Reading and Writing for Social Justice: Looking at the World Through a Lens of Justice and Fairness 4

      I recently watched a news story on television about the Ferguson shooting and the protests caused by it. I then watched an interview with the parents of Michael Brown, the person who had been shot by the police officer in the shooting. I thought about what it would be like to be in their situation and I thought about how hard this must be for them. If my child died, not only would I be devastated just as the parents of Michael Brown are, but I would be furious. And then, these parents who are mourning the loss of their child have to go on nationwide television and talk about their son dying. I can’t imagine how hard that must be. And, not only did he just die, but he was murdered. And, he was murdered by someone of authority who was supposed to be protecting him. I remember seeing another interview with Officer Darren Wilson, the killer of Michael Brown, and he said he had a “clear conscience.” This would make me extremely angry because how can someone have a clear conscience after the killed someone, even if it was by accident, or to protect themselves? They still committed murder, and took someone’s life. 

This really made me think about how the protests started. I understand how this has angered people, and made them think that Michael Brown was shot because of Officer Wilson’s racism, thinking that because he was black, he would hurt him. It is unclear to me what really happened, because I feel as though I cannot trust the story of Officer Wilson, since eyewitness accounts have contradicted his story. This made me feel like it is unfair how people are mourning their losses, and are shattered by the recent events, and its impossible to tell what really happened during this incident. Overall, I think that the parents of Michael Brown must be having a tremendously challenging experience, and they deserve to know what really happened when their son was murdered.