(For more political comics, visit http://politics.geekforcehq.net)
This comic is about the shooting of
Michael Brown. I have heard simultaneously that people are tired of
hearing about Ferguson while also hearing them rant on about it, so I
felt ambivalent about releasing this issue.
I ultimately decided to go ahead with
it because if you read the portion of my website with political
strips or this blog, you know it is my soapbox. I also am frankly
disgusted by some of the comments people have made on this case and I
have strong opinions about it.
I am a Missourian. I live in the
southwest portion of the state in Springfield. I have been a resident
here my entire life and I voted for Governor Jay Nixon. The leaders
who are in part responsible for botching this mess are people who are
supposed to represent me.
For full disclosure I will note that I
distrust police in general. I respect them for the sacrifices they
make and I know that they are there to serve the community. I am
mindful also, however, that power corrupts, and I feel it is
imperative to question any authority no matter how benevolent they
may be.
I should also note that while I
sympathize with Michael Brown I vehemently oppose rioting and
violence for political ends. It equally disgusts me that Darren
Wilson and his family have received death threats.
This entire situation smells rotten to
me. At every step of this process, the Ferguson police has acted in a
manner which strikes me as suspicious. From the fact that a written
statement was not taken from Darren Wilson on the night of the
shooting, to the fact that Wilson was not cross examined, to the
general hands off approach by the prosecutor to the Grand Jury
proceedings. Why were all of these necessary if Wilson was truly an
innocent man? Why did the prosecutor spend more time defacing
Michael Brown's character than determining if Wilson may have
committed a crime?
It is important to note that this was
not a trial for Officer Wilson. The objective was not to determine
guilt or innocence. Merely to determine whether or not he should be
charged with a crime.
Darren Wilson said of the
confrontation, “I tried to hold his right arm and use my left hand
to get out to have some type of control and not be trapped in my car
any more. And when I grabbed him, the only way I can describe it is I
felt like a five-year-old holding onto Hulk Hogan... That's just how
big he felt and how small I felt just from grasping his arm.” and
“The only way I can describe it, it looks like a demon, that's how
angry he looked. He comes back towards me again with his hands up.”
The demon comment smacks of
discrimination. The pictures of Wilson's injuries do not seem to
support Wilson's account of the intensity of the confrontation. It is
clear that Wilson feared for his safety. Is it unreasonable to ask
that a police officer, a man whom we have entrusted with the right to
use lethal force be able to keep calm in such a confrontation? In my
view, this account raises serious questions about the competence of
Wilson's policing abilities.
My understanding of Missouri law is
that you are permitted to defend yourself with equal or lesser force.
No matter how strong Michael Brown may have been, I doubt the means
he was using crossed the threshold to be considered lethal by most
reasonable standards. I almost believe that police should be held to
an even higher standard, because they have received training for
dealing with situations such as this.
I do not think it unreasonable to ask
of our police to use restraint given the vast powers they wield on
our behalf. We have a long tradition in the United States of civilian
control over police and military forces. It should be acceptable for
civilians to request certain conduct of their police.
Wilson said that he thought mace would
have been ineffective and that he did not want to use it to
relinquish his defensive stance. Was reaching for the gun
relinquishing his defensive stance? Would it have been as easy to
reach for his mace as it was for him to reach for his gun?
Wilson was afraid that Brown had his
face covered with his hands and that the mace could backfire at such
a short distance. These things might possibly be legitimate.
Regardless, they should have been subject to greater scrutiny than
they were and that is the source of my outrage at this case. The
responsibility of a prosecutor is to be impartial and thorough in
determining whether or not a crime was committed. There has been no
counter argument in this case as to whether or not Wilson could have
acted differently. There was no strong line of questioning about
whether or not he could have used mace. Wilson's testimony portrays
him as terrified of Brown. Though I am sure that is true, feeling
terrified should not be considered a viable defense for taking a
life. Perhaps that is manslaughter as opposed to cold murder, but it
is still inappropriate.
Much has been made of how big Michael
Brown was. Just for reference, Michael Brown and Darren Wilson were
the same height. Wilson weighs 210 pounds and would not by most
measures be considered a small man.
There has also been much talk about
Michael Brown being a “thug” in the media. The evidence does
suggest that Michael Brown stole some cigars. Shoplifting from a
store is not even a felony, much less a capital offense. Is that
justification enough for a man being killed? Assaulting a police
officer is a much greater crime, but is still not a capital offense.
I want my police officers to use restraint. There is nothing now to
be done about Darren Wilson, but I would like police forces around
the country to make it the rule to go out of their way to avoid
lethal force. I want them to make sure that it is an absolute last
resort and I remain unconvinced that was the case in this incident.
I've read and heard said countless
times that Michael Brown was not a kid. That statement is more a
semantic word game, but I will grant that Michael Brown was a legal
adult responsible for his actions. More important than being an
adult, however, is that Michael Brown was a human being. Michael
Brown was a brother, a friend, a school mate, and yes, a child to to
his mother and father, to his uncle and his grandparents. Brown had
aspirations to go to Vatterott College. The death of any human being
is a tragedy. Again, Michael Brown acted foolishly and likely
committed crimes the night he was killed, but given the nature of his
alleged offenses that it not a justification for his death.
Michael Brown was at the age where most
white kids go to college, get drunk, and commit petty acts of
vandalism and crimes. I would say that most would not argue we should
throw the book at these young adults or that they should be shot.
Most older Americans have a low opinion of the abilities of these
young people to make decisions. I do not believe they should get off
Scott free, I just dispute that doing things like shoplifting
qualifies as thuggery.
Michael Brown's character has been the
subject of a vicious assault by the media and citizens weighing in on
this case around the country. I doubt Michael Brown was much of a
thug when his teachers described him in his obituary as "a
student who loomed large and didn't cause trouble". I doubt that
a thug writes rap songs about how much he likes his stepmother as
Brown did.
Michael Brown is reported to have
dabbled in alcohol and marijuana from time to time. He reportedly had
a rebellious streak. He would occasionally talk back to his parents.
He took money once that his parents gave him to buy shoes and spent
it on a Playstation instead. Perhaps that is not the model of a
perfect child, but it is a far cry from being a thug. None of what I
mentioned goes beyond the troubles most youth cause for their parents
and teachers during their adolescent years.
I have even read in an article about
how Michael Brown drew on the wall with crayons as a child. So he was
a typical kid? What point are people making by defacing his character
in such a way?
This is a tragedy. Michael Brown's
death is a tragedy. The upending of Darren Wilson's life is a
tragedy. The riots are a tragedy. The failure of authorities to
mount an impartial and full investigation into Wilson's behavior is a
tragedy. It is tragic that incidences like this one are so common and
it is tragic that as a society we do not acknowledge that truth.
I am a relatively privileged and twenty
four year old white dude from Springfield, Missouri. I am fortunate
enough to have a full time job that pays my rent and bills plus
leaves a little money leftover. I will never experience racial
discrimination. I will never understand what discrimination must feel
like. Still, it fills my heart with grief when I hear about unarmed
African Americans being shot in the streets. It fills my heart with
grief that minorities compromise such a disproportionate portion of
the United States prison population. My heart goes out to the Brown
family and all minorities unfairly targeted or brutalized by police.
I am fed up with this country's unquestioning support for police. I
am fed up with our tough stance on crime in spite of lessening crime
rates.
I want police to wear body cameras so
that it is safer both for them and for the victims of their
brutality. I want police to make sure lethal force is a absolute last
resort. I want police to be impartial and thorough in ensuring these
guidelines are followed. I want the injustices inherent in our legal
system to end.