Go Ask Alice

I can’t publicly post something like this, but…

I hate that so many people look to Michael Brown’s case as a representative beacon of police brutality in the United States.

It’s totally true that the US has a police brutality issue, especially in cases like Eric Garner’s, Tamir Rice’s, and other cases since the Michael Brown case was so heavily publicized.  But Michael Brown’s was the only one that wasn’t recorded past the point where he robbed a drugstore, so all the facts come from witnesses and the autopsy report.  Most of the witnesses’ first statements said that he charged towards the cop, and Darren Wilson was acting in self defense, and then later those changed into the “hands up, don’t shoot” story as the case got more media coverage.  Also, according to the autopsy report, Michael was shot through the outside of his arms and his chest, suggesting that his hands were never in a surrender position, but they were below his shoulders as if he were running.  The autopsy also shows that he was high when he died, suggesting a reason why he wouldn’t comply to his simple arrest for robbing a drugstore.  Brown’s offense was worth a night in jail and a small trial, probably resulting in a fine or a few weeks of jail time, but nothing close to his immediate death.  However, his behavior and his physique (he was over 6 feet tall, charging towards a cop much smaller than him) was enough means for Wilson to act in self defense.  Also from the autopsy report, Brown was shot in the arms and shoulders multiple times, suggesting that Wilson followed standard protocol when acting in self defense, which was to slow his attacker by shooting him in the limbs first.  Brown was less than a foot from Wilson when he finally shot Brown in the chest, which ultimately killed Brown.  Had Brown been sober during the time of arrest, shooting him in the arms would have slowed him long before Wilson needed to deliver a more fatal blow.  In short, a lot more evidence that can’t be avoided (primary witness reports and the autopsy report) points against Brown’s case.

The whole shame in this story is that Brown’s case was the one so heavily glorified, but in such a way that much of the story people use in defense of him is a lie.  “Hands up, don’t shoot” never happened.  Michael Brown is arguably the only famous name used against police brutality that relies on a story without any solid proof.

What I ask ultimately is to use a representative story that isn’t Michael Brown’s, because Brown’s story is truly a story of a high kid who robs a drug store and attacks a cop far smaller than he is, and a cop who tried to slow him down with standard protocol but couldn’t think of something better to do when standard defense wasn’t working.  Make a bigger deal about Eric, Sandy, Tamir, or anyone else with a recorded story.  But depending on the story with Michael Brown can’t support a good cause when all the unavoidable evidence points against Brown in the first place.

i can’t imagine someone ever looking at me and getting butterflies that just doesn’t happen