Looking at some the comment boards with regards to the Michael Brown case, I am simply stone cold stunned at the brazenness with which some St. Louis area whites are exhibiting their unrepentant racism.
I say some. The metro as a whole is an interesting place, with a mix of diversity and old world charm. Not all the people there want a race riot, and not all whites are sheet wearers. But what stands out is the openness and "part of the network" type of attitude that gives them such confidence to let their bigot flag fly. These people-
with so much rage and bile coursing through their veins, are examples of white privilege and what happens when it is challenged. No less than 11 witnesses have come forward, gone on TV, and in some cases even live tweeted what amounts to a summary execution of an unarmed teen.
While I deal with the odious press, the insanely prejudicial point of view that Brown was dangerous because, "big, black", we are by most accounts, likely to be handed the largest pure miscarriage of justice we have seen in decades.
Watching Democratic politicians unite in an effort to undermine the process has been nauseating, but Missouri politics is a strange animal. The Democratic party there is largely a caustic mix of economic neo-liberals, closeted social progressives, and populist blue collar workers who in the suburbs are often aversive racists.
Jeff Roorda, a longtime State Rep. gyrating wildly in and out of office depending on the cycle, is not only a Darren Wilson supporter, but a founder of his relief fund. I know Roorda, and he is as sneaky and duplicitous as they come. But he is no exception, and as I course through the comments, clenching my teeth, simmering hotter, listening to these so called truths, you know like my favorites, "I'm not a racist, but," and there are black people and there are, well, fill in the blank, I feel trapped in a world of regression and intolerance.
But even if we somehow reconcile ourselves to the fact that these people, and their sunglass tough guy facebook profile pics are truly not the majority of America, the fact is their culture rules this region and enforces segregation. These are the ones talking about their guns, and their training, and how tough they are. Which, no doubt, is why they live in areas where the largest crimes involve bathroom tissue and trees in a front yard (so they think)
But the projection these people are capable of is mind numbing. "The evidence clearly shows", "It is clear this shooting was justified"-you see, when you deal with people like that there is no negotiation or meeting in the middle, there is only a very real, and dangerous, zero sum game being played.
But in a country that has executed men on the words of ONE witness, how can the autopsy, the witnesses, the audio forensics, and even the post shooting behavior lead to nothing? And you expect they won't get prickly, these citizens tired of burying children and living in fear of the authorities ostensibly there to protect them?
In Texas, Gary Graham was charged, tried, and eventually executed on the words of one woman, who in 1981 claimed to have seen him kill a man in front of a Houston Safeway.
One. One woman, who saw an assailant at night from 20-30 feet away. Now this young man was no sympathetic character, as he had gone on quite a crime spree. But one of the most integral parts of our justice system is its intent to operate impartially. This does not always work out, but the notion of "Who cares if the cop was in the wrong, he did society a favor!" is a poisonous strain of thought.
It disavows any notion of forgiveness, repels any hope for emphasis on rehabilitation, is vicious, and is patently, indisputably, and legally a civil rights violation. Those still matter right?
And in the end, even several jurors, having been granted access to the evidence of two disputing witnesses not allowed to testify, signed an affidavit saying they would not have voted to convict. But still, the young man spent the ages of 17-36 on death row, before finally being executed in 2000.
And the same type of racist who would execute a man on the word of one woman, will not even open up their minds to use the words of 11, including two white contractors, to bring to trial one rage filled, over stimulated cop.
Justice does not exist when it can be manipulated to fit the depraved and twisted views of bigots. It does not exist where it can be subjugated by preconceived notions and stereotypes. It does not exist where it can only apply to only a portion of the populace.
Where these conditions reign, exists not justice but merely a pliable and sometimes farcical legal system. Justice in the United States is not a promise, but merely something attempted, and sadly, poorly executed.
No we don't execute the attempt at justice well at all, if fact it seems when it comes to execution-
We reserve our best work for young black men.