Ferguson, God & Country

Ferguson.

That word brings up images race riots. It brings up images of a war zone. It brings up images of a law enforcement officer (LEO) shooting a teenager. This word brings up images of devastated, grieving parents. It brings up images of a justice system that has failed again. It brings up images of burning buildings. This word brings up a city that is imploding. It brings up images of a city in need of healing.

Is this hostility between two or more races true only of Ferguson?

Over a year ago, a hot-tempered civilian, named George Zimmerman, who had been in a foul mood, was driving in his van. It was dark outside and it was raining. He spotted a figure of a boy walking. Disgusted at this intruder, he called 911, and muttered under his breath about this person. Though the Dispatcher dissuaded Zimmerman from following the intruder, Zimmerman rejected her advice. You should remember the rest of the sad facts and the sad conclusion.

Like officer Darren Wilson in Ferguson, George Zimmerman had not been initially charged or arrested, either. It took vigorous protest movements and a petition of over one million signatures demanding an arrest, to charge Zimmerman.

That was in Florida. The outcome of that trial, acquittal, was seen as a travesty of justice by many. Vigorous protests and multiple petitions calling for the Department of Justice (DOJ) to investigate Zimmerman's shooting of Trayvon Martin, ensued. Even before that, all over the country, such racially charged cases have been happening ever since we have been the US.

I know that those who see racially charged cases from one perspective, will usually bring up the fact that most crimes against Blacks are by other Blacks. No one is arguing this. What this perspective misses is that, in those cases, the justice system usually works. This perspective may also miss is the fact that most crimes by whites are by other whites. And in those cases, the justice system usually works. And in crimes against whites by Blacks, the justice system works.

It is just when whites commit crimes against Blacks that we get divided, angry, hateful, and those cases stir up racial tensions. It seems then that the justice system fails most. And that has happened all over the country.

I dare say that the shooting of Michael Brown will not be the last racially-charged shooting, not unless hearts are changed. When will that be?

Even as I write this, talks in the media are focusing on how to tweak laws to improve police training, so that tragedies like the Michael Brown shooting will never happen again. That is good and needs to happen. But both LEO's and civilians continue to carry prejudices or at least implicit biases. We all hold implicit biases. I have them. You have them. We all have them. LEO's have to make split-second decisions and, sadly, we see that they too often make them based on implicit biases.

There is a case in New York, centered on a shooting victim named Eric Garner, also Black. The shooting is known as "the chokehold death." Garner was shot by a LEO, while other LEO's watched. As I had watched this video, it looked like LEO brutality. That is my understanding. It was caught on video. This time, also, the Grand Jury has refused to indict the LEO in this case. This is the Michael Brown case all over again! But this time, the case did not polarize us like the Michael brown case, because it was all caught on video. Protests have become not only national but international, reaching into Nigeria. Though the widespread protests all over New York have been largely peaceful, like Ferguson protests, those protests have turned violent in the past few days. Ferguson is simply a mirror for what is wrong with us. Cops have not had to face any charges in the shooting death of a man with Down's Syndrome (who happened to be white). Years ago, cops were acquitted in the shooting death of a man, Caucasian, and whose father was a well-respected position in his community. But most these cases seem to happen between Caucasian cops and Black males.

This fact about implicit biases that all of us, even the best-hearted, have, shows that our hearts need to be changed. All the hate, divisions and racial unrest are nation-wide and are also world-wide. We know that similar hostility exists between Jews and Arabs in the Middle East and between races all over the world.

Our problem? Sin. It causes racism.

We need to call on God and on His Son Jesus as Savior and Lord. We will only be at peace with each other when we turn to the Prince of Peace.

Racism: Dead or Alive?

I had an idea of what I was going to muse about today. But over this past weekend, things so upsetting happened close to my area. It really is nothing new to us but proves that nothing has truly changed with our underlying racial tensions and even hostilities. A senseless shooting of the powerless by the powerful. The silencing of a member of a minority group by the member of the majority. A community in pain, grieving and unrest once again. A backlash of violence, looting and rage by members of a minority that has had enough.

The Tragedy

The sad incident that caused all of this was the fatal shooting of an unarmed, 18 year old boy in Ferguson, Missouri. Named Michael Brown, he was Black. I saw the tragic image of his devastated mom on TV, as she lashed out: "You took away my son! Do you not know that half of those in our community do not graduate from high school?! My son had just graduated from high school! Do you not know how hard it was for me to keep him in school?! But you have taken it all away!" The mom of another Black son, who also was killed in a similar fashion earlier, had come out to support this family in their pain. She had said: "We know how this family feels. We just want justice for Michael Brown." The cop who had shot the teen had his own version of the story, of course. According to him, he was responding to a physical altercation" that occurred between him and Michael Brown. "He was trying to get my gun" he claimed. The fear is that, as Law Enforcement Officers (LEO's) are known to be close knit, even to a fault via the "old boy's network." Yet it is said that an investigation is ongoing, and the LEO in on administrative leave. But despite the earnest calls of Michael Brown's family and his Pastor to let peace and calm reflection prevail, it did not. Soon Black young people began looting the local Quik Trip, more young people, women and children joined in their activities, and they moved from store to store. They destroyed everything that they could. That local Quik Trip ended up on fire, the manager and workers hid, fearing for their lives, and the store was totally destroyed. Hundreds of cops made their presence known, and 35 arrests were made as the night wore on. Two cops were slightly injured. Much of this seems too much like Trayvon Martin and other victims of senseless gun violence all over again!

Root Cause(s)?

The loss of that young human life and at the hands of a more powerful person, is very sad. We will never know what actually happened, as Michael Brown is not here to give his side of the story. And can we trust that the LEO who killed him, is telling the truth? That is unclear. As many of us know, LEO's often get by with their brutality against members of minority communities and the victims rarely get justice. But the resulting racial tensions in Ferguson only reflect those throughout the nation and which resembled those surrounding the senseless shooting death of unarmed Trayvon Martin. Most of what people denigrate as "race riots" are usually peaceful protests of heartbroken minority communities demanding justice and answers for victims of senseless and unjust violence. Many of such peaceful protests happened after the shooting death of Trayvon Martin. The day after the shooting death of Michael Brown, people marched in the streets to peacefully demand answers in Michael Brown's shooting death. Yet the teens and even women and children, who vented their rage on the community, are much like the Black Panthers who have a $10,000 bounty on George Zimmerman's head. It is easy to dismiss these people as thugs, punks and worse, and cheer that they are behind bars, where they belong. Yet some of us who watched the tragic scene of the violent lootings, know that there are deeper causes of the rage than rage-filled efforts to lash out at the community. We know that these people come from at-risk communities where poverty and hopelessness fuel rage and bitterness and futility. Many of them come from homes where fathers abandon their families and mothers are the heads of their homes. We should not look down on them or feel contempt, but rather pity this sad reality of the Bible's principle that "the sins of the fathers are being visited on the children" and the hopelessness of it all. These people, many of them so young, may never have a future as much of it may be spent behind bars. We understand that Blacks are overrepresented in the prison population. When will it end?

Where Do We Go From Here?

As one legal analyst stated, it seems that we are living in a post George Zimmerman/Trayvon Martin era. The shooting of Black teens is not stopping. The heroic efforts of the Martin family and of other victim's families, seem to be having limited effect. It only goes to show that the root causes go deep, that racism is very much alive, and that we still have far to go. Yes, we have come a long way, especially as far as legislation goes, that give broad protections to minority groups. Racism is now universally condemned. We can speak freely of the need for peaceful race relations. We have a Black President. But unconscious racism remains in many of us. Research shows that most of us women instinctively clutch at our purses when we encounter Black males. Many of us still refer to Blacks as the members of a group, especially when it comes to crime. In the media, we tend to see Black on White crimes portrayed far more than Black on Black, or White on Black crimes. Because of this, we may find it easy to criminalize Blacks, especially males. Recently, I found myself saying, "Wow! All these Black on White crimes" and another time, I was watching a case unfold. I mused, "I hope this is not Black on White. That would just fuel the racism." The truth is, we need to be discerning as we use media, realizing that media reports are probably biased and distorted. Most media, whatever the form, have their own agendas and biases. I promise you, they do. It is our job to discern what is fact and what is just biased opinion. If we do this, we will find it easier to see people as individuals and not as members of groups, and to be part of the solution rather than the problem.

And there continue to be new, sad developments even as I write. The Black Panthers, not content to let the investigation unfold and run its own course, are angrily demanding "Charge that cope with murder now!" A new Black Panther, according to the FBI, is calling for more violence against Ferguson cops. The shooter cop, out of understandable fear for his safety, refuses to release his name to the public. An officer was shot and injured over the past evening. Violence continues in Ferguson.

All I know is that we need to stop the shootings of unarmed teens. Laws alone will not do that. Hearts need to be changed. That is where loving our neighbor comes in, including those who are unlike us.