Wooo- random angry post!

I am so sick of people right now.

I've been trying to keep updated on what is happening in Ferguson these days, but searching #ferguson on Twitter is an exercise in frustration. You get a pretty good picture of what is happening in the moment, but then you get... these IDIOTS.

You know the ones. The ones defending Darren Wilson, the cop who shot and killed Michael Brown, the ones who want him to be called a hero.

Are you kidding me?

No, seriously. ARE YOU KIDDING ME?

Suppose, just for a second, that everything they say about Michael Brown is true. (It isn't, not even close, that becomes more obvious with every passing day, but let's just run this drill, shall we?) Let's say he was a thug who pushed a police officer. Do you mean to tell me that a cop can't deal with that in a way that doesn't involve six freaking shots, and two to the head? That without a gun, the cops of Ferguson are incapable of dealing with school-yard bully tactics? Is that how incompetent we are saying the police are?

I'm all for supporting civil servants. I'm a liberal, for crying out loud. I support unions for teachers, cops, and firefighters. I support care for veterans. But this... this is just an insult.

I don't know Darren Wilson. Haven't the foggiest notion of who he is, other than the police officer who repeatedly shot and killed an unarmed teenage boy. Maybe he's a great guy. Maybe he's been wracked with guilt ever since this happened.

But even if that is true, he is guilty of criminal incompetence at the very best. At the worst, he is guilty of murder. Those are his options.

Neither exactly fits the definition of a hero. There really is only one reason to stick by him and defend him at this point. Either you're family and love him, and so were going to do it anyway, or you don't think that Micheal Brown's death was a big deal.

So why would it NOT be a big deal? Because he might have been a criminal? Execution is pretty steep for petty larceny, don't you think? Because he might have been angry? You've never sassed a police officer writing your ticket? Bet if you thought he might shoot you, you wouldn't. He might have been on drugs? Good lord, that's a lot of executed pot smokers. ANY of the things the Ferguson PD keeps throwing to justify the death of a seventeen year old boy about to go to college?

None are these are justifications for a killing. But the real reason is one they can't say.

Because we have at least come far enough in this country to know that you can't just SAY it's okay because he was a young black man. You might not have even admitted it to yourself. You've had practice in your justifications, after all, we're not all that far removed from Trayvon Martin.

But the only reason any reasonable person could convince themselves that the death of Michael Brown is not a tragedy is racism. If you don't really care if a black man gets killed, then this ISN'T a big deal, and Darren Wilson is probably just a guy who had a bad day.

Darren Wilson shot Michael Brown six times. Twice in the head. When this happened, Michael Brown was unarmed, by ALL accounts. There is no version of this story where Wilson is a hero. Or a good cop. You could maybe make an argument for a monumental mistake, but even so, it is certainly not the kind of mistake where you let the guy keep carrying the gun. One shot, MAYBE. Six shots, one of them an execution style shot to the head? No.

So stop defending him, unless you are willing to say, outright, that you don't think that killing a black man is a big deal. If you are going to be THAT racist, at least have the courage to say as much. Hiding behind respect for the badge (because we all know how fond the Right is of a civil servant,) is nothing but raw, pure, cowardice.