The Police Once Again Close Ranks and Protect Their Own
The decision tonight not to bring the officer to trial in the Michael Brown killing is more than unfortunate; it propagates a system where police officers are almost never indicted by grand juries. Prosecutors control the entire process, and protect their own. I planned a long post on the issue, but a teenager I know wrote a very moving piece and I will publish her words.
One line really stands out: "Our country was built on the systemic oppression of blacks; the remnants of that history are very much visible today".
Her full text:
"I am very upset by the grand jury decision on the indictment of Darren Wilson. I’m not sure if he should have been charged for murder due to the various coroner reports which have emerged in the last few weeks, but killing an unarmed black teenager using excessive force warrants some kind of punishment. This is not just about Mike Brown. This is not an isolated incident. This is about how in this country, which too many ignorantly believe to have overcome racism almost completely, white lives are still treated with more value and care than black lives. Every 28 hours a black man is killed by police. In Cleveland, a 12-year-old boy, Tamir Rice, was just killed by police for holding an unmarked bebe gun. 10 days after Mike Brown was killed, 25-year-old mentally ill black man, Kajieme Powell, was fatally shot 9 times, even though he was 16 feet away from police officers when the first shot was fired and was unarmed (though the police report drastically changed this detail). Please do not fool yourself into thinking that Mike Brown is just a sad story, please be aware that this is just a fraction of a much, much larger problem. Our country was built on the systemic oppression of of blacks; the remnants of that history are very much visible today. The only way to fight this epidemic is to stay informed and educated, and to remain united in solidarity. Please do not forget Mike Brown, don’t forget Trayvon Martin, Tamir Rice, Kajieme Powell, Vonderrit Myers, Jordan Davis, Keaton Otis, or any other victims of racial profiling and/or police brutality, because this is a battle that is far from being won.
My thoughts and prayers to the family and everybody in Ferguson tonight."
One line really stands out: "Our country was built on the systemic oppression of blacks; the remnants of that history are very much visible today".
Her full text:
"I am very upset by the grand jury decision on the indictment of Darren Wilson. I’m not sure if he should have been charged for murder due to the various coroner reports which have emerged in the last few weeks, but killing an unarmed black teenager using excessive force warrants some kind of punishment. This is not just about Mike Brown. This is not an isolated incident. This is about how in this country, which too many ignorantly believe to have overcome racism almost completely, white lives are still treated with more value and care than black lives. Every 28 hours a black man is killed by police. In Cleveland, a 12-year-old boy, Tamir Rice, was just killed by police for holding an unmarked bebe gun. 10 days after Mike Brown was killed, 25-year-old mentally ill black man, Kajieme Powell, was fatally shot 9 times, even though he was 16 feet away from police officers when the first shot was fired and was unarmed (though the police report drastically changed this detail). Please do not fool yourself into thinking that Mike Brown is just a sad story, please be aware that this is just a fraction of a much, much larger problem. Our country was built on the systemic oppression of of blacks; the remnants of that history are very much visible today. The only way to fight this epidemic is to stay informed and educated, and to remain united in solidarity. Please do not forget Mike Brown, don’t forget Trayvon Martin, Tamir Rice, Kajieme Powell, Vonderrit Myers, Jordan Davis, Keaton Otis, or any other victims of racial profiling and/or police brutality, because this is a battle that is far from being won.
My thoughts and prayers to the family and everybody in Ferguson tonight."
RSS Feed
