My Long And Completely Unsolicited Opinion About Ferguson

 Long before Darren Wilson failed to get indicted, I was thinking about justice, and more importantly, I was thinking about whether the notion of "an eye for an eye" was really just. Despite all the changes we have made, the country still thinks  of justice in terms of "Person A was hurt X amount by Person B, therefore Person B gets hurt Y amount." Of course, we have changed the definition of what it means to get "hurt" in the eyes of the law, but justice has always been rooted in this notion of retribution, and it still is.

The conclusion that I came to right as the Grand Jury reached their decision was that "an eye for an eye" is not really just at all, because it doesn't fix the imbalance created by committing a crime. If someone breaks your tv, kicking that someone in the face (or even breaking their tv) doesn't fix your absence of a tv. Because of this, I don't think "an eye for an eye" is correct at all, and I think that punishment in general doesn't actually work, even in terms of validating the victim's pain.

So, how does this relate to what happened in Ferguson? What's fucked up is that it kind of doesn't. Michael Brown is DEAD. TVs are replaceable, but human lives (at the very least in the interpersonal relationship sense) are not. We can't buy a new Michael Brown because that's not how reality works. So really, my idea of justice doesn't really offer any better solution.

But this brings us to the crux of why this Ferguson situation makes me so uncomfortable. It doesn't matter where we put Darren Wilson, be it a prison or a morgue because none of that will change the fact that Michael Brown is dead. What bugs me so much about the response to Darren Wilson not getting indicted is that people are acting like if he got put on trial and sent to prison that it would change the fact that a kid is dead. But surely everyone must realize that it wont, so why do people care so much about Darren Wilson not getting indicted? What are people really mad about?

They are mad about the pattern. They are mad about the repetition. They are mad about the fact that over and over again there are young black men getting shot by white police officers. They are mad that every time they bring up this very clear trend in the media, everyone just says "but the police officer didn't break any rules." They are mad that people deny the message that is sent when shit like this happens constantly. Say what you want about whether or not Darren Wilson followed the rules. It doesn't change the fact that this is not the first time a white police officer killed an unarmed black man and nobody decided to do anything to prevent it from happening again.

So I guess what I have to say is this: Yeah, it sucks that Darren Wilson didn't even go to court. It really does suck. But we can't let losing a battle deter us from winning the war. Darren Wilson going to jail wouldn't have changed the fact that 400 years of racial biases have been built into the fabric of America, so we shouldn't let his lack of conviction distract us or deter us from fixing that issue. Just because there was no trial doesn't mean change is impossible, and it doesn't mean there is no way you can help. You can donate to Michael Brown's mother, to compensate her (in some small way) for her loss, you can support organizations that are fighting for police code reform, or you can educate people about the history of racial tension in America. Just because we didn't beat the system at its own game doesn't mean we can't get what we want.

I guess I say this because even if Darren Wilson was convicted, there would still be these problems in the law and in the media. Even if Michael Brown hadn't died, the Rules of Engagement would still be written with the same shitty language that allows for shit like this to happen. The problems with the law exist outside of what happened in Ferguson, but Ferguson is what made us angry. However, we can't think that fixing Ferguson is the only way to fix the issue at hand. There are several ways to fight this issue, and we shouldn't let our anger distract us from implementing new strategies to help us win.  

And you might ask "But x^2, you are a privileged white male! How can you simply say 'welp, let’s just try something else' when African Americans in this country have had to work so hard to get only a fraction of the opportunity you already have?" Well, I say this because complaining about how hard things are doesn't actually help you get what you want. I have a mental illness, I have had to deal with problems that other people don't have to, and I have seen others do with ease what is really difficult for me. But at the end of the day, I want what I want, and I'm gonna do what I have to do to get it. That's the way life is. Just because other people have it "easy" doesn't mean anything to me, because once I get what I want I will be satisfied. "But x^2, you are only saying that because you have never felt real pain!" Well (A) you don't know that, and (B) maybe when I go through some "real pain" (whatever that means) I'll change my mind.

I'm not trying to deny the anger that people feel, because anger is a real human emotion that everyone feels all the time, and it’s totally understandable. But at the end of the day, getting angry will only get you angry. It won't bring back Michael Brown, it won’t change the Rules of Engagement, and it won't change the institutional racism in this country. The only thing that will change that is people getting up and doing something to fight oppression. And fighting oppression is supposed to be hard, it’s supposed to hurt, and you should love every second of the pain that you feel fighting for what’s right because you care more about justice than how comfortable you are. If fulfilling my desires will make me happy, and it takes death to fulfill my desires, then sign me up for death. Of course, I don't think we need death to make a change, and the fact that death isn't enough to produce a change is what makes people so angry about Ferguson. If death was gonna change anything than we'd have world peace by now.

I guess what I am saying is don't give up. Don't stop striving for change, and don't stop looking for new ways to make that change manifest. If we really want equality, the only thing that prevents us from getting equality is ourselves. That's why we should keep fighting for what we believe in, no matter how many hoops we have to jump through. Because in the end, when we finally get that equality, we are gonna feel damn good about it because we will finally have what we want, and that in itself will make us feel good. If it doesn't, then we never really wanted equality anyway.

In other news, I'm done with Carleton for six weeks, so I'll be back. I've got a bit more non-x^2 related shit to do this winter break, so I wont be fully attentive to the website, but I will certainly be more active than before. Anyway, stay strong. My heart goes out to all the people that have been effected by what happened in Ferguson, and to all the people risking their lives and comfort to fight for what's right.