Who’s at Fault?

Since for the time being I find myself yet again stricken with verbal paralysis, I am reduced to stealing other folks’ words about the Michael Brown case.  Here’s one interesting bit of context from a fairly credible perspective, IMHO.

A cop and young black male interact on the street, and [each] give[s] the other a bit of attitude. The officer gives some attitude because he’s tired of getting attitude from other young men, and the young man gives some attitude because he’s tired of getting attitude from other cops. Now, who’s at fault?

This, as simple as it sounds, is how it starts. Once the infection begins, it grows quickly. If you want to say the cop’s at fault because he’s the adult with training, you are right. And if you want to say the young man is at fault for disrespect or mistrust of a cop’s authority, you are right.

– Mark O’Mara (defense attorney for George Zimmerman).  From Poisoned relationship between police and minorities.  CNN.com.  Aug. 13, 2014.

More soon.  Just gotta gimme a sec.  As usual, my reaction to these cases has to come in dribs and drabs, lest I run the risk of saying dumb stuff.

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