RUSHING TO JUDGMENT AND SKAPEGOATING SYNONYMOUS

By James Wilson

            The common element shared by historical atrocities like the Klan and Jim Crow and their current counterparts is the unshakable belief that avenging legitimate grievances  justifies horrific means.  Klansmen saw themselves as insurgents against carpetbaggers and a vindictive central government.  The South was indeed laid waste by such people, but countless blacks – and white sympathizers – butchered by the Klan were virtually all innocent of wrongdoing; their suffering redressed only a lust to “feel better” by “getting even” with somebody.  Jim Crow continued this detestable tradition.  The rush to judgment in Missouri and New York – and escalation of that rush in the face of facts contradicting the judgment – is just another case of skapegoating – incoherent rage looking for someone – anyone – to blame.

             The facts in Ferguson and New York City are indisputable, although the skapegoaters are unimpressed with challenges to their narrative.  Michael Brown was caught on video assaulting a man in a convenience store; he is no gentle giant.  The forensic evidence demonstrates he assaulted Darren Wilson inside his car; his hands were not raised during the charge that ended his life; he was high on marijuana – a drug that can provoke violence in the user.  Numerous eyewitnesses confirm these facts. 

            The truth-cum-facts are just as evident for Eric Garner, the man who died at the hands of Officer Daniel Pantaleo while resisting arrest for selling unregulated cigarettes.  The video shows Pantaleo applying a takedown hold, not a chokehold.  Garner died because of his asthma and a heart condition – things an officer cannot take into account in the heat of battle.  These deaths are tragic and unnecessary; but it is the dead men who could have prevented them.  Instead they behaved consistently with their long criminal records.  Grand juries – processing more evidence than the average media consumer – exonerated the officers. 

            There are some horrific ironies that are just as truthful as the facts; ironies that should give serious pause and even provoke repentance in honest people.  One is that Officer Wilson has a vigilante-set price on his head and the destruction of his career for the “crime” of doing his job; this is because the mob “knows” he is a racist who wanted to kill; others simply feel sorry for him but will not stand with him.  Another is that young blacks are exponentially more likely to die at the hands of other young black men than those of a white police officer; few seem interested that topic.  Yet another is that officer deaths by gunfire are up 56% from 2013; officer deaths by ambush are up 300%.  If police seem a bit paranoid could there be a reason for it?  If they do their jobs well despite their fears might we be thankful instead of howling for their blood?

            In New York the irony is the DeBlasio Administration ordered police to priority- target street vendors like Garner because his sales cut into their tax revenues.  In a sane world police would be looking for drug dealers and rapists instead of concentrating on unauthorized cigarette sellers.  In the reality of Gotham the real perpetrators deny all responsibility for the consequences of their policies.

The grossest irony comes courtesy of the Cleveland, Ohio, and the hypocrites – Al Sharpton et. al. – who masquerade as crusaders for justice against lawless law enforcement.  Greg love is a twenty-nine-year-old black man of Cleveland.  He is suing his city, its police chief, and the officer who shot him in the chest while his hands were raised and he was seated.  Love allegedly made an illegal right turn before being shot June 23, 2013.  Protests against the police?  Not this time.  Love – the black man – did not die, and the officer who shot him was also black.  For the charlatans who make a good living exploiting this stuff there is no race card to play, and so no cause for action.

            When confronted with the unjust deaths of some workers after a tower falls on them (Luke 13) Jesus acknowledges the tragedy but stresses the reality that all have sinned and fallen short of the Father’s glory for which we are created.  He calls on His followers to repent before something worse happens to them.  This is not His insensitivity, but rather His stress of the truth that accepting responsibility for our lives sets us up for the abundant life He came to deliver.  Looking for someone else to blame lead to delusion and greater injustice.  This is especially so when there is no one to legitimately blame.  Sometimes life sucks, but God is good – all the time – and He seeks to make us more like Him.