AFTER FERGUSON: WHY THERE WILL BE MORE BLOOD

On the Ferguson Grand Jury decision to not indict Michael Brown’s killer, Officer Darren Wilson…

My pen has been silent up to now. I’ve been sharing my thoughts online since Brown’s death, so I’m not sure what’s new to add here.

I’m hurt by the lack of an indictment, but I’m not surprised. Not one bit.

While Michael Brown’s family seeks federal charges to be filed against Officer Wilson, I still think the feds should investigate Ferguson and surrounding cities for running what strikes me as a racketeering operation that is not only funded from financially stressed Black citizens, but the practice also contributes to the current social  conditions affecting St. Louis County.

But my biggest fear appears to be a reality: killers like Officer Wilson and George Zimmerman, regardless of their love or hatred for people of African descent, have a socially-embedded Stay Out of Jail Free card that has been reinforced by years of portraying Blacks as dangerous animals to be feared.

Yes, fear. Studies support the existence of this fear. Here’s an example.

Headlines also seem to support it—John Crawford, shot by cops for carrying a BB gun in a store which sells guns; 17-year old Trayvon Martin, shot by a wannabe cop who believed Martin was up to no good; Sean Bell, shot shortly before his wedding by police officers who feared for their lives; Jonathan Ferrell, who crashed his car and was shot by a cop while looking for help…

Any guesses about what will be the investigative outcome of 12-year old Tamir Rice’s demise?

If a person of African descent has been shot dead, all the shooter needs to do—which works well when the victim is no longer on the planet to refute testimony—is tell a judge or jury that “I feared for my life.”

That’s it. Many members of juries have been subjected to the same social reinforcement of Black fear, and will likely buy the shooter’s story. The resut: no jail time.

However, this Fear of a Living Black Being can potentially pose a wider danger.

For example, what if Blacks moved beyond the point of simply accepting that they can be marked for death in the name of self-defense, armed themselves instead, and began to shoot other races out of fears of being targeted?

How many Whites would accept this new way of reverse profiling?

What kind of society would we have at that point?

Two quick answers—they won’t, and not much…

Song currently stuck in my head: “beyond the wall” – kenny garrett