Stories of Prejudice

Wednesday, October 08, 2014

First, a definition:

prejudice -- preconceived opinion that is not based on reason or actual experience
I bring this up in memory of a favorite high school teacher of mine having to explain to a black classmate that the meaning of "prejudice" was not confined to racial bigotry. In a conversation about college, he had described his younger self with the adjective, causing her to laugh.

It sounds like a few thousand reporters also missed that memo. At City Journal, Heather MacDonald does an excellent job of distilling two months of leftist "reporting" on Ferguson down to eleven hundred words and change. Here is a representative sample:
The next highest categories of driving infraction are blasting loud music out your car and driving with tinted windows. Attend police-community meetings in poor areas and you will regularly hear complaints about cars with deafening sound systems. Should the police ignore such complaints? Are they ignoring similar complaints in white areas because they want to give whites a pass? Do Ferguson's white and black drivers blast loud music from their cars at the same rate? We never learn. Tinted windows pose a possibly lethal threat to the police during traffic stops, since they prevent officers from assessing the situation inside the car before approaching. Ignoring this infraction puts officers' lives at risk. Should the police nevertheless do so? Such is the implication, if doing so would mean fewer fines for black motorists. The New York Times quotes a victim of the racist Ferguson traffic-enforcement system, who was fined for driving without a license. Why was his license suspended--was he driving drunk? Did he hit someone? We will never know. What is the crime rate in the black areas of Ferguson? Also something that the mainstream press is not interested in finding out. [bold added]
Please do note the many potential instances of "profiling" that, if prevented or punished harshly enough, will ultimately harm the very people for whom the anti-profilers profess concern.

MacDonald also notes something that has become apparent to me from events and a couple of casual conversations, neither of which I initiated:
A grand jury is under enormous pressure to charge Officer Darren Wilson with murder for shooting Brown, with the usual threats of even more vicious riots to come should the grand jury fail to deliver an indictment.
On the day the jury was empaneled or shortly after, I went to the bank in Clayton, the county seat of St. Louis County, where the grand jury is empaneled. Upon leaving, I heard a commotion and found a major street -- where the courthouse is located -- blocked off. I determined then and there that I would be nowhere near there when its findings are announced or during any future trial dates. I am also glad that, despite the constant media barrage pre-judging them as bigots, area police, based on evidence the media refuse to consider, are preparing for the worst.

-- CAV

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

There weren't riots when Zimmerman was acquitted so im not sure what will happen if the officer isn't charged.

JB

Vigilis said...

Gus, in current events of the day, Phoenix, AZ citizenry are left with only the threatening fact, no description of the 5 suspects (2 young males and thrre females):

1. suspects armed and dangerous, especially if they had the gall to shoot an officer.

2. after shhoting officer in face, they returned to fire on responding officers.

3. the description of the suspect's vehicle and license plate were given to the public, and the car has been recovered with suspects at large. (Good luck, public!)

Gus Van Horn said...

JB,

I'm not sure, either, but why go out of my way to find out?

Vigilis,

Assuming your unsourced story is true, it would be almost as unsurprising as it is disturbing. That said, what is your point in bringing it up?

Gus

Vigilis said...

Merely introduced the current example of imminent danger with lack of government concern for the public inresponse to your: "I determined then and there that I would be nowhere near there when its findings are announced or during any future trial dates."

I gather neither you nor your any of your known gvh readers ever travel to Phoenix, AZ. Having been there often, I wonder why so many do.

sourcing FYI: http://goo.gl/mBWuXS