Black Man Thinkin'

On August 9, 2014, just after noon, Michael Brown and Dorian Johnson were walking in the middle of Canfield Drive in Ferguson, Missouri, when they encountered Darren Wilson, a Ferguson police officer. Minutes later, Brown, who was not armed, was fatally shot by Wilson.

Michael Brown was a black teenager; Darryl Wilson is a white cop…

And that was all the information many needed to attempt to kick the “white cops hunt black males” crusade into high gear.

Almost immediately, the effort to portray Michael Brown as a college-bound “gentle giant”, complete with endearing life images:

was underway, similar to the campaign that followed Trayvon Martin’s death. There were efforts to link Michael Brown’s demise to that of NYPD Chokehold victim Eric Garner.

And, sadly, and predictably, the violent reaction began. On August 10th, the day after Michael Brown’s death, looting broke out. On August 11th, it got worse, despite the pleas of Brown’s family. Police responded with riot control tactics, firing high-velocity bean bags and tear gas at protesters, including an elected official. By the 13th, SWAT officers were dispatched and journalists arrested; the situation looked, well, out-of-hand.

Which prompted Missouri’s Governor to declare a state of emergency and impose a curfew in Ferguson, actions sure to manage tensions…not.

By then, enough “chum” was in the water to attract the country’s two largest race sharks: Al Sharpton appeared in nearby St. Louis on August 12th; Jesse Jackson arrived in Ferguson on the 15th.

However, those visits did not go entirely as planned. A crowd booed Jackson off the stage at an event after he requested donations. Ferguson’s mayor said neither he nor his city’s black leaders wanted Sharpton’s “help”. A former NBA player labeled Sharpton a “coon”. Others had choice words as well, not only for Sharpton, but also for the president of whom he is, and they once were, so fond.

While Jackson’s, Sharpton’s, and Obama’s popularity waned among Ferguson residents, regard for the Ferguson police apparently strengthened, judging by an August 14th call to the Rush Limbaugh program. Perhaps it is because the police arrest the rioters and looters who are mostly out-of-towners with no connection to Michael Brown or to Ferguson; those arrested for felony looting on August 10th already had criminal records.

Those expecting to ride a wave of racial discontent to effect change, beginning in Ferguson, must now combat a wave of apathy now moving through that emotionally-fatigued community. What went wrong?

Winston Churchill once said, “A lie gets halfway around the world before the truth has a chance to get its pants on.” Well, the lies associated with the “Michael Brown Police Execution” account seem to have run their course. Now the truth appears on the move as well.

Let’s begin with the shooting. Early “accounts” indicated Brown, ran from Officer Wilson then, after being shot in the back, turned and faced Wilson with his hands raised in surrender…and then Wilson opened fire again, killing Brown. The assertions that Brown’s killing was an “execution” conjured notions that he was shot at close range. Then, Brown’s family requested an autopsy…

Which Dr. Michael M. Baden, former New York City chief medical examiner, performed at no charge. Baden’s report showed:

• Brown was shot at least six times,
• No bullet wounds to the back of Brown’s body,
• No gunpowder residue on Brown’s body, suggesting the shots were not fired at close range, and
• An entry wound to the top of Brown’s head, of which Baden said, “It can be because he’s giving up, or because he’s charging forward at the officer.”

Afterward, Dr. Baden said, “People have been asking: How many times was he shot? This information could have been released on Day 1. They don’t do that, even as feelings built up among the citizenry that there was a cover-up…”

Indeed. Information available on August 9th was withheld, like the surveillance video of the robbery Brown allegedly committed shortly before his death. Not only was release of that video delayed, the federal government opposed its release altogether. And there is yet more unreleased information.

In response Dr. Baden’s report, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder said the Justice Department would conduct its own autopsy, and Jesse Jackson told CNN, “This is bound to escalate tensions. This is a very provocative report.”

Translation: the report did not say what they wanted.

There is no reason yet for federal involvement in resolving the shooting, unless the feds have a vested interest in a particular outcome. And why is an ostensibly objective and scientific report considered provocative?

And why weren’t these images of Michael Brown available earlier, to give a more complete picture of the “gentle giant”?

And why are Sharpton and Attorney Benjamin Crump (of Trayvon Martin family fame) yet stirring up a violence-racked community with speeches that cannot soothe?

This is no longer about Ferguson, Missouri, and at least some of the residents know it. It can no longer be about Michael Brown; he becomes less useful as an icon the more that emerges about him and the circumstances of his death. And, if in killing Brown, Wilson did not act improperly, then this can no longer be about police brutality or the use of excessive force.

So what does that leave?

It leaves people who want to impose a political result, by violence if necessary, because they believe it is for the greater good, or because it means they will get paid. It leaves Civil Rights veterans like John Lewis calling for federal troop deployment in Ferguson, somehow equating criminal looters in 2014 with nonviolent activists in the 1960’s, and Missouri’s governor calling the National Guard to Ferguson.

This is about control, not of Ferguson, but of the political narrative in America, and of the American people. Someone believes they can stir up enough racial unrest to force a political change that will make martial law not just a local phenomenon, but the national norm. Their narrative, in brief, is this:

The police cannot be trusted; they will kill you and deny all of your rights. Your only hope is to put all of your confidence in the federal government to protect you from the police.

They are unlikely to succeed this time in Ferguson, Missouri, but they are certain to try again, and again, believing you will lose the resolve to remain free and instead acquiesce to the government plantation.