Earlier in the thread at least one poster was commenting on how much of a "thug" Michael Brown looked like and how he did not look like a college student. I came across this piece on NPR this morning and thought immediately of this thread. Some food for thought.
There is a twitter campaigned called #iftheygunnedmedown . NPR interviewed some of the people who posted with that hashtag earlier this week.
"Many of the tweets containing the hashtag juxtapose two images of the same person in very different contexts — reading a book in one, say, while blowing smoke and flashing a hand gesture in the other. The paired images effectively but implicitly present many questions about how we choose the images that come to represent the individuals we cover, and the effects of those choices."
http://www.npr.org/blogs/codeswitch...ign=npr&utm_term=nprnews&utm_content=20140817
Interesting article! To an extent, I agree w/ what the people in the twitter campaign are saying.
W/ that in mind, here's another photo of Michael Brown that showed up in my Facebook feed this morning that illustrates the above point. I don't know if the link will work or not...
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?...170332.-2207520000.1408292626.&type=3&theater
If it doesn't work, it's a photo of Brown w/ a gun in his hand pointed at the camera, a wad of money in his mouth, & a bottle of alcohol on the table (along w/ a 2-liter of Hawaiian Punch).
I think the media sensationalizes a lot.
However, it goes both ways. The photo used most often of Trevyor Martin wasn't a recent photo & wasn't a good representation of who he was at the time he was shot. (Disclaimer: I'm not saying what Zimmerman did was okay or that it was okay solely because Martin may have looked "thug-ish".)
Regarding Michael Brown, I don't care whether or not he looked liked a "thug." While I inwardly roll my eyes at young adults who try to look "gangsta," I'm not the type of person who thinks everyone who dresses like a thug is a criminal. And I've seen & been around enough college students to realize there is no one particular college "look."
However, Michael Brown *did* commit a criminal act - minutes before he was shot.
So, in this case, the persona is justified.
Now, whether or not the officer should have shot him.... I don't know. I don't know all the details & facts.
And, really, no one does. The investigation is still ongoing.
That's another issue I have w/ today's media. In the rush to get the story out, they often report false information. Remember Sandy Hook? And, in this case, all this inaccurate information does is escalate an already tense & volatile situation.
Regarding the eyewitnesses' accounts, I'm not sure they're reliable. If this particular community is so mistrustful of the police, their accounts are probably not accurate.
I once read somewhere that if 5 people witness the same event, you'll get 5 different eyewitness accounts of the event. The truth is somewhere in the middle.
, Michael Brown was on his knees, his arms raised, when he was shot. In the photo showing Michael Brown's body lying in the street, it doesn't appear to me that he fell the way someone would if they were on their knees, but there are any number of reasons that could be.
