As the story of Ferguson, Missouri, police officer Darren Wilson's shooting of Michael Brown begins to look less clear-cut than we were led to believe by Brown's friend, Dorian Johnson, the "voices of oppression" on MSNBC now say the real issue is that there aren't enough blacks on the Ferguson police force.
As Brown may or may not have said seconds before his death: I give up.
Clinton Yates, Washington Post online columnist and commentator for Washington D.C’s WTOP radio station, decided to wade into the controversy in Ferguson by slamming those who oppose the looting and violence in the wake of Michael Brown’s death.
On Thursday, August 21, during his “My Take with Clinton Yates” segment on WTOP, which is the main news radio station for the political class in Washington D.C., Yates insisted that someone who says “looting is never acceptable is implicitly saying that personal property is worth more than life itself.” Listen to MP3 audio here.]
You had to know this was coming. The only question was who was going to be the first to do it.
On Tuesday, echoing the Rolling Stones' "Sympathy for the Devil," wherein the devil slyly tells listeners that "it was you and me" who "killed the Kennedys" (making everyone responsible ensures that no one is truly responsible, allowing evil to advance), James Joiner, the Special Projects Editor at Esquire Digital, pointed the finger of guilt for recent events in Ferguson, Missouri at all Americans. He claimed that "we are all complicit" in what has transpired, starting with the shooting death of Michael Brown in an altercation with police on August 9. Execrable excerpts follow the jump (links are in original; bolds and numbered tags are mine):
Kudos to Ed Driscoll at PJ Media, Eddie Scarry at Mediaite, and likely others in pointing out that the Associated Press has frequently violated its own stylebook in describing Michael Brown, the 18 year-old who was fatally shot in a scuffle with police in Ferguson, Missouri, as a "teen" or "teenager."
The AP's latest stylebook, in sync with the one I have from over a decade ago, states that reports should (italics is theirs) “use man or woman for individuals 18 and older." The violations have been pervasive, and have likely occurred since Brown died on August 9. Let's start with the specifics at Mediaite (most bolds are mine; links are in original):
Despite new details revealed by the police that provide additional context to the Michael Brown shooting, at least one MSNBC reporter seemed to dismiss the new information as largely irrelevant. On the August 15 edition of NewsNation, guest host Alex Witt invited msnbc.com reporter Trymaine Lee to the program. He has been reporting on the ground from Ferguson, Missouri this week.
Witt mentioned the facts surrounding what the police have dubbed a “strong-arm robbery” of a convenience store that supposedly took place about 30 minutes before the fatal shooting of Michael Brown, as confirmed by still shots of the scene. The shots – while not entirely clear – indicate that Michael Brown may have been a suspect. The NewsNation guest host asked Lee how much this complicated things and whether “this fact [might] be something that instills uncertainty within this community which has become calmer overnight?” Lee replied, unconvinced: [MP3 audio here; video below]