http://c.brightcove.com/services/viewer/federated_f9?isVid=1&isUI=1
Written and collected by Zia H Shah MD, Chief Editor of the Muslim Times
Americans are sharply divided along racial lines as to whether Ferguson police Officer Darren Wilson should be charged with murder in the shooting death of Michael Brown, a new CNN/ORC poll out Monday, November 24, 2014 finds.
Fifty-four percent of nonwhites — including blacks, Latinos and Asians — say Wilson should be charged with murder, while just 23% of whites agree. And 38% of whites say Wilson should be charged with no crime at all, while just 15% of nonwhites hold that position.
The poll’s results come as the grand jury was preparing to make its decision, with an announcement expected November 24 evening, which finally came in favor of the whites to the utter dismay of the Afro-Americans and other nonwhites.
Most Americans agree that Wilson should at least face some form of criminal charges, the poll finds.
A combined total of 32% say a Missouri grand jury should charge Wilson with murder, while 25% say he should face lesser criminal charges and 21% say he should be charged with no crime at all.
The CNN/ORC International survey of 1,045 Americans was conducted Nov. 21-23 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.
In other words 77% of the whites believe that Wilson should not be charged with murder, defying a sizeable non-white opinion. Many may be dismayed by these statistics. But, I see a silver lining in these statistics. My hope lies in the 23%, who could see through the emotions and bigotry and stick to their reason and rationality.
Now imagine another scenario.
Forty four percent of students attending 4-year colleges drink alcohol at the binge level or greater. 48% of college drinkers report that ‘drinking to get drunk’ is an important reason for drinking. Almost 1 in 4 drink alcohol 10 or more times a month and 29% report being intoxicated 3 or more times per month.
Binge drinking is more common among white students. Imagine one of them behaving erratically after being drunk at a college campus and is shot and killed by a Black cop. Imagine the outrage of the parents and the white population. Imagine the future of this Black policeman.
Would the whites now just take it as inevitable that the Black policeman had little say or choice in the matter?
Could he have acted differently? What was in childhood experiences of the Black policeman that made him use unwarranted force? What legal authority did he have?
Now imagine the Golden rule.
The Golden Rule or ethic of reciprocity is a maxim,[1] ethical code or morality[2] that essentially states either of the following:
- One should treat others as one would like others to treat oneself (directive form).[1]
- One should not treat others in ways that one would not like to be treated (cautionary form, also known as the Silver Rule).[1]
This concept describes a “reciprocal”, or “two-way”, relationship between one’s self and others that involves both sides equally, and in a mutual fashion.[3][4]
This concept can be explained from the perspective of psychology, philosophy, sociology and religion. Psychologically, it involves a person empathizing with others. Philosophically, it involves a person perceiving their neighbor as also “an I” or “self.”[3][4] Sociologically, this principle is applicable between individuals, between groups, and also between individuals and groups. (For example, a person living by this rule treats all people with consideration, not just members of his or her in-group.) Religions figure prominently in the history of this concept.[1][5]
As a concept, the Golden Rule has a history that long predates the term “Golden Rule”, or “Golden law”, as it was called from the 1670s in England and Europe.[1][6] As a concept of “the ethic of reciprocity,” it has its roots in a wide range of world cultures, and is a standard way that different cultures use to resolve conflicts.[1][5] It has a long history, and a great number of prominent religious figures and philosophers have restated its reciprocal, “two-way” nature in various ways (not limited to the above forms).[1]
I rest my case!
Additional Reading
Racism in USA and Universal Brotherhood in Islam
Categories: Americas, Racism, Universal Brotherhood, Universities
This incident goes to proove that racism is not over in the good ole United States. I’m pretty sure if Mr. Brown had been a white man shot by a black cop, we would not be discussing this issue. It just appears to me that many blacks in the country are just looking for anything to trigger a racial war. If Martin Luther King Jr. were alive today, what would he be saying? I don’t like to see anyone shot and killed on the streets, by cops or other, but in today’s world it does happen. The thing about Michael Brown is – nobody knew about him, or cared about him, until he was killed after committing a crime. Suddenly he is looked upon by many as a saint, or a martyr. It is about time blacks, and whites, start caring for each other while we are living, not after we are dead. The only real answer to this delema is to take the guns from the police, so they don’t shoot anyone. Then in five years, come back and tell me how that turned out.
Justice does not consist in observing the laws but the laws and systems themselves must be just.
Protesters flood streets across U.S. as Ferguson dismay spreads coast to coast
(CNN) — The sparks of outrage that started in Ferguson, Missouri, have ignited a firestorm of protests across the country.
But the national furor isn’t just about one grand jury’s decision on one shooting case. To many protesters, the death of unarmed black teenager Michael Brown — and the lack of an indictment for the officer who shot him — are symbolic of racial injustice in America.
“I think that it’s important for people to know that the decision not to indict (Officer) Darren Wilson means that the system does not value black lives,” one protester marching through Los Angeles told CNN.
“I think that it means that a cop can kill a black or brown kid when he’s defenseless and unarmed and not get charged. I think that it means that we either fight back and stand up and end police terrorism.”
More than 170 protests sprouted up across the country Tuesday. Some crowds blocked bridges, tunnels and major highways. But unlike the violence that erupted in Ferguson on Monday night, most of the demonstrations were peaceful.
In New York, a protesters spanning an array of races and ages filled Times Square with their hands up, some chanting, “Don’t shoot.” In Washington, a crowd including prep school students lay silently on a sidewalk, as if dead. And in Boston, even jail inmates joined in the protest silently from a window.
http://www.cnn.com/2014/11/26/us/national-ferguson-demonstrations/index.html?hpt=hp_t1
Officer Daren Wilson’s side of the story.
http://abcnews.go.com/US/exclusive-police-officer-darren-wilson-explains-feared-life/story?id=27181469