Like many people I have been watching the news and following the events in Ferguson Missouri.  A week ago an 18-year-old black male was shot and killed by a white police officer (the colors don’t matter to me, but I added them for context). This happened during the day, in the middle of the street following a police stop for Jaywalking.  After the killing of Michael Brown, things happened quickly. The town of Ferguson is about 63% black and 30% white in population. Blacks in the community, family, and friends of Brown, immediately cried foul. The media having all the elements they need: A black teen, a white cop, no weapon, and a dead body, went straight to breaking news. The headlines (almost all of them) stated, “Unarmed black teen, killed by white police officer.”

Let’s stop here. Have you ever seen a headline that stated an unarmed black teen was killed by a black person? Have you ever heard of an unarmed white person being shot by anyone? Now, black people shoot and kill black teens, adults, and even children every week in Chicago and in many cities across the country, but I have never (and I Googled this) saw a headline such as I’ve described.  For example, many people remember the shooting of 15-year-old Hadiya Pendleton in Chicago on January 29, 2013. She was the black girl who attended the President’s inauguration and was shot and killed in a park following her return. The killers were arrested and charged. (I bet you don’t remember their names or what they look like.)

During lunch at work, I and my co-workers were discussing the Brown case and naturally the Trayvon Martin and Hadiya Pendleton cases came up. Although Martin and Pendleton were not shot by the police, Martin was repeatedly described in the media as an unarmed black teen, when he was shot and killed, by (at first) a white man. Pendleton was never said to be unarmed, although she was.

Everyone at lunch recalled the outrage, protests, and lootings that took place in Florida following the Martin shooting. We also remember how after all the hype, George Zimmerman was found not guilty of any crime. Do you remember how many people were shocked; mostly people who cared little about evidence, facts or the law?

Do you recall the Duke Rape case? Remember the headlines and outrage then? How many people protested, marched, and how many cared nothing about facts and evidence then either, but when the facts were sorted out, they all went back to wherever they came from and waited for the next perfect victim to cry about.

Now, am I saying Brown wasn’t murdered? No, I have no idea what actually happened, but what I am asking is why haven’t we learned our lesson? How many times will people rush to judgment based on the same tired, old, black victim and white oppressor game? Getting back to Hadiya Pendleton, why was she never described in the media as an unarmed black teen? Why was there no nightly protesting or looting? No demands for justice. And why doesn’t anyone remember who killed her?

In the city of Chicago last week there were more than two dozen shooting and multiple murders of young black men and one black three year old child. None of those killed were armed, and you know it. Not one news headline described the victims as “Unarmed Black _______”.  

I drove to the scene where the three year old black girl was killed on the south side of Chicago. I saw a small makeshift memorial of teddy bears and candles. I stopped and said a prayer for the baby. I looked around and saw no one marching, no protest, and no calls for justice. I did see several guys selling drugs, and a few others staring hard at me. I decided it was time to leave when two of them began crossing the street.  

I don’t live in Ferguson, but there is Ferguson in every state. I watched the nightly riots, the burning and looting, and those who peacefully protested. I listened as many people interviewed expressed their outrage and emotion, but spoke little logic or reason. Many people stated that although Brown was a robbery suspect, he was innocent until proven guilty. I thought it was sad that none of those interviewed saw the irony in their not extending the same legal right to the police officer.

As for the rioting and looting in Ferguson, I think most agree that none of that will help anything. But, truly I am not surprised. This is what happens when you remove responsibility and accountability from a man. It was funny to watch television reporters squirm when saying that those stores guarded by gun carrying store owners were not looted. I guess guns do have a place in society.

Some people asked why more blacks have been arrested and stopped for crimes in Ferguson than whites in the past. They also point to the mostly all white police force. Some political pundits claim this is proof of systematic racism and oppression of the black people in that town. Not surprisingly, those same people never go into detail about which people commit the most actual crimes in Ferguson. The pundits also never look into how many black people actually applied to become police officers, or how many of those applicants are qualified. They also state over and over again how the black people do not trust the police force. A wise person would ask: If the black people don’t trust the police why would they want to become one? The media and reporters, somehow never get around to asking that. The media also never ask why don’t the black people of the community distrust and turn against the gangs who, rob, burglarize, extort, rape, beat, terrorize their schools, and kill them by the dozens every month. (I would really like an answer to this, and then let’s see who the real oppressors are.)

As you watch the madness, do not allow those opportunist and race baiters to turn this into a black vs white issue. This has gone beyond a justified or unjustified shooting. It is now about are we a country of laws and responsibility or are we not. Do we want justice, or do we want someone to blame, whether they are guilty or not.