"Outrage in Ferguson"

          The article, "Outrage in Ferguson," by Patricia Smith, focuses on the shooting of an unarmed black teen (Michael Brown) and the events unfolding in the aftermath. All of the reactions to the shooting differ; the main question is—has the situation in Ferguson been justified? I, personally, think that the situation hasn't been resolved and it hasn't even progressed! It's just been going downhill even more; what happened was racist and completely unfair and nothing has been done in terms of punishment towards the officer who shot Michael, Darren Wilson.

          Let me start off by giving some statistics about what other people think of this situation. According to a New York Times/CBS poll from August, 12% of whites believe that the situation has been justified (18% don't think it has), 2% of blacks believe that the situation has been justified (57% think it has not been justified) and 9% of all respondents think it has been justified (25% think it hasn't). Let's review the facts as to why the situation has not been justified/resolved. Michael was only walking (with a friend) when Darren Wilson stopped him. What's the crime in walking? What high crime is walking, on the street? How many have done it? Second fact: he was shot 6 times. You might not know this but, an officer is trained to shoot a person committing a crime, 1-2 times and only on the limbs, not the body or head or anything else. And this happens when the criminal is suspected of carrying a weapon. Michael Brown was unarmed and shot in the head. There was no investigations and no turning back, not until protests started.

          The protests reflect the feelings of anger and resentment of people of color across the United States, not only in Ferguson. There has been too many incidents when white officers have killed others due to the color of their skin. These protests started off as peaceful, they were only trying to send a message and express their feelings towards the death of Michael Brown. The response of the police clearly indicates that they knew what Wilson did was absolutely wrong and they just took it way too overboard. They dressed in riot gear, fired tear gas at the protesters and even brought in military vehicles. They were also given military equipment that they were not trained to use as regular police officers. What were they planning to do with that equipment; that they don't even know how to use? Did they really think using that stuff would help the situation? It made matters worse.

          In conclusion, this situation has not been justified, and this type of incident will occur again until racism is eliminated. Something has to be done. How many more protests will it take? How many more lives, will situations like this, rob? This is ignorance and racism and it's completely unfair. This situation has not been resolved.