Nobody is well served by the media coverage of events like the shooting of a black person in Ferguson, Missouri. You'll note, I did not say black man because mentally and emotionally Michael Brown was still a boy. But I also didn't say a black child because at 6' 5", 289 lbs. and having just robbed a store, he neither looked nor acted like a child.
It is misleading to portray Michael Brown as a sweet, innocent child, and to publish pictures from his younger years.
Mr. Brown was a big, scary guy who had just committed a robbery of a convenience store and who was charging at the officer. Yes, he was just past his 18th birthday. And, yes, I'm sure he had a lot of redeeming qualities.
But young people, and their parents (black and white), need to understand that committing a crime, acting like a punk and charging at people with guns all have consequences, sometimes tragic ones. Would this whole story have had a different outcome if unemployment wasn't at critical levels in the black community or if so many kids weren't raised by single moms? Or if the media and the President weren't fanning the flames of unrest?
Everyone needs to take some responsibility and stop making this more than it was, a tragedy, no more or less than those that happen everyday in many places around this country.
Sylvia E. Warren
