageous over-reaction of the police force, including snarling K-9 units and paramilitary vehicles. The cops want the public to know these words were shouted, and they were afraid for their own safety.
We need objective journalism. At the very least, we need both sides of the story.
Team Blackness also discussed the sad passing of Robin Williams and the crippling effects of depression.
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JPL
We need objective journalism. At the very least, we need both sides of the story.
hahaha.. I don’t mean to make light of such a serious subject but the media is more concerned with Brown’s character. Did he have skittles?
C.V. Danes
It would seem that the more things change, the more they stay the same in this so-called “post-racial” America…
rikyrah
You are absolutely correct. Like the ‘ riots’ just popped up outta nowhere.
Ben Cisco
They are hell-bent on creating a self-fulfilling prophecy. After all, the most important things here are:
1. Is the cop being protected?
2. Is everybody else either angry, scared as hell, or both?
ALL OTHER CONSIDERATIONS ARE NON-EXISTENT.
TooManyJens
What Elon didn’t mention in this post is that TWIB is heading down to Ferguson to cover the story. And a good thing, too. Just stay safe, guys.
C.V. Danes
@Ben Cisco: The only consideration is to obfuscate the fact that an armed man charged with enforcing the peace gunned down a boy who was fleeing for his life.
We can talk about America’s complex relationship with race, and yada yada yada, but that is what is boils down to when you strip away all the bull.
Jado
“Only One Side Does It” is only important when the initial action is a murder by a uniformed law enforcement officer. THEN they MAKE SURE you know that the “crowd” shouted “kill the police”.
After all, that tear gas probably has a shelf life. Wouldn’t want it to go to waste….
wenchacha
The ripple effect from the incidents where police kill unarmed black men and women and children will last for a long time. I won’t forget, and I’m a middle-aged white woman. I grieve for the black and latino families who must worry when they welcome a newborn into this world. Will their sons and daughters ever be safe?
How many generations will have to pass for these families until they can feel as free as they have the right to? Slavery, and the criminal theft we have perpetrated on Native Americans are two of the worst atrocities that our nation committed in its early days. It is like a deadly poison in our groundwater.
I pray for Michael Brown’s family and friends that they may be comforted in their time of unimaginable loss. And even thought I’m not the praying sort, I’ll send up one for our country, as well.