This is the scene many in the media hope to see this evening in Ferguson. It doesn’t have to be that way Photo: Associated Press
by Shimbo
The grand jury tasked with determining if Ferguson, MO police officer Darren Wilson should be indicted in the shooting death of Michael Wilson reached a decision today, however, it’s believed that said decision was reached as early as Friday of last week.
Starting with news that Wilson met over the weekend with various interviewers and broadcasters, seemingly setting off a bidding war for the first “exclusive” interview, one can assume the worst, that the grand jury will clear Wilson of any wrongdoing in Brown’s death.
The rest of the world will know what some already seem to know later this afternoon, when the decision is made public, but sadly, the only thing that’s being talked about at this point is whether or not there will be some sort of uprising or riot.
Check in with any station or news site and you’ll see calls for calm coming President Obama all the way to editorial columns in newspapers in cities no one from Ferguson will actually ever read.
And why would they?
While we’ve been here before, many times actually, there is something dark in nature about the level of fear-mongering going on in the mediascape, even if it is under the guise of “good intentions”. But then that’s the problem with media oversaturation. While it was always important that a story such as the death of Michael Brown be told as loudly as possible, the trade off is everything that happens now, or is about to happen.
This is more about the media than the potential protests.
If Wilson is cleared, there will be unrest, but that doesn’t have to be a bad thing. It doesn’t have to lead to looting or violence in the streets, although it certainly could. However, the picture that the media now paints almost begs for the worst case scenario to happen. But this isn’t news, so to speak. You should not be surprised that blood is always on the media’s menu. In this, it’s not about the media, it’s more about you.
You the individual. You the critical thinker.
Some of you will look at this as black people causing more problems than is necessary. Others will see law enforcement as irredeemable demons who exist only to subjugate and harass others.
Neither point is true, although there is usually truth in every accusation. Sometimes.
Right now, it’s up to you, the individual, to think about this situation, think about the response and why this is a small part of a larger issue that plagues this country in a way that by 2014, one would think it no longer should.
Don’t let the media shape the discussion, and don’t let what you see cloud your judgment. This is absolutely as much a time for protest as it is a time of peace and hopeful healing. But now matter what, think for yourselves, don’t let someone do the thinking for you, because the results will never be as good as you hope.
Think about Ferguson, and hope for the best.
Hashim R. Hathaway (Uncle Shimbo) is the host of the Never Daunted Radio Network, and proud father to NeverDaunted.Net. You can reach him on Twitter @NeverDauntedNet