Time to Move On

By Ed Hoffman

Will the Harvard students participating in “die-in” demonstrations prevent another incident like Ferguson? It’s doubtful. What about displays of solidarity by members of the St. Louis Rams? It’s certainly their constitutional right, but I doubt that local police departments are scrambling to change their rules of engagement because five players on a pro football team are still convinced Michael Brown had his hands up, despite what multiple African-American witnesses told a grand jury. What’s my point? The decision in the Michael Brown case was made; it’s time to respect it and move on.

Isn’t that what we’re supposed to do every time a state Supreme Court rules in favor of same-sex marriage? Isn’t that what is demanded of us when it comes to maintaining abortion rights? Using the arguments of the left, the answer to both those questions is yes; we are expected to silently, somberly defer to the courts whenever they make a decision we may not entirely agree with. Does that unspoken rule only apply to those of us who live in polite society – as in, the people who don’t enjoy looting, destroying and literally burning to the ground the cities in which we live? Apparently so.

If you disagree with the grand jury’s decision in this case, you can pillage the businesses of your peers and expect to receive nothing more than some mild admonition from local officials. In fact, you can expect to receive these sympathetic gestures, cloaked as warnings, from the President of the United States himself. The message goes like this: “We understand you, we agree with you, but don’t do this – unless you do it. We wish you wouldn’t, but we totally get it if you do.” And then when you do it – literally burn your city to the ground, so there are no places left for you to shop and no businesses left to provide you valuable services – you aren’t even expected to clean up your own mess. People from out of the city, many of whom actually agreed with the grand jury’s decision, will drive into town and clean it up for you. They will pick up the glass, sweep up the debris and donate to the GoFundMe that was set up for your neighbor whose bakery you destroyed. That sums up what happened in Ferguson last week.

Meanwhile, here’s the message that’s communicated to you if you agree with the grand jury’s decision: Watch your back. The attacks you receive on social media may be frighteningly explicit, but you deserve it because of your privilege. And you thought you worked for everything you have.

This is what passes for social justice as we near 2015. Happy near year, everyone.

Ed Hoffman is the host of the Main Event on AM590 which airs Saturday 9:30AM- 10:30AM and Sunday 4:00PM- 5:00PM. Follow him on Twitter @EdHoffman, and like him on Facebook by searching The Main Event AM590.