I don’t know why, but I feel an overwhelming need to comment on this whole Ferguson thing. Tell me I’m wrong if I am, but I am just getting so tired of being quiet about it.
First let me say, on the officer’s part it was a definite overkill. Why twelve bullets? I don’t get that. How many times do you shoot a deer on the side of the road, or someone running directly at you. Maybe three times at most? Did the police officer miss eleven of the twelve times, or were all twelve bullets a direct hit? Everywhere I look, it says twelve rounds, hmm confusing. I would have to see that had I been in the same situation I may have handled it differently, but then again I’m not a police officer so I don’t know how I would have handled it.
On Brown’s part, he was obviously not a good guy. I don’t know why people are glorifying him. He was a thief, they had him on tape stealing the same day. He was violent yes, from the video that was released of him shoving the store owner, for a police officer going to the scene of the crime and to the sidewalk where Brown and his friend were walking, the officer most likely knew only that he was looking for a man who had just robbed a store. When I think of robberies, I think of guns and danger, don’t you? The officer didn’t know what he was walking into and at that point there was just him. Did he have cover? I don’t know, I haven’t read that anywhere, but if I was confronting a man who had just robbed a store, I might be a little edgy, I’m not saying that I think shooting someone twelve times is okay, but I’m just saying that I might be scared. I would hope that another officer might have been more comfortable with his gun and the proper training on knowing whether or not to fire it.
Hm, next I would have to say that should I ever be put in the situation where I have to call the police to protect me, my family or my store, I would want them to protect me. I wouldn’t want them to be worried about the repercussions of their actions. Do you agree, if someone is in my house and I’m hiding in a closet, I want the police to get there and shoot the guy if necessary, before he harms me. Do you understand what I’m saying? I want them to shoot him, because what he’s doing is wrong and he has bad intentions. Just once, maybe twice if he is still coming at me, but not twelve times, that is a bit much. Anyhow, for this reason I understand the court’s decision. There I’ve said it. I don’t know how you feel about that, but that’s my opinion.
Now also I’d like to say that what is going on in Missouri now is just madness. You don’t fight fire with fire and you only lose by going this route. For those that are looting, killing and bad mouthing other nationalities, you are not helping others opinions of your own. If anything, I would say that it may be causing more negativity toward your people. I mean take the guy who was beaten to death with hammers, he most likely didn’t identify himself as a white person because he was European and had recently come here. So now we have a country that is outraged with the whole race issue, besides our own. It’s kind of embarrassing, isn’t it?
Enough of the labels already, I’m so sick of hearing the labels. People don’t get them right half the time they try to call someone out on them. Take me for example, I don’t necessarily consider myself White, but I appear to be. I am half Mexican, but never dark enough for my own people to consider me one of them. Then again don’t tell me I’m not white either, cuz I am- even though I’ve only seen my relatives on that side of the family on about three ocassions in my entire life. Confused yet? I’m proud to be both nationalities and maybe even more confusing, I was raised in a prodomenetly African-American neighborhood so I feel that I relate better with someone of that background rather than that of either of my own. Is that wrong? That’s America, let’s let it be what it is if we have to put it on the record.
I fully support non-violent displays of outrage, because again, this was absolute overkill. I agree with non-violent protestors in that respect and I also agree with the courts decision. I think the officer was right to step down because he is obviously in the wrong field, but in the end you have to think that he may have in some way thought that he was protecting himself. Maybe they should grant him some major counseling? What do you think?
Well I don’t know how you feel about this post, but let me know if I’m wrong. Let me know if I’m looking it in the wrong way. I’d like to hear your opinions. Seriously I would, even the critics. Let’s go. I’m ready.
NEVA SQUIRES-RODRIGUEZ 