Disgusted By the Media Frenzy in Ferguson, Missouri

Disgusted By the Media Frenzy in Ferguson, Missouri

Why would anybody in the media let facts get in the way of sensationalism? With few exceptions the talking heads and the usual suspects who encourage protects before an investigation can be completed have already charged, tried, and convicted the white police officer who shot Michael Brown, who was found to be unarmed at the time of the incident.  Whatever happened to due process? Where did the concept of “presumed innocent” until “proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt” disappear from our national consciousness?

Those who rush to judge are truly no more evolved than the Egyptian jurists who sentenced a group of individuals to death without any affording them any right of defense or appeal. I am appalled at the news reports, the editorials, and the burning and looting.  And the government officials who pander to the anarchists should be impeached. It is the responsibility of our elected and appointed officials to ensure the rights of the alleged shooter are protected.

Yes, discrimination still exists in the United States of America. There will always be some humanoids that discriminate against others that are different.  It isn’t right but it exists. But that doesn’t mean that this incident resulted from racial discrimination or profiling. Our country has come a long way since the days of Jim Crow. Statistics show that the predominant cause of violent death among black young men is black on black violence – not rogue police officers. The national news media, however, prefers to focus on those events that bring the biggest ratings. And a white man shooting a black youth gets headlines and brings Al Sharpton and his cronies to stir up violent protests.  

If Dr. Martin Luther King were alive he would be horrified by the violent antics of these protestors.  Dr. King was a man of peace. It is a disgrace to his legacy that those following in his footsteps have advocated such violent protests.

Police officers place themselves in peril on a daily basis. Those who do not serve the public in such a role cannot know what is in the mind of an officer who believes he is threatened.  If I felt threatened, I would not wait until I saw a gun pointed at me before pointing mine at the perceived threat and firing.

My parents always taught me not to judge a man until I’ve walked in his shoes – or until I’ve sat on a grand jury or jury and heard all of the evidence.  Trial by media or public opinion is essentially a lynching. I thought we as a nation had moved beyond such barbarism.