Your Opinion: Hubris infuses white perspectives of blacks

Dear Editor:

Recently I have seen letters disparaging the "Black Lives Matter" movement. I take a different view. I think we "white folks" really have no idea how things work day-to-day for people who happen to be African-American and I believe it's hubris to think we do. I know for myself I didn't fear for my life the couple of times I've gotten pulled over for a traffic violation. I can go shopping without being harassed.

When I need to see someone in charge that person will generally be white. Even Band Aids are white. Our society is built on white privilege. Racism is a huge gaping sore in our country and I believe the only way to make it better is to try to see through the eyes of black and brown people.

With that in mind and this limited forum, here is my take on the events of Ferguson. My impressions of Michael Brown's death seem to be different from many here. First Darren Wilson was not exonerated. The grand jury said they did not see enough evidence to hold him for trial - a far cry from innocent.

For Michael, like other kids, the summer before college is different. Kids try things that normally they would never do. I submit that this was the case when Michael Brown took the cigars. He had no criminal record. He was on his way to college not on a sports scholarship but because he made grades. Rather than just talking to Michael and his friend until help showed up, Darren Wilson, the supposed professional, used insulting language and grabbed Michael, causing things to become deadly.

Michael should have stood trial for his misdemeanor not end up dead in the street! The citizens of this community that saw one of their sons gunned down and will no more be able to "get over it" than the parents of the girls in our community who were killed by a drunk driver.

I grew up just a few miles from Ferguson. McDonald-Douglas used to employ many of its residents with good-paying jobs and most lived an average, middle-class lifestyle.

Now Boeing is a shadow of that former employer. Businesses left because they had no customers. Generational poverty reigns. Renters outnumber homeowners. The dynamics of Ferguson are complicated and its problems won't be fixed overnight but I believe things will get better.

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