Over the past couple weeks there has been a considerable amount of attention paid to the events of August 9th in Ferguson Missouri. Unfortunately the color of your skin or your political affiliation plays a big part in how you view this case. If you are white or Republican you are likely to think the racial component of the shooting of Michael Brown is getting far too much attention. If you are black or a Democrat you are likely to feel the opposite is true.
This divide suggests we don't live in a post racial America like many would have you believe. The problem is that the typical white experience with law enforcement is completely different than the typical black experience and as a result each group has a drastically different view of the events in Ferguson.
Compounding this issue is how the media covers such events. As Bill O'Reilly suggested “Decent people step back and allow the facts to emerge,”
While O'Reilly was directing his comments at "liberal media" if jumping to conclusions is an issue O'Reilly might want to take a quick look at conservative media outlets first. Pat Roberts suggested Michael Brown might have been on drugs. Is that an example of letting all the facts come out before drawing a conclusion? Pat Dollard wrote and article claiming Michael Brown was part of a violent gang. Is that an example of responsible reporting? Charles Johnson and others reported that Michael Brown might have a criminal record. Is that an example unbiased coverage?
Of course even Bill's employer couldn't help themselves. After allowing any number of talking heads air time to chastise liberals for making a white cop killing a black teen a racial thing they still managed to fall all over themselves to report the slightest modicum of evidence that supports the white guys story. Making the YouTube video statements of someone who hasn't even been confirmed as a witness the headline of your 4 o'clock newsfeed doesn't suggest that conservatives are exhibiting the sort of reasoned impartiality they keep preaching for others to practice.
These attacks by conservative media go beyond simple speculation. Rather than covering the facts surrounding the shooting of an unarmed teen these organizations pivot quickly to assert a new narrative. For example even though the front page of the Fox News website is inundated with stories related to Ferguson Missouri they still manage to have on correspondents who claim supposed liberal news outlets have turned white on black crime into a cottage industry to boost ratings. Beyond the blatant hypocrisy of such a statement this attempt to belittle the legitimate concerns of how the Ferguson police interact with black residents is shameful.
The old "liberal media" claim is just one of many slick tactics the conservative media uses to legitimize their viewers prejudices. One look at the Fox News coverage and you will see the standard attack on Reverend Al Sharpton. It should be noted that by showing up Al Sharpton is hoping to draw attention to the situation. If you think he doesn't deserve the attention then why comment on his presence every time? Just once it would be nice to see Fox News not make Al Sharpton a core part of their coverage and use his presence as an excuse to dismiss a culture of abuse with repugnant uninformed topics like "black on black crime" and "black leaders’ role".
Having said that do conservatives complain when the NRA makes a statement after every mass shooting? Do they lament when Dick Cheney makes the rounds every time Iraq or torture is in the news? Do they whine every time Dr. Ben Carson speaks out during racially charged events?
Perhaps the worst narrative to come out of the conservative media recently was from Kimberly Guilfoyle who offered this word of advice when discussing the events that occurred in Ferguson "don't commit crimes". This is possibly the biggest lie that conservatives tell themselves. The protests in Ferguson are not about defending those that have committed a crime but rather how police treat every black citizen as a criminal. The senseless shooting of Michael Brown is the catalyst for their response but they are a result of years of abuse.
So while everyone from Barack Obama on down can urge the residents of Ferguson to refrain from looting and vandalizing because it doesn't help the situation, few have set the same expectation for those in charge of keeping the peace. Does anyone think that a police office antagonizing protesters with the statement "Bring it! All you f*#king animals." helps? Does anyone think a St. Louis County Police Lieutenant urging his offices with the phrases like "Let's have a black day," and "Let's make the jail cells more colorful." helps? Does anyone think that police threatening to shoot and mace reporters helps?
Maybe instead of castigating the few bad apples masquerading as protesters we should start by requiring the abusers, racists and bullies masquerading as police officers be held accountable.
In the end the reality is that the conservative media needs this to be about race far more than any of the "liberal media" sources because in the conservative bubble racism against blacks doesn't exist anymore. But if you’re one of those racist blacks or people with "white guilt" and can't see the forest for the trees feel free to check out any of the altruistic conservative media sites so you can get a thorough education in how the white guy is always justified in beating, mistreating and murdering the savage black criminal. If you're not convinced then clearly you are the worst kind of racist - a racist against the poor oppressed white majority.
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