The Ferguson Incident

(Ferguson Riots)

This has gone completely out-of-hand and nobody had the entire story until today. We have had many black communities around the United States protesting the "murder" of Michael Brown as an innocent, unarmed teenage boy who was destined to make himself a success by starting College this previous Monday. By all accounts of the media, nothing at all was what it seemed and speculation only caused riots and violence in Ferguson, and protests throughout the country.

It took an entire week for all sides to come forth. First, the public received Brown's family and friend's side. Next, the security footage was made public. Third, the police department is still investigating the matter, but have stated the unofficial version of events. The bottom-line here is that it is not looking favorable for Brown and this might provoke further instability from the black communities both in the City of Ferguson, Missouri and around the States.

(Michael Brown Photos)

Michael Brown and his friend, Dorian Johnson, were both stopped by police as Michael Brown was suspected of stealing cigars from a local store. The story Johnson told the public is that Brown and him were walking the street when the police pulled up out of the nowhere, harassed the pair, and shot several rounds into Brown while Johnson fled the scene in fear for his life. According to the surveillance footage of the convenience store where Brown was suspected of committing his crime, Johnson's story to the public is already compromised.

According to the incident captured in the surveillance footage, Brown can be seen being stopped by a store employee where Brown stiff arms him and Johnson walks right passed the situation as if nothing is happening. After Brown bullies the employee away from him, he walks out behind Johnson with a package in his hand. This indicates that Johnson was not telling the truth, that he is actually an accessory to the commission of Brown's crime and quite possibly guilty of inciting public unrest. Does this mean that the police should have shot and killed Brown? Lethal force can only be used when the officer's life is considered to be endangered, so the only story that justifies these means is Brown reaching for and failing to retrieve the officer's gun before attempting to outrun the officer's line-of-sight. The only two remaining first-hand eyewitnesses are Johnson and the officer whereas Johnson's word is no longer reliable.

(Reverend Al Sharpton in Ferguson, MO)

Mainstream media has likewise been perhaps the largest culprit of the situation out in Ferguson. They published that Reverend Al Sharpton made an appearance on behalf of Brown's family and that the Ku Klux Klan (KKK) is raising money as a reward for the officer shooting a "thug." President Obama made a comment about ensuring "justice is done" for Michael Brown and the group, Anonymous, made an egregious error. They hacked the police department's database and published the identity of an officer having nothing to do with the incident, which put someone else' life in danger. Not exactly the type of environment conducive to cultivating a peaceful atmosphere. This incident has sparked yet another discussion between leaders of the "race-baiting movement" when race is not the problem. The real problem here is crime and whether the conditions of the situation justifies the means.