Keeping Racism Alive in America...

“On August 9th, 2014 an unarmed teenager was shot and killed in a confrontation with police in Ferguson, MO, a suburb of St. Louis.”

If that story doesn’t ring a bell, let me change it to something you might recognize...

“On August 9th, 2014 an unarmed black teenager was shot and killed by a white police officer in Ferguson, MO, a suburb of St. Louis.”

You know why that version of the story is more familiar? Because of racism. Not the racism that Darren Wilson (the cop) may or may not have had toward Michael Brown (the teen) but the racism that is kept alive and well by the media and folks like Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton. This should have never been about race but it became about race because the same people who are famous for their outcries against racism fuel the very thing they are supposedly fighting so hard to get rid of. If they really didn’t want to fuel racism, then the story would have been about an unarmed teen being shot in an altercation with police. But that doesn’t sell newspapers or get people to turn off “Keeping Up With The Kardashians” to tune into the news. 

I tried to find an article to read in order to brush up on the facts before I wrote this post... it’s not easy, so I gave up. It’s not easy because there are so many conflicting accounts of what happened and every article is heavily biased one way or the other. Also, this all ultimately doesn’t matter because the issue isn’t race, Michael Brown, Darren Wilson, Al Sharpton, looting, riots, blacks fearing for their lives, whites having all the power, an only sort of racially diverse Grand Jury, the justice system in America, or anything else you will read about this Ferguson thing...

... IT’S ABOUT AUTHORITY. 

Here’s the deal:  police have authority. Whether you like it or not, they do. So here are my tips for staying on the safe side of that authority. It will also help you develop positive relationships with your local law enforcement officers.

1.  When a police officer asks to see your ID, let them see it. It doesn’t matter if you have or haven’t done something wrong. Let them see your ID, answer their questions, and move on. If you have nothing to hide, that shouldn’t be an issue. When you don’t comply, the only assumption is that you do have something to hide. That is when people get arrested or worse.

2.  Don’t play with toy guns in public. Cops are payed to protect our communities and, more importantly, protect us. To do this, they also must protect themselves. So, if a cop sees someone with a toy gun (which looks like a real gun), they are going to treat the situation as if that person has a real gun. Wouldn’t you? I know I would. So, if you do bring your toy gun in public (which is really dumb), maybe put it down when a cop asks you to. Once everything is sorted out, you can have your toy back.

3.  Finally, when it comes to relationships with police, there is a big rule that must be followed. Don’t attack a police officer. If you attack a police officer, expect him or her to return the favor. That’s just how it works. It’s like they say about bees:  leave it alone and it will leave you alone. Obey the law, submit to authority, and you won’t get shot by that authority.

Now that I have turned you all against me and you have labeled me as “right wing” or a “gun nut” or a “FOX News fan” or an “idiot” or whatever you’d like to call me, let me tell you something I despise:  police corruption. Like I mentioned before, they are given authority. Nothing makes me more angry than someone abusing their authority. So I will never defend a cop that is in the wrong. But Darren Wilson was not in the wrong and here’s how I know that for a fact...

In America, we are innocent until proven guilty. That’s how our justice system works and I am thankful for that. The first step in proving someone guilty in this situation is taking the case in front of a Grand Jury to see if there is enough evidence for a trial. After 60 or so witnesses and more than 70 hours of testimony, the grand jury (which was selected in accordance with all laws as far as I know) decided that there was not enough evidence for a trial. So Wilson was not proven guilty... ergo, he is innocent. Biased or not, that’s how it goes. He may have not faced a traditional trial, but he did face justice.

Now, with everyone talking about change, I have some ideas on how to fix this issue. Let’s see how many of them you like...

1.  Riot and loot local businesses, perpetuating the issue at hand and making tensions between citizens and cops even more explosive. Once all the rioting and looting is over, everything will be better.

2.  Let America vote, “American Idol” style, via social media and text messages on who is guilty and who isn’t. That’s the only way real justice will be served since our current justice system is broken and highly racist.

3.  Have all police officers work in pairs with one partner being black and the other being white. Then, if deadly force must be used against a white suspect, the white cop can pull the trigger and if deadly force must be used against a black suspect, the black cop can pull the trigger.

4.  Force Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson to address situations in which a white person dies or gets beaten. That’s just because his opinion is so valued in situations like Ferguson, so I’m sure his thoughts would be very helpful in every other situation. And maybe have our president comment on every situation in which someone dies. It might take a lot of his time, but it’s that important.

Or this last one, and it’s my best solution...

5.  Don’t focus on race when things like this happen. Focus on the fact that a person shot another person, investigate it, let the justice system do its job, and move on. That seems pretty simple, right?

So, as a Caucasian dude, I may get some evil stares the next few days when I go out even though I never shot anyone nor did I ever own any slaves. We have to look past that and just see people as people. And the fact is some of those people have more authority than others but we Americans love saying “you can’t tell us what to do!” People can, though. Cops can tell us what to do, judges can, the president can, our parents (when we’re young) can... there are a lot of authority figures that can tell us what to do. So, if you think that you are above authority, then look out, you could become a hashtag.

That’s it for now...