By James Wilson
The
Justice Department issues its long awaited report – and the New York Times
reports it – in the death of Michael Brown at the hands of Officer Darren
Wilson. Even Eric Holder’s biased
Justice Department reaches the resounding conclusion that Wilson acted with
admirable restraint, in self-defense, to defend his life against a murderous
onslaught. Let us now count the cost.
Tens
of thousands of Americans – of all colors and tribes – rushed to judgment in the
wake of last summer’s shootin; the fruit is not pretty. Riots rocked multiple cities. Many businesses were looted and burned. The victims were people of all colors and
tribes; rioters demanded payback from anyone caught in their path. Many were injured and at least one killed after
four Denver police officers were mowed down while protecting a thousand teens
who cut school to march in protest. It
became a cultural norm for people to raise their hands and chant, “Hands up; don’t
shoot.” The Brown family is still
pursuing a wrongful death lawsuit on behalf of their “innocent” son. Darren Wilson will never again work as a
police officer; he is challenged to find a safe place for himself and his
family.
Reality is Brown
was anything but innocent. Witnesses who
testified to Brown’s innocence were not credible, the report states, “Some of
those accounts are inaccurate because they are inconsistent with the physical
and forensic evidence; some of those accounts are materially inconsistent with
that (sic) witnesses’ own prior statements with no explanation.” In other words some witnesses were either
dishonest or confused.
Brown’s family
is anything but innocent –they incited the rioting then and today with
statements like, “Burn this bitch down.”
Such rhetoric is not protected speech; it is criminal conduct. The speakers – including Al Sharpton – should
be prosecuted. Our collective horror
should be overwhelming when we realize how mob rule extended from the streets
to the White House; Eric Holder and President Obama gave sympathy to the
rioters and other criminal elements just as they did in the Trayvon Martin case. People believed what they wanted to believe;
they said and did what they wanted to say and do, based on the lie they believed. Many of us paid dearly.
Perhaps our
nation of laws-not-men paid the highest price.
In all the rhetoric flowing like molten lava between left and right I
have heard precious few words of sympathy for the innocent police, business
persons, and citizens-on-the-sidewalk who lost so much because so many cared so
little for truth. Now two Ferguson
police officers have been gunned down in new protests…of what? Nothing but the truth they do not want to
hear.
Now
wait a minute – say some. The Justice
Department found a pattern of racism in the Ferguson Police Department even
while admitting Darren Wilson acted no part in it. What was that pattern?
Investigators
found city officials had sent what they called racist e-mails on their
government accounts; the New York Times describes two. One depicted the president as a chimpanzee;
another included a photo of topless black women captioned, “Michelle Obama’s
high school reunion.” These may indeed
be racially motivated; they may express only the authors’ contempt for those
who treat them contemptuously. What is
not demonstrated in the Times’ piece is any link between attitude and behavior
by city officials. Should they be
disciplined – perhaps fired – for misusing their government e-mail
accounts? Absolutely. But if this is the best evidence of pervasive
racism in a traumatized police department it is pathetic. This published paraphrase is better evidence
of government determination to justify mobs and condemn cops.
Ferguson
Mayor James Knowles easily reaches that conclusion. In weeks of note-taking Justice made no
effort to verify reports, gave accused officers no chance to speak, and
reported incidents in neighboring cities according to Knowles. They included as racially motivated the black
student arrest at school for assaulting his black (and pregnant) principal on
campus.
The
Old Testament prophets knew what they were saying when they said, “Touch not my
anointed,” except on the (truthful) testimony of eyewitnesses. They knew even better when they condemned
false testimony across the board. And
Jesus knew it best when He said, “Let he who is without sin amongst you cast
the first stone,” followed by “Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more.”
God’s call for repentance is equal
opportunity; no one is sin-free.
Repentance in context includes telling the truth, facing the truth
without changing the subject, and acting on truth instead of pandering to mob
rage based on untruth. A good way to
evaluate leadership is to administer this three-point test.
James A. Wilson is the author of Living
As Ambassadors of Relationships and The
Holy Spirit and the End Times – available at local bookstores or by
e-mailing him at
praynorthstate@charter.net
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