Keeping an Open Mind about Ferguson

We really do need to keep an open mind about the events that took place in Ferguson, Missouri.

I recently made comments about the scrutiny that Officer Wilson and his department will go through following the shooting death of an unarmed black man in Ferguson.  I pointed out that Reverend Al Sharpton and others have made a rush to judgment about the officer and the Ferguson Police Department.  There had been a media feeding frenzy over the whole affair.  Most of the negative media attention has targeted the officer and his department.  However, over the last few weeks I have seen multiple social media reports (including unflattering pictures) about the past bad behavior of the victim.  Like the dark shadow that has been cast over the officer and his department, this equally tasteless reporting of the victim is unwarranted.

This type of reporting, whether through national news outlets or through social media, does nothing but polarize opinions and society.  It is geared to titillate and sensationalize with the idea to divide, stir contention, and sell copy.  Like the Reverend Sharpton who wants to try Officer Wilson in the court of public opinion, those who demonize the man who was shot are putting the man on trial in the court of public opinion.  It is blatantly unfair and uncalled for.  It is bad enough that money grabbing attorneys have lined up to claim their share of the spoils, but when media, whether national or social, stand to gain at the expense of others, then it is time to call for a time out and ask ourselves just exactly what our values are.  We should never succumb to the sensational as opposed to the rational.

Now in defense of attorneys, some of my best friends are attorneys.  There are many honorable, honest, and just men and women who have dedicated themselves to the needed profession of legal practice.  Not all lawyers are money-grabbers.  Not all attorneys slink in the slime of the shadows just waiting to pounce on the slightest perceived injustice.  To the contrary, most are dedicated to maintaining order in a chaotic world.  Yes, there are those who live in luxury, but the average attorney makes an average salary.  Many earn the salary of a police officer, which isn’t much of a return on a three-year investment in law school after finishing a bachelor’s degree.

© 2014 Gregory B. Talley