The Ferguson fiasco

Seriously, were we expecting a different outcome from the Ferguson grand jury? That was never going to happen and even if it did, Wilson would get off at the conclusion of the trial. Let's face it: our murdered kid wasn't a great candidate for this role. This could never fly.

But the reports about what Wilson said about the altercation are appalling. Courtesy of digby, we get this testimony made by Officer Darren Wilson:

“I go to open the door and I say, hey, come here for a minute to Brown. As I’m opening the door he turns, faces me, looks at me and says, “What the fuck are you going to do about it,” and shuts my door, slammed it shut. I haven’t even got it open enough to get my leg out, it was only a few inches.

I then looked at him and told him to get back and he was just staring at me, almost like to intimidate me or to overpower me. The intense face he had was just not what I had expected from any of this…

And when I grabbed him, the only way I can describe it is I felt like a five-year-old holding onto Hulk Hogan.”

Wilson testified that Brown punched him twice through the patrol car’s door, and he was nervous that a third punch “could be fatal.” After his gun fired twice during the encounter, Brown ran away. Brown did not get on the ground, Wilson recounted, as per his order. Instead, he started to charge back toward Wilson:

“At this point it looked like he was almost bulking up to run through the shots. Like it was making him mad that I’m shooting at him. And the face he had was looking straight through me, like I wasn’t even there, I wasn’t even anything in his way.”

Wilson is clearly a racist, paranoid white guy who is also a coward. I imagine this assessment applies equally to any of the white Ferguson police officers. The whole force should be fired and replaced with normal people.

Nevertheless, I believe this outcome was expected -- by all. This doesn't excuse the appalling way the media and government treated the people of Ferguson. But that, in the long run, will have a positive effect. This issue won't die here. It's only the beginning. Just look at what's happening in NYC and elsewhere too. Trust me, this will result in a modification of police forces everywhere. The time when white officers can abuse people of color is coming to a close.

I truly believe this. It's how all human rights advances are made: through pain and suffering and incredible dedication to the cause. There's never anything pretty about it.