Tragic

Police should be held to higher standards than civilians, not lower ones. They have a greater duty to protect life, not a lesser one; an expectation of more bravery, not more reactions based in fear. I can't imagine the devastated and powerless rage and loss Michael Brown's mother must be feeling.

This statement, too, is infuriating. The internet and the media are not at fault for the frustration of people over the killing of an unarmed man...the killing of an unarmed man and the incompetent handling of the investigation following it is why people are so frustrated, so enraged, up in arms.

Michael Brown, even if he stole things, did not deserve to die. He should not have been left out, uncovered, in the street for 4.5 hours. The investigation should have been done properly. The secrecy surrounding this will forever leave doubts in people's minds. Who are these corroborating witnesses who've never spoken to the media?

And so many questions unanswered. Why does the government and police force of Ferguson have so little understanding of the racial undertones of our society? How can anyone think that racism is over in the United States? Why are white people so unwilling to hear and believe the experiences of people of color in the United States? Why did Michael Brown turn back? How can Bob McCulloch be so tone deaf as to think that the fact that his job has been hard lately is something we care about? Of course your job is hard, dude. That's the job you have, and right now, you are not the focus. How can his perspective still be that the social media caused this outrage? How can he really believe, in light of the many things that have happened lately, that young men of color are not being killed with impunity? How can cases like this be reviewed without prosecutors and grand juries believing that there was a likelihood that a crime was committed? How can he say that what needs to happen now is that people of color need to speak up on behalf of their communities? Does he not hear them? I'm baffled. 

I'm in tears.