When this all happened, I expected to see Darren Wilson still on meds from the "reports" of his "fractured eye socket" after getting pummeled repeatedly by Mike Brown - a man who apparently had no second thoughts about placing his upper body into a police officers car and punching him in the face with so much force that Wilson feared for his life. Instead, this mugshot taken hours after Officer Wilson's confrontation with Mike Brown, is now available to the public.
Narratives are important here. Did Wilson spot Brown and his friend jay walking and say "Hey guys, what's wrong with the side walk?" as he testified? Or did he say, "get on the fucking sidewalk", as Brown's friend Dorian Johnson testified. More importantly, what is implied by Wilson's testimony if the verbal exchange is even slightly skewed? Legitimate questions when considering the rhetoric Wilson used during testimony to describe Brown as a superhuman, demonic possessed brute.
It's an image that looks far from a face pummeling, sun burned at the most. During testimony, Wilson descirbed Brown as a huge "demon" creature with "hulk hogan"-like strength. Incendiary footnotes that were clearly well coached talking points from his lawyer. Brown was an out of control monster, Wilson a timid 6 foot 4 inch child who had no choice but to fire at an unarmed suspect over 100 feet away who according to Wilson's testimony (and at least three others, one of which claims Brown was pointing a gun at the officer which is blatantly false), was charging at his car. Nine witness counter claim that Brown was standing still, or stumbling at the most. The video of two construction workers reacting to the shooting makes Wilson's claims just as specious and makes conservative pundits writhe in discomfort when spinning a "black neighborhood hoax" that two unrelated white men seem to contradict.
Without a more thorough investigation, many people are outraged. Ferguson is burning. And all Sean Hannity has to ask is "how does this reflect on Obama?"
There is looting and arson. Including a diner that has been feeding demonstrators in Ferguson for free up into the time of the grand jury decision. Her restaurant lays in ruins. It seems no one can escape the frenzy of indiscriminate anger.
As quick and easy as it is for anyone to condemn the destructive behavior of those incensed in Ferguson, a moment of reflection:
"It is not enough for me to stand before you tonight and condemn riots. It would be morally irresponsible for me to do that without, at the same time, condemning the contingent, intolerable conditions that exist in our society. These conditions are the things that cause individuals to feel that they have no other alternative than to engage in violent rebellions to get attention. And I must say tonight that a riot is the language of the unheard."
-Martin Luther Kiing, Jr. March 1968
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