Reality Check 101

On November 24th Ferguson Missouri exploded again after, as Ben Shapiro stated it so well, “…the media’s attempted racial assassination of Officer Darren Wilson shipwrecked on the rocky shoals of the criminal justice system.”  Of course, evidence is the first thing abused in an irrational culture.  It is, after all, impossible to sustain a foundationless social crusade unless a larger population can be given a martyr and can be led to believe in fantasy as if it were reality.

Such is the case in the aftermath of the Brown-Wilson shooting and the grand jury’s decision that Officer Wilson was simply fulfilling his sworn duty as an officer of the law.  But why?  How does an attack on a police officer by a strong-armed robbery suspect become justification for pillaging a community and destroying the livelihoods of innocent people?

The answer lies in the skillful propagation of a false narrative based on nuance and selectively accurate representations.  The power of a selective nuanced narrative is massive, especially when it is validated by sloganeers,  highly revered instigators,  the most powerful law enforcer in the nation, Attorney General Eric Holder, and the president of the United States.

Start with the now famous slogans “Hands up, don’t shoot” and “No justice, no peace”.  They cunningly portray the image of helpless black citizens being murderously targeted while “justice” turns a blind eye.  It matters little that their icon, Michael Brown, was not innocent, not helpless and not surrendering but attacking or that the number of black men dying at the hands of other black men is at epidemic levels.  Nuance matters.

The media have been masters of selective intelligence and subliminal messaging.  The line for over three months has been “unarmed black teenager shot (sometimes “gunned down’’) and killed by white police officer (sometimes “in broad daylight”)”.  While it is certainly true that Michael Brown was 18 years old and black and that Darren Wilson is the white police officer who killed Brown, the underlying message is much more subtle.  The statements portray black against white and helpless teenager against aggressive cop.  Imagine how different the impact could have been on the public conscience if the mantra had been “Strong-armed robbery suspect killed by responding police officer during a confrontation”.  Nuance matters.

The grand jury process has been weaponized as well by media.  Cries of unfairness and secrecy have saturated the airwaves.  But Amendment V of the U.S. Constitution authorizes grand juries.  And, since colonial times, the anonymity of grand jurors and confidentiality of jury proceedings have been closely guarded as a way to ensure the safety of participants and preserve objectivity.  Except for a few very defined exceptions, the Supreme Court has upheld the process.  How refreshing it would have been to hear reporters remind the public of historical facts and important protections.  Nuance matters.

President Obama and Attorney General Holder have been the slickest.  While calling for calm and cooperation, without an ounce of shame or skipping a beat, they have repeatedly assigned equal guilt to perpetrators of mayhem and the police who are charged with preserving the rule of law.  Two subliminals from Obama and Holder:

 The messages are clear –  White-dominated police departments represent the authority of racist bigoted America.   Rioters, The President shares your anger.  Police departments, it’s time to admit your guilt and humble yourselves before the abused masses.  Victimized law-breakers, the DOJ knows how trampled and misunderstood you are.  It will make sure police perform their proper penance.

So, after 24 volumes of written grand jury proceedings, 23 meetings of the grand jury over three months and 70 hours of testimony from 60 witnesses (http://www.cnn.com/interactive/2014/11/us/ferguson-grand-jury-docs/index.html), those sentiments are the best we have from the leader of the free world and the most powerful law enforcement official in America.  Still, incredibly, few seem to understand why peace is a pipe dream.

The last six years have been the most socially and politically divisive in five decades.  Ignoring doers of evil or raising them to victim status will not satisfy their appetite.   Demonizing the thin blue line of servants charged with preserving the public good will not yield the peaceable fruit of righteousness either.

Maybe before anyone takes to the streets, peacefully or otherwise, they should demonstrate intelligence and rational thought by reading the evidence (linked above).