I have to be honest at the beginning of this post: I have not kept up to date very well with all the developments in Ferguson, Missouri. But I have been able to hear a lot about what has happened in the aftermath of the grand jury's decision not to indict Officer Darren Wilson for the shooting of Michael Brown back in August. And pretty much all that I've heard has not been good.
The news has reported many violent riots, buildings and cars going up in flames all over Ferguson. Even here in the Twin Cities there has been news regarding this: a car drove through a protest in Minneapolis, causing minor injuries to a woman who was part of the protest. There have even been people interviewed in NPR who say that the riots should not stop until the police in Ferguson back down their aggressive stance against the public.
(One minor caveat in this post to address that viewpoint: Doesn't it seem more logical to end all this aggression by not stooping to the low level of violence? If you want violence to end, don't instigate more violence with your own. Okay, now I'm done.)
But here's the thing: as harrowing as these news stories have been, they are only a small portion of what is going on, in Missouri and across the country. Most of the protests have been non-violent (though I'm sure a smaller number have been completely non-aggressive). But in the business of news media, the extreme is the rule, not the exception. Therefore, for many people all they see are the riots and the chaos, and that defines their view on the whole scenario. They don't take the time to investigate further, and this then leads to a larger division for many individuals. The aggression will not stop, even if the violence does, because of how the media has reported this overall.
I'm going to continue investigating this story, and praying for all involved. I hope that you will, too.