“There are two sides to every story, but in the case of the Michael Brown shooting, we only get to hear one side–the side that lived. I believe that, as a white man, my lifeless body would not have lain uncovered in the street for four hours.
I also have serious doubts that I would even be shot once in the same exact altercation with a police officer.
The case of Michael Brown is not an isolated incident. I believe I have experienced white privilege in treatment by police, and at the same time I believe I have seen police racially profiling my ethnically diverse friends.
I don’t know of a better way to combat that dynamic than by taking advantage of our First Amendment right to peaceably assemble.
There are those who are electing to demonstrate violently, but it is important to understand that they are the overwhelming minority.
It’s also important to understand why they are protesting violently, and although I do not have a concrete answer, I don’t think that having police and national guardsmen armed to the teeth is going to do anything to help cooler heads prevail.
People are people. They vary wildly. There are cops who abuse their authority, there are African-Americans who are criminals.
But to pigeonhole people is unwise and unacceptable. To think you know people simply because of their occupation or, more importantly, their skin color is an egregious generalization based on incomplete information. People are people. Do me a favor. Treat people like people.”
Tim Carroll
Senior Sports Editor
“The worst thing that I have heard fly out of a news pundit’s mouth regarding the Michael Brown case is that only “race baiters” are making the issue a topic of racism.
I don’t believe it is cynical or disillusioned to say that racism exists today, it is being realistic. Turning a blind does not make something vanish.
The question is how do we as human beings deal with it responsibly and with an open mind? It is on all of us to be civil and not respond with violence and aggression.
After the verdict was released I heard a man in the radio say “change the paradigm”.
It is imperative–whether you are a protester, police officer or a young man of color–that we be the best versions of ourselves. Raise the expectation, change the image.”
Zhana Johnson
Senior Features Editor
“I think the only things we can do in the wake of events like Ferguson is to hope and pray that the peaceful actions and protests overcome the violent. Violence should never be a response to violence. There will always be hate in the world. What we have to look for as a society is to learn from these experiences and always challenge ourselves to do better.”
Brian Laughran
Editor-in-Chief
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The Xavierite Staff
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