This is not a post that pretends to offer new insights, new information, or objective reasoning about the Michael Brown shooting in St. Louis. With each passing day, it seems that the media pulls further away from the catalyzing and most critical event in this series of shootings, protests, and injustices. As groups and organizations with varying agendas continue to dilute and muddle the sharp, inescapable reality of what transpired on the evening of August 9, my anger and sadness continue to build. As I sift through content that focuses on the looters or the shoes that they stole, I wonder, where is Michael Brown in all of this, and where is the man who shot him? As I continue to see posts like the following, my disgust threatens to take over, pushing me to fall for the distractions that we are all being fed:
I have no useful commentary or information, as I've stated. I simply want to take the time and space to say that this is a real tragedy. This tragedy is inextricably tied to who we all are as Americans, the plain, undeniable clothes of racism that we should all be facing right now, and certainties of police brutality that must be addresses on a national level. I could spend plenty of time running through the list of items that anger me about this terrible event, but I have not seen enough content that simply takes a moment to grieve Michael Brown, so I hope that this post merely functions as a small form of grievance for the loss of a young man who did nothing to provoke or call for the cruel end to his life. One of the most powerful images that I've come across is the below photograph, which was organized by students at Howard University. The photo speaks for itself:
As the media continues to ravage our information, I hope we don't forget August 9, and I hope we can process August 9 as it should be: in full form, without distraction, and without unethical reporting. There is no grey area. Trust the sour feeling in your gut: this is what tragedy looks like.