Micheal Brown Argumentative Essay
Ferguson: A Fight For Change
It has been non stop protesting in Ferguson since the shooting of Michael Brown. People are now waking up to realize that police brutality has been a problem to long in the waiting. The actions taking place in Ferguson has not only been revolutionary, but also educational. A lot can be learned from events like these can be implemented into ending the Ferguson conflict.
To learn about this event, we first must be aware of what happen on that tragic day. Michael Brown, a young black male set for college, was killed Aug. 9 in Ferguson, Mo. by Darren Wilson, a white police officer. "I saw the officer proceeding after my friend, Big Mike, with his gun drawn, and he fired a second shot, and that struck my friend, Big Mike," Johnson, a friend of Michael, said. "And at that time, he turned around with his hands up, beginning to tell the officer that he was unarmed and to tell him to stop shooting. But at that time, the officer was firing several more shots into my friend, and he hit the ground and died."¹ During that day, riots broke out, with multiple robberies/break ins at many store across Ferguson and a burning of a gas station. A private autopsy conducted for the Brown family showed that Brown had been shot at least six times, including twice in the head.¹ It took police six days to publicly identify Wilson.¹
Serval protest broke out through the whole month on police violence towards the people. As best as the Department of Justice can guess, there are about 400 police-related deaths each year across the nation.³ The protest started peacefully in Ferguson, but towards the night things got violent. The police started to use tear gas to disperse the protesters. In reporting on riots in Ferguson, a reporter noted "the police HAD TO use tear gas." Based on the images I viewed on TV, this might tend to support the police narrative rather than reflecting an objective reporting stance.² Even though the police continue these kinds of actions through the whole week, the people were driven for their voice to be heard. Night after night they would continue to protest through tear gas and rubber bullets. They weren’t going to let a group of non peaceful protesters stop them from trying to peacefully protest and especially not the police.
The during the protest events, social media was the key to success. Through twitter, many people were posting what was going on at Ferguson. Blacks and Latinos are more likely to use Twitter are white folks, which means Twitter captures and magnifies a different set of experiences and priorities.³ People couldn’t relieve on news to provide solid information on what was going on. Through social media the word got out and people started to take action. “We know outside groups visited us in August. We are expecting that different people will come in from outside the St. Louis area,” Belmar, ferguson activist, told Reuters.⁴ Social media was and still is the key to provide solid information and action to many people.
Protesting is one of the key elements in the Ferguson events that are still taking place. "Ferguson October," a planned weekend of 4-day protests, happened Saturday without any violence.⁵ It was a big change from the earlier protest in Ferguson. "We are fighting for our lives," said Tef Poe, a local rapper and activist. "We are not going home. This is not a fly-by-night."⁵ The gathering included people from many races who said they were committed to stopping police brutality. A number of speakers told the crowd that America must change the way it treats black and brown people.⁵ The people were tired of the way America was treating them, and decided to take actions in their own hands. Organizers said they expected thousands of people to take part in marches, rallies and a yet-to-be-detailed act of civil disobedience throughout Columbus Day weekend.⁵ It’s never too late to make a change, because you’ll never if you can be next in line for police violence.
Work Cited
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Staff, CNN, Eliott C. McLaughlin, Michael Martinez, Joe Sutton, Faith Karimi, Mayra Cuevas, Ben Brumfield, Michael Pearson, Catherine E. Shoichet, and Jason Carroll. "Dueling Narratives in Michael Brown Shooting."CNN. Cable News Network, 01 Jan. 1970. Web. 11 Oct. 2014.
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Schumacher-Matos, Edward. "Taking Stock: NPR's Ferguson Coverage So Far." NPR. NPR, n.d. Web. 13 Oct. 2014.
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Dem, Gene. "Videos Of Deadly Police Encounters Grab The Media Spotlight, But Why?" NPR. NPR, n.d. Web. 13 Oct. 2014.
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"REPORT: Missouri Authorities Planning for Riots If Ferguson Officer Not Indicted - CBS St. Louis." CBS St Louis. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Oct. 2014.
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Alcindor, Yamiche. "Protests Peaceful as Questions about Deaths Loom."USA Today. Gannett, 12 Oct. 2014. Web. 12 Oct. 2014.