Wednesday, October 8, 2014

Clueless fans chant "Go Darren Wilson"

From Colorlines:
Major League Baseball’s playoffs are underway, and the St. Louis Cardinals are in a tough series against the Los Angeles Dodgers. St. Louis, of course, is close to the epicenter of civil disobedience that’s broken out after white officer Darren Wilson shot and killed 18-year-old unarmed black Ferguson resident Mike Brown. And last night, Cardinals fans began chanting in support of Officer Wilson in a confrontation with Ferguson protestors. Things pretty much devolved from there.
The video is at the link.

The local news conveniently mostly this story. I'm not saying they didn't, I certainly didn't see any local coverage of it. I have seen videos Mike Brown supporters being harassed as I have for the past month and a half, and a handful of stories about the ludicrous "keep walking" rule for protesters that was ultimately struck down. As a former media student, I understand the need to appear unbiased, but you are your rhetoric, and by not addressing the bias you look, well, biased. I get that their hands are tied, but the national media has done a decent job as presenting this as a civil rights issue where our local affiliates have fallen short.

This isn't an "all sides" issue. A few weeks ago, I watched a white Ferguson resident being interviewed. She said what I think a lot of liberal-leaning white people here are thinking: "I try to be tolerant, but..." Try understanding first. Try listening to black voices when they say they're routinely and unfairly stopped and harassed by police officers.

1 comment:

  1. Here's another example:

    http://www.clutchmagonline.com/2014/10/st-louis-cardinals-fans-taunt-ferguson-protestors-demanding-justice-mike-brown/

    ReplyDelete