The pattern is becoming all too familiar. There is a claim of a gross injustice with inflammatory allegations. Then there is a media firestorm. When a full investigation reveals the actual facts, there has been no injustice, yet a substantial segment of the population will continue to believe there was, continuing to believe the original, discredited, inflammatory allegations.
First Troy Davis, then Trayvon Martin, now Michael Brown. Different cases, different underlying facts, but the same overall pattern.
No, Michael Brown was not shot in the back. The autopsy conclusively refutes that allegation. Yet the witnesses who claimed to have seen that still said it, and maybe they really believed it, as explained in this article in the WaPo.
These incidents have a deep, corrosive effect on our society. They add to polarization and alienation. What can be done? Well for starters, all of us, but especially those in the media, need to be a bit less prone to jumping on claims such as the ones made in these cases. Lets get the real facts first.
First Troy Davis, then Trayvon Martin, now Michael Brown. Different cases, different underlying facts, but the same overall pattern.
No, Michael Brown was not shot in the back. The autopsy conclusively refutes that allegation. Yet the witnesses who claimed to have seen that still said it, and maybe they really believed it, as explained in this article in the WaPo.
These incidents have a deep, corrosive effect on our society. They add to polarization and alienation. What can be done? Well for starters, all of us, but especially those in the media, need to be a bit less prone to jumping on claims such as the ones made in these cases. Lets get the real facts first.
I fear that the facts no longer matter. Everything is seen through the prism of race and it is in the self-interest of the race industry to perpetuate this sad state of affairs.
"Don't confuse me with the facts (or law), my mind is made up."
Sadly, that is the mindset of most people (of all races) in our polarized country.
America is no longer about "one for all, and all for one." It is exemplified by a "what's in it for me" mentality. And that pervasive attitude has adversely impacted every aspect of American life, including our criminal justice system.
We are talking about the race card here. The fires of racism are fanned by those who profit from it.
I agree that there are similarities between the three cases, but I don't think it can be forgotten that in the Trayvon Martin case, there were serious issues about the propriety of the conduct that led to Martin's death. From a legal standpoint, of course, Zimmerman obviously had the right to do what he did, but if I were walking alone at night, I would be very leery of some stranger following me.
What is sad is that the President plays this very game. I harken back to the Jena Six case. Obama characterized a 6 on 1 racially-motivated assault in which a student was sucker-punched, knocked unconscious and stomped while prostrate until teachers forcibly intervened as a "schoolyard fight." It is simply impossible to believe that Barack Obama would have characterized the attack in such a manner had the races been reversed.