People on the Left rarely complain about news coverage by the New York Times, but it took only two words to generate a torrent of criticism -- which is usually reserved for conservative Republicans -- regarding an article that profiled Michael Brown, the young African-American man who was shot and killed by white police officer Darren Wilson on August 9 in Ferguson, Missouri.

In a front-page obituary timed to coincide with Brown's funeral on Monday, John Eligon -- a 31-year-old black reporter for the left-wing newspaper -- stated that the 18-year-old victim spent his “last weeks grappling with problems and promise” but was nevertheless described as “no angel.”