Tell me what happened in Missouri. Was it warranted? Did this stem from deeper roots?
Do you notice anything about how the U.S. media reports on it vs. Canadian media?
If you like, you can tie this into larger racial issues that exist in the U.S. In your opinion,how are they different/similar to Canada ?
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ReplyDeleteThis is my weekly post...
ReplyDeleteOn August 9th 2014, an African American teen was shot to death by Darren Wilson, a white police officer in Ferguson, Missouri. In the Southern American State of Missouri, racial tension has been an ongoing issue. The African American Civil Rights movement only occurred in 1954-1968, since then the level of violence and racism towards African Americans has been significantly reduced, however it is still there under the surface and in more indirect manners. The shooting of Michael Brown was the final spark to the tensions in the town of Ferguson as his death was the inspiration to the black community to begin rioting for justice. However the riots were not just a cry for justice, it was also part of the deeper issue of racism.
In reality, media is biased. Articles and news reports are written in a way that portray what the writer wants you to read. An example of such is displayed in the following link (Source 4). Witnesses of Browns murder state that Brown had his hands up in surrender to show he was unarmed when the officer pulled out his gun and began shooting, however the Police Department countered that statement claiming that Brown had attacked Wilson and that his shooting was an act of defense (Refer to source 1). In my opinion, pulling a trigger 5 times, before finally shooting a fatal shot to the head, is in fact an act of hatred, and more specifically to this case, racism. If Wilson was really acting out of self defense, he would have been in a rush to kill Brown, rather than shooting 5 pointless bullets, therefore the killing was unjustifiable. What defense does Wilson have? Even if he claims his life was in danger, why would he not have killed him on the first shot? It is not unheard of for blacks to be targeted in the U.S, for example, a similar case is the Rodney King case, a black man whom was severely beaten by some Los Angeles Police officers without any aggravations.Racial discrimination between the Blacks and the Whites has always existed in the United States (for example the KKK) and why is it that you consistently hear about white cops shooting or beating African Americans? It is not the first occurrence.
All in all, racial discrimination has been an ongoing issue in the United States, so this act of violence was nothing less than an unavoidable outbreak to the building tension that existed amongst the black and white community. The United States claims equality through the Civil Rights legislation created in 1964, however clearly society has not adopted and accepted such, as racial discrimination is still an issue in the U.S. Questions to think about include: Why do you not as often hear about police officers beating or shooting Hispanic's or Asians? Did you know in 2012 a it was documented that at least twice a week a white police officer shot and killed an un armed African American? (Refer to source 3) Government officials such as Police Officers need to set a better example to the civilians of the United States as police officers are looked highly upon and can influence a populations way of thinking. We are in the 21st Century, it is time to start acting like it.
Citations:
1) McLaughlin, Eliott, Joe Sutton, Faith Karimi, Mayra Cuevas, Ben Brumfield, Catherine Shoichet, and Jason Carroll. "What we know about Michael Brown's shooting." CNN. Cable News Network, 1 Jan. 1970. Web. 8 Sept. 2014. .
2) "Deep-Seated Racism At The Root Of Ferguson Police’s Handling Of The Mike Brown Shooting." PoliticusUSA. N.p., n.d. Web. 9 Sept. 2014. .
3) Today, Usa. "Calls for cop's arrest in Michael Brown shooting grow." USA Today. Gannett, 9 Sept. 2014. Web. 9 Sept. 2014. .
4) http://nhsmun2010press.wordpress.com/2010/02/03/comparison-of-bias-in-articles/
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ReplyDeleteIn Ferguson Missouri, on August 9th, 2014, and unarmed black teenager named Michael Brown, was shot multiple times and killed by a police officer by the name of Darren Wilson. Following this tragic event, many of Ferguson’s citizens gathered peacefully to protest this unjust act.
Despite the generally peaceful assembly that the citizens of Ferguson had engaged in – which is completely within their rights – the Ferguson police responded with “a highly armed presence meant to contain demonstrators and prevent violence.” (Source 1). Some of the tools at the disposal of the Ferguson Police include body armour, rifles, tear gas, rubber bullets and armored, mine-resistant vehicles. These materials have been given to Ferguson, as well as many towns in America, by the United States government, after the event of 9/11, and they do have the ability to use them if they deem it to be necessary (Source 2).
While Ferguson does have the ability to use these militarized weapons and supplies should they feel it is necessary, I personally feel that they are being wildly misused in many instances.
An article posted on August 17th, 2014 and updated the following day, shares details about a tear gas attack on the Ferguson citizens, which took place the evening of the 17th. It states that the citizens were hit with tear gas hours before their city-wide curfew, and without provocation or cause. Among the attacked were children, some as young as eight years old (Source 3).
Another article states that innocent civilians have also been shot multiple times with rubber bullets, despite them having their hands in the air and yelling “Don’t shoot!”. After one man was shot with rubber bullets several times, he fell to the ground, and the police proceeded to tackle his body.
This quote from a man named Justin, a 29-year-old protester really caught my eye: “The police are responding with force, which you can understand to a certain degree. But this amount of force is unwarranted. This is an abuse of force. No one is firing guns at them or running at them. This is an overreach.” (Source 4).
What the Ferguson police are doing right now is a prime example of abuse of power, as well as use of fear tactics in order to control the masses. Their actions have severely infringed on the citizens of Ferguson’s rights, and are unacceptable in any country.
Things to consider: Do you think that the police need to be better monitored, or are the police in Ferguson just a rare example of corruption? Do you think small towns like Ferguson should have militarized weaponry, or is that just asking for trouble?
Source 1: Lopez, German. What Happened in Ferguson, Missouri Following The Shooting? 11 September 2014. 11 September 2014 .
Source 2: Press, The Associated. Police Militarization Under Scrutiny on Capitol Hill. 9 September 2014. 11 September 2014 .
Source 3: Post, Huffington. Ferguson Police Fire Tear Gas At Protesters Hours Before Curfew. 17 Augyst 2014. 9 September 2014 .
Source 4: Swaine, John. Michael Brown Protests in Ferguson Met With Rubber Bullets and Tear Gas. 14 August 2014. 11 September 2014 .
The unnecessary cruelty and civil unrest at injustice you're talking about, for me, drew parallels to the Gaza conflict. Simply looking at pictures one can see can after can of tear gas falling on violent and nonviolent alike. Wether it be peaceful protesters in Ferguson or innocent children in Israel and Palestine (source 1) the brutality is uncalled for.
DeleteThere have been questions of racism in both cases (source 2). It seems apparent that racism is a key factor in both assaults and in both protests and it is certain that unnecessary measures are being taken in both cases. What is happening in Ferguson is just missing deaths to be equal to an actual war zone.
http://thecairopost.com/news/120432/albums/shelling-clashes-after-breakdown-of-72-hour-gaza-truce
http://www.salon.com/2014/08/22/ferguson_and_gaza_the_definitive_study_of_how_they_are_and_are_not_similar/
The Ferguson Police Department's use of militarized weapons is highly controversial. Now, mostly through social media, military veterans are speaking out, comparing their experiences in combat with the policing tactics in Ferguson. Kyle Dykstra, an American veteran, said in a Washington Post article that despite going through dangerous areas of Afghanistan, he "didn’t wear that much gear", (referring to the amount of gear that the Ferguson Police officers were wearing). Jason Fritz, a former Army officer, said in the same article that he “...can’t think of a [protest] situation where the use of M4 [rifles] are merited". These firsthand accounts are further proof that the militarized weapons and tactics used in Ferguson were excessive and simply escalated the situation.
DeleteMore veteran tweets regarding Ferguson:
https://storify.com/AthertonKD/veterans-on-ferguson
http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/checkpoint/wp/2014/08/14/military-veterans-see-deeply-flawed-police-response-in-ferguson/
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ReplyDeleteOn August 9th 2014 Michael Brown was shot in St. Louis, Missouri. Two African American teenage boys were walking down the middle of the street illegibly causing no harm to the community. As the two young men proceeded to walk down the middle of the street a cop car pulled up beside the two boys and stated “get the F on the side walk” (source one). The young men assured the officer that they were a minute away from their destination and they weren’t causing anything in the community. The officer then proceeded down the road for a minute but then he stopped and reversed his car blocking off the two lanes. He tried to open the door but they were too close to the car. The officer then grabbed Michael Brown and as Michael Brown was trying to get away then officer said “ill shoot” (source one). The officer then proceeded to shoot Michael Brown. The two boys ran after the first shot and the officer proceeded to shoot Michael Brown again, and then another 7 times.
The officer that shot Michael Brown states that he got attacked my Michael which then provoked him to shoot. Looking at the facts “it has also has opted to file open record requests for the U.S.'s largest 25 cities regarding unarmed civilians killed or injured by police officers.” (Source 2) So is this another case of a police officer abusing his powers in his community? The state of Missouri has been dealing with racial issues for a while now as the law enforcement is almost entirely white and two thirds of the population is black. Personally I think this is another one of those cases where someone with a badge thinks that they know everything and that he can shoot someone up and just say it was self-defense because he attacked me first. To me, Michael Brown should not of been shot, let alone 7 times. Not only do the united states discriminate just in the police force, racism is seen in education, jobs and in wealth. The black unemployment rate is three times as high as white unemployment rate.
In Conclusion racial discrimination has been going on for many generations and this outbreak with Michael Brown is just a reminder of what our world is capable of. There have been many laws and changes about this problem but no one has adapted to them. We live in a century where everyone judges each other one way or another. Weather it be on a social media or in person everyone does it. So think about this: If police claim that all kids do on social media is judge each other, then tell me how its different for them to discriminate and shoot up innocent people because of their skin color. Kids our doing an online version of what society started along time ago.
Source one: http://www.democracynow.org/2014/8/12/the_killing_of_michael_brown_missouri
Source two: http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2014/08/22/fergusons-racial-problems-are-not-unique-to-ferguson
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ReplyDeleteOn august 9th, 2014, an unarmed black teenager by the name of Michael Brown, was shot and killed by a police officer named Darren Wilson. The shooting sparked a series of protests and outrages all over social media.
There are multiple questions to be asked here. How does the media deal with an event such as this? Is this a clear act of racism? How much authority do police officers have before it is deemed unlawful or unwarranted?
Bill O'Reilly, an American television show host, stated that he is "Furious about how the shooting death of Michael Brown is being reported and how some are reacting to it". (Source 1) Not how the actual incident is shocking or the misuse of police authority is clearly present, but how people are reacting to -and reporting- it? Also for Fox News, Sean Hannity stated that he is confused why people have so many problems with the police. "When a cop pulls me over, I put my hands outside of the car. If I’m carrying a weapon, which I’m licensed to carry in New York, the first thing I tell the police officer is, 'Officer, I want you to know I have a legal firearm in the car.' First thing I say to the officer! He’ll ask, 'where is it?' And I’ll say, 'It’s in my holster.' And he says, ‘Alright, just keep your hands outside.’ That’s usually the protocol. And then, ‘Can I have your license and registration, please, move slowly.' And I often would even step out of the car, lift my shirt up so he can see where the gun is. And you handle it. ‘Yes, sir,’ 'no, sir,’ writes me a ticket, 'thank you, sir,’ and that’s it. You battle the issue in court!" Mr. Hannity made this claim regarding the incident of Michael Brown. Here's the problem. Hannity is a rich, white male. Brown, an african american who A: did not have a weapon in the first place, and B: had his hands in the air according to witnesses at the scene. (Source 2) Take into account that 86% of all stops in Ferguson are black while they make up 63% of the population. Also that in all arrests, 92% of them are black. Also keep in mind that out of the 53 commissioned officers in Ferguson, only 3 of them are black. (source 3)
There is a clear indication of racial profiling, but the events following the shooting also strike some interest. Do officers of the law take things way out of their jurisdiction? The short answer is yes. Events following the shooting caused uproar and protests in the streets of Ferguson. The Monday following the shooting involved tear gas being thrown generally peaceful protest, two men being shot, and dozens arrested. As the protestors persisted, on August 18th, the National Guard was called in. There were armoured vehicles, guns, tear gas, you name it. Is all this necessary? I feel there more reasonable actions can be taken to keep the peace. There is a video depicting some of the events which happened during the protest (Source 4).
The town of Ferguson has a history of racial discrimination cases. One man was brutally beaten by four officers then was charged for damaging government property. The property in question is an officer’s shirt which got the man’s blood on it. (Source 5) This is not only about one single case in a single town. Racial discrimination occurs everywhere, every day, and it’s clear that just by being black, you can STILL be discriminated against, and racism seems to be a never-ending conflict.
Sources:
1- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Bnf-35fZeE
2- http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/08/14/sean-hannity-cops-mike-brown_n_5679087.html
3- http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2014/08/13/us/ferguson-missouri-town-under-siege-after-police-shooting.html?_r=0
4-https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zfwjcz8irmU
5- http://rt.com/usa/180680-ferguson-henry-davis-blood/
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ReplyDeleteThe case of Mike Brown’s shooting has become a topic of discussion all around the world, this case has left thousands of people questioning the abuse of power of those who claim to “protect and serve”. Although some say racism is a thing of the past, there are cases like this which happen every day which proves that racism, prejudice and discrimination are very much alive and play a huge factor in today’s society.
The United States are one of the most influential countries in the world, but could they have an even larger role in racism than people think? To further analyze this, I conducted research on Mike Brown on two large new sites, The New York Times and
the Toronto Star- one written by a US citizen, the other by a Canadian.
When I searched for Mike Brown in the NY Times, the first article that comes up is titled “Police Say Mike Brown Was Killed After Struggle for Gun in St. Louis Suburb”, in the article there are two sides to be heard, the defending officers, and Mike Browns family/people of the community. The article starts with the officers reasoning behind the shooting, being followed with statements from those affected by the shooting. Even though the article shows both sides to the shooting, I believe that the first thought people have when glancing at the article is “Did Mike Brown antagonize the officers?” or “Who’s fault was it?” The title of the article and opening paragraphs can lead a person to believe that it may not have been the officer’s fault despite it being proven that Mike Brown was unarmed.
Taking a look at the Toronto Star, the first article I found relating to Mike Brown was a video titled “Community outraged after police shooting of teen”; the video discussed the facts of the case, interviewed witnesses and spoke to Mike Brown’s mother. At no point did it try to excuse the actions of the police officer at fault.
After my research I have come to the conclusion that even without knowing it, we are influenced by media every day, and whether it’s positive or negative it can change our outlook on the world. This is why people need to focus on facts and realize that looking at the world with discrimination and prejudice will not solve the issues in today’s world.
Sources:
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/11/us/police-say-mike-brown-was-killed-after-struggle-for-gun.html?module=Search&mabReward=relbias%3Ar%2C%7B%222%22%3A%22RI%3A16%22%7D&_r=0
http://www.thestar.com/news/2014/08/10/missouri_community_outraged_after_police_shooting_of_teen.html
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ReplyDeleteOn Saturday, August 9, 2014, an un-armed African American teen was shot dead by a white police officer of Ferguson, Missouri. Darren Wilson, a "six year veteran of the force" shot 18 year old, Michael Brown, multiple times while reporting to the robbery of a convenience store. This sparked riots with protestors demanding justice as an end to the racial discrimination displayed in the shooting. Two sides of this story are presented through the media, including the witnesses' side and the St. Louis Police Department, who say that Wilson's actions were an effort in defending himself, which seems to people as being fairly biased towards a member of their team. Witnesses argue that Brown was shot mulitple times while having his hands raise in the air, and causing no threat to anyone including the officer. In my opinion, there is no arguable reason to shoot an unarmed and surrendered teen, multiple times to the point of being fatal. I believe that these actions could have been a reflection of the racial discrimination that the mostly white police department has towards the mostly black community.
There are many biased reports on the death of Michael Brown which show the views of different groups of people from different areas. The Canadian reports and U.S. reports on the shooting differ slightly, in which the Canadian reports are more focused on the efforts of eliminating the disciminative behavior, where as the American reports are mostly looking at Darren Wilson and what his side is along with the rest of the St. Louis Police Department. These two sides show the views of different countries and makes us able to see what is really important to them. This shooting, among many of the others that have been linked to discrimination could be used as evidence that racism is still a big concern in today's society. Another problem that the death of this teen could be tied to, is the misuse of weapons used by police forces across the world, which is a huge concern for the safety of communities, especially when we should feel protected by the authority that they hold. The problems that this case has brought forward shows us the severe changes that need to be looked after in order to stop these tragedies from taking place.
After researching this topic I personally find this crime extremely unsettling and regard this as an act of hatred and racism and not a "self defence" case as claimed. This story is much greater than just this one shooting in the St. Louis suburb, this story makes us realize that despite the idea that we have reached equality for all races, discrimination is still very real and has presented itself as an ongoing issue I'm society today.
Sources:
1. http://wnep.com/2014/08/15/ferguson-police-release-name-of-officer-involved-in-Michael-brown-shooting
2. http://www.cnn.com/interactive/2014/08/us/ferguson-brown-timeline/index.html
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ReplyDeleteAs was mentioned before on previous posts; Michael Brown, an African American 18 year old, was shot by a police officer on August 9th 2014 after reportedly surrendering to the officer. A cellphone video taken immediately after the shooting seems to support the previous accounts that Brown was indeed surrendering, with his hands in the air, when he was shot.
This event had caused an uproar through out the community of Ferguson and the whole of America. It has brought to light many issues that most people hoped were being resolved. The shooting, done by a caucasian officer, has revealed the racial discrimination, profiling, and rash actions of the police force within that community.
Immediately after the death of Brown the community, of whom 67% is black, began protests against the abuse they believe they are receiving by those in authority. On a BBC report, a man is stated to have said that he now fears for his family's safety from "overzealous authorities". The police force is 93% white. For a community that the majority is black citizens there seems to be a lack of representation.
The protests, most of which were peaceful, showed a community striving to show the injustice and fight for a safe place to live. The police reacted to this with armoured personnel carriers, riot police, tear gas, rubber bullets, and an overall show of extreme force.
In my opinion, whether Brown had surrendered (as many said) or whether he attacked the officer (as others stated).Whether he was a suspected robber or whether he was fooling around in the streets, shooting the unarmed teen five times was drastic. The other fact was that, at least in Canada, an officer must have a very good reason to even unholster their weapon, makes it seem like this officer reacted very rashly. This makes me wonder if this shooting did stem from other deep rooted issues. As mentioned before, there seems to be a very uneven racial balance in the police force. If only 7% of the police force is black yet 67% of the community is black there seems to be an issue. When the Force was told this they; "cite a lack of applications from black candidates as part of the problem." (BBC) This is a good reason but does not justify the situation. There very likely is a reason why not many African Americans are applying if they would be surrounded by what they feel is an overpowering majority.
In Canada, civil jobs, such as the Fire Department, must have a reasonable percentage of their employs being women and another percentage being other ethnicities than caucasian. This regulation took a while to enforce because not many woman or 'non-white' people felt they could apply and be welcome but after a while things evened out. This issue of racial inequalities has been happening, not just in America but the world. Yet each country deals with it differently and I believe America needs to find a way to overcome it (as Canada has tried) before more victims are killed and protest become brutally violent.
My sources:
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-29146632
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-28841350
http://www.macleans.ca/politics/worldpolitics/new-video-could-bolster-case-that-u-s-teen-michael-brown-was-surrendering/
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-28890068
http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/michael-brown-shooting-highway-protest-over-grand-jury-leads-to-35-arrests-1.2762731
MARK THIS ONE PLEASE
ReplyDeleteRioting and protesting broke out in Ferguson, Missouri after Michael Brown, an unarmed black teenager, was shot and killed by a local police officer named Darren Wilson.
From my speculation, the shooting of Michael Brown was completely unwarranted. As previously mentioned, Wilson claimed that Brown had attacked him, which is obviously untrue. The autopsy even revealed that Brown had been shot multiple times in the head, chest, and on the insides of his arms- which indicates that he had them raised. These "precautions" seem a little extreme seeing as Brown was both unarmed and visiting his grandmother.
But the struggle in Ferguson did not end at Michael Brown’s untimely death, instead it shed light on the obvious issue of racial discrimination in both the media and in the American Judicial system as a whole. This ignited a series of peaceful protests-turned-riots-turned-tear-gassings-by-the-national-guard all of which have forced the world to take a much needed look at our society, and how media impacts it.
The first major issue that this shooting has brought to light is the obvious racial prejudice within the media. Brown, who would have attended college this fall, was depicted poorly in most news stories. For example, the photo most commonly used to portray him was him, unsmiling, in a tanktop, throwing up “deuces”, as opposed to his graduation photo or one of him smiling and looking friendly. Portraying Brown like that only gave people a reason to believe that he might have been aggressive towards the officer, it felt to me like some articles were defending the officer, as though they wanted to portray Brown in a negative light. This perpetuates the “thug” stigma that revolves around most African-american people in our society, which while close-minded and untrue, greatly affects how black people are portrayed in any form of media, and more importantly how we as a society perceive them. This is how racial stereotypes are perpetuated. No one would think twice about Brown having a weapon if he had been white.
Another issue I found with the media surrounding this event was how poorly it had relayed information to the public, which by any definition, is the media’s only job. It was nearly a week before the police has released the officer’s name, or any other information. In my opinion, this is why the protesting and rioting occurred; how else were people meant to react when an innocent man had just been killed with no justice? I think this definitely shows the difference between Canadian and American media, with an example being the shooting of Sammy Yatim in July 2013. Sammy was shot 9 times by a police officer on a Toronto street car. This immediately caused a large amount of panic and protesting in Toronto, which the police responded to a mere two days later, when the Toronto police chief released an official statement which gave the name of the officer involved and more importantly how the police force was going to handle the situation properly. I think that this shows dedication to justice more than bias towards an officer. Leaving people in the dark and not bringing justice to the deceased the way that the Missouri police did is what brought on the upheaval in Ferguson.
Overall, the shooting of Michael Brown was handled very poorly by the police and the media. People can no longer ignore the blatant racial profiling and unjust, violent policing that still runs rampant in America.
http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2014/08/13/us/ferguson-missouri-town-under-siege-after-police-shooting.html?_r=0
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/aug/15/ferguson-police-darren-wilson-michael-brown-shooting/
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2381126/Outrage-Canada-police-officer-shoots-man-times-13-seconds-caught-video.html