Freewriting some thoughts on Ferguson

I considered organizing my thoughts into a cohesive analysis of the situation in Ferguson, but I just couldn’t wrap my head around most of it. It just seems so obvious to me, so conclusive. Yet there’s a gray area out there that I can’t begin to see through. So I’m just going to throw some of my thoughts out and see what happens. This won’t necessarily be my opinion on the matter, just some thoughts pertaining to the situation.

I’ll start with one of the first thoughts that occurred to me. Who on earth has the time to stay up all night and riot? Seriously. On a weekday, I get home from work around 4:30. If I have errands to run, I do so, then come home and get dinner ready. I may take a shower, or I may wait ’til morning. I’ll watch a few episodes of something, then be in bed by ten. That gives me a total of like, 5 hours. With a full time job, a house to take care of, homework to do, and three kids, I just don’t have the time to even think of going out and stirring up trouble. Where do these people have the time for this?

I mean, did they officially request time off work? How did that conversation go?

“Hey Boss, I need a couple days off work to protest Darren Wilson. If he doesn’t get indicted, I wanna make sure I can riot and loot and act the fool. Better yet, here’s my two weeks notice, ’cause you know your business is gonna be one of the ones we burn to the ground.”

Yeah, that doesn’t seem all that likely.

I suppose these rioters could be people who are on welfare. That would allow them the time they need to protest, riot, or loot. Although that doesn’t seem right. I keep hearing “This isn’t about Michael Brown; it’s about civil rights and police brutality.” You know, they want to be free of the metaphorical shackles that is the justice system. Surely they wouldn’t be taking advantage of the benefits of the system while protesting it. That would be kind of hypocritical.

What I don’t understand is this:

It’s about civil rights, freedom, and justice. Yet it’s not about Michael Brown because all the physical evidence has proven that Michael Brown was in the wrong. But still, Darren Wilson needs to pay because the proof was probably planted by some obscure person, and the whole world is conspiring to make Brown look bad.

So Darren is now… Jesus. He’s the “sacrificial lamb,” essentially, paying for sins he did not commit. He’s the scapegoat. We should blame Darren Wilson for all racial crimes committed in the history of… ever.

So it’s about human rights. But not Darren Wilson’s human rights. He has no right to defend himself, no right to life. He is now guilty until proven innocent, regardless of the evidence or the grand jury’s decision, or anything anyone says. Because he is our modern day Jesus, and he should pay.

But this isn’t a race issue. I mean, I suppose it could technically be a civil rights issue without being a race issue. Civil rights don’t have to be about race. But protesters are holding signs saying “Black lives matter.” So it is about race. To some people, anyway.

Here’s an idea. Start a committee, decide what you’re protesting, make sure you’re all on the same page, then come back and let us know how we can help achieve realistic, reasonable, and fair goals.

None of this makes sense. The reason this won’t get resolved is because people can’t decide what it is that needs resolving.

I don’t feel like this is about Michael Brown, Darren Wilson, civil rights, or anything else remotely relevant. This is about wicked people taking advantage of a situation involving two grown men who were in an altercation, who happen to be of different race. One life ended that day, the other will probably never be the same.