The left wants us to learn one set of lessons from Ferguson, few of which are found in the facts of the case. We need to crack down on police brutality. We need to understand that blacks are still oppressed by white government authorities. We need to modify the justice system so that verdicts reflect public opinion. But these aren’t the lessons any sensible person will take from the crisis. Here’s a look at some of the things that we shouldn’t soon forget.
The Media Lies
We should have already learned this one. It was established in the case of Trayvon Martin. But if there was any doubt left, Ferguson eliminated it. I’m not sure if it’s driven by leftist ideology or a search for ratings, but the media botched this one big-time. Pundits arguing that an injustice had been done outnumbered Wilson supporters by at least ten to one. Even after all the facts were in, this hasn’t changed. Once the media gets its claws into a narrative, nothing as silly as evidence is going to change it.
Don’t Count on the Cops
As tired as I am of hearing the media excoriate the Ferguson police force, the night of the grand jury’s verdict made one thing abundantly clear: you can’t always count on the cops to protect you. Even though there were thousands of police and National Guard troops at the ready, more than 20 businesses were set ablaze on that first night. Reports in the days leading up to the decision showed Ferguson gun shops experiencing booming business. At least some of the city’s residents knew they could only count on themselves when things got hairy.
Don’t Fight the Cops
There’s a time and a place for disobedience, but it’s never a good idea to instigate violence against the police. This isn’t a moral proclamation; it’s simply a statement of fact. I know “reality” isn’t popular with the left, but it wouldn’t kill them to mention once in a while the series of bad decisions that Michael Brown made on August 9th. Of course, that would go against the new leftist philosophy of “never blame the victim,” an ideology that guarantees we will never rid the country of rape, domestic violence, black-on-black crime, and any other maladies that could be mitigated with a little bit of education. We wouldn’t want the notion of personal responsibility taking root, my god.
Racism Is Bad, Regardless of the Racist
Anytime a white person complains of “reverse-racism,” they are met with an onslaught of liberal outrage. You can’t be the target of racism, the left says, you are the oppressor. It’s time to stop letting 3rd wave feminism dictate the terms of the conversation. Racism is racism. And it doesn’t matter if it’s hatred of blacks or hatred of whites, it needs to go. The more we concentrate on what divides us, the less focus there is on what doesn’t. Is a colorblind America really possible? Not as long as the Al Sharptons, MSNBCs, and Barack Obamas of the world have their say.
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