David A. Lieb and Holbrook Mohr have this story for AP, headlined, "For some, location of Brown's hands irrelevant."
The word spread within minutes of Michael Brown's death -- a young black man with his hands raised in surrender had just been shot by a white cop.I disagree. Truth always matters, but especially when the goal is to cure or at least ameliorate a pathological condition, whether medical or social.
Soon, "Hands Up. Don't Shoot!" became a rallying cry for protesters in the streets of this St. Louis suburb and a symbol nationwide of racial inequality for those who believe that minorities are too often the targets of overzealous police.
Yet the witness accounts contained in thousands of pages of grand jury documents reviewed by The Associated Press show many variations about whether Brown's hands were actually raised -- and if so, how high.
To some, it doesn't matter whether Brown's hands literally were raised, because his death has come to symbolize a much bigger movement.
If you had a medical condition, wouldn't you want the correct diagnosis so that you can get a treatment that will actually cure or alleviate the condition you actually have? Of course you would. For anyone who seriously cares about fixing what is wrong, rather than scoring political points for a predetermined position, the truth matters.
This is only one case, to be sure, but even in science particularly well-known single cases have led us astray when badly handled. The "Three Faces of Eve" case turned out to be suggestive questioning, not multiple personality disorder. A classic case of multiple instances of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome in a single family turned out to be serial murder.
Because of the notoriety of this case, it is important to understand the real reasons Michael Brown died. Quite simply, he died because of the antisocial choices he made. First, he chose to commit a robbery. Second, he chose to react violently to the police officer who properly suspected him of it. Neither of these is a capital offense, and it is tragic that he died, but clues to preventing further such tragedies begin with a correct understanding of this one.
Why do too many young people grow up with the idea that you can go ahead and take what you want, even if it belongs to someone else? Why is there so little respect for the law and for the rights of others? Why do too many young people grow up with the idea that a violent reaction is called for in response to minor provocations or perceived slights?
Given the very large differential in crime rates, we also have to ask why these attitudes are so much more common among black youth. Bill Cosby's past transgressions should not obscure the fact that his recent message was correct. Prior generations fought to open the path upward, and it is there for anyone with gumption to climb it. Why, then, are so many uninterested in the honest path to success and instead willing to ruin their lives by taking the path of criminality? Michael Brown had made some progress on the right path, but on his last day he chose the wrong one, and that is why it was his last day.
The problems of overincarceration and of its disparate impact are not problems of overpunishment of crime but rather of too much crime deserving of punishment. The people who fan the flames of division and resentment are part of the problem, not the solution. If we really want to make things better, we need to focus on understanding the factors shaping young people's attitudes as they grow and moving those factors in the right direction.
Update: David Crary has this story for AP on polarized views of the case.
This is only one case, to be sure, but even in science particularly well-known single cases have led us astray when badly handled. The "Three Faces of Eve" case turned out to be suggestive questioning, not multiple personality disorder. A classic case of multiple instances of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome in a single family turned out to be serial murder.
Because of the notoriety of this case, it is important to understand the real reasons Michael Brown died. Quite simply, he died because of the antisocial choices he made. First, he chose to commit a robbery. Second, he chose to react violently to the police officer who properly suspected him of it. Neither of these is a capital offense, and it is tragic that he died, but clues to preventing further such tragedies begin with a correct understanding of this one.
Why do too many young people grow up with the idea that you can go ahead and take what you want, even if it belongs to someone else? Why is there so little respect for the law and for the rights of others? Why do too many young people grow up with the idea that a violent reaction is called for in response to minor provocations or perceived slights?
Given the very large differential in crime rates, we also have to ask why these attitudes are so much more common among black youth. Bill Cosby's past transgressions should not obscure the fact that his recent message was correct. Prior generations fought to open the path upward, and it is there for anyone with gumption to climb it. Why, then, are so many uninterested in the honest path to success and instead willing to ruin their lives by taking the path of criminality? Michael Brown had made some progress on the right path, but on his last day he chose the wrong one, and that is why it was his last day.
The problems of overincarceration and of its disparate impact are not problems of overpunishment of crime but rather of too much crime deserving of punishment. The people who fan the flames of division and resentment are part of the problem, not the solution. If we really want to make things better, we need to focus on understanding the factors shaping young people's attitudes as they grow and moving those factors in the right direction.
Update: David Crary has this story for AP on polarized views of the case.
The Rev. E.W. Jackson, a conservative black pastor based in Virginia, depicted Brown as "in many ways a typical kid growing up in the black community."
"He imbibed a lot of negative attitudes about what manhood is all about," Jackson said. "I wish this kid could have been redeemed to go on to live a wonderful life."
"But something is wrong when you start wrestling with a police officer over his gun," Jackson added. "I have nothing but sympathy for his parents, but you can't absolve Michael Brown of responsibility for this situation."
Truth matters?
Not to Al Sharpton -- the person who injected race and the "Hands Up. Don't Shoot!" rallying cry into the case.
But no one should be surprised by this. Sharpton did the same thing 27 years ago when he turned Tawana Brawley's false allegations of rape into a racially charged attack on Whites.
Yes, truth matters to most people, including most people in the Black community. But it sure as H!@# doesn't matter to Sharpton. He has a much different agenda.
Yet, despite his track record, Sharpton is still revered by some in the Black community as a reputable leader. He is given his own television show on a national cable network. And the president himself has described Sharpton as "the voice of the Voiceless and a champion for the downtrodden."
The problem is more than that he's still revered by some in the Black community. The problem is that he's buddies with the President and the Attorney General, and was present at the unveiling of the candidate to be the next Attorney General.
Yikes.