In his address to the public announcing there would be no charges against Officer Darren Wilson, St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Robert McCulloch stated that the young man's shooter exercised the same rights which all American's have to defend themselves if they fear for their lives. Somehow, I don't think these rights would stand up to the same scrutiny under different circumstances. Try putting Michael Brown's shoe on the other foot. A white Police Officer strikes a black youth for trying to tell him what to do. The youth retaliates by firing 12 shots at the Police Officer, killing him in the street. The black youth would be sent to trial by a grand jury's decision in three minutes, not three months. He'd be a cop killer and sitting on death row. As the case rests today under these same circumstances, the public is told Darren Wilson did his job.
Michael Brown was only 18 years old. He was no saint. He disobeyed a Police Officer. He struck a Police Officer. He broke the law and he should have been punished, not murdered. He should have been given a chance to reform himself through the proper channels of a justice system we're supposed to trust. Instead, he was given a death sentence in the middle of the street. Michael will never see a day in court for his wrongs- and neither will Officer Darren Wilson for his. Today we were all told two wrongs make a right.
Tonight I was compelled to draw a portrait of Michael in memoriam. Tonight I stand in solidarity with the people of Ferguson, MO as the city feels their unrest. Tonight I stand in solidarity with every black youth who has been gunned down instead of being sent to trial.
You have no idea what happened because you where not there. All the evidence said otherwise, case closed. When the officer told him to STOP he did not, instead he charged toward him. He shot him in self defense.You do not want to hear the truth. If this had been a black cop killing a white man it would not have made the news and do NOT say it would have because you would lying.
ReplyDeleteConflicting Anonymous, you weren't there either my friend. Everything you site in your comment was conflicted by other witnesses. You can't cherry-pick whose version of the truth you want to hear.
Delete"You can't cherry-pick whose version of the truth you want to hear."
DeleteWhich is exactly just what you are doing.
I prefer the version backed up by the forensics science. It showed Brown did attack Wilson IN HIS CAR, and was shot, NOT WITH HIS ARMS UP, but in the attack position. He was never shot from behind, only from the front.
You want to support this thug, go ahead. Just don't expect the rest of us to go along with you.
Cherry-picking Anonymous, that exactly what the entire world is doing. Again, it doesn't take six gunshots to arrest and and detain an unarmed teenager. This kid was given a death sentence without due process. Assaulting an Officer doesn't carry such a stiff penalty from what I understand.
DeleteYour comments are verging on criminal libel. A grand jury examined a ton of evidence and determined that this wasn't murder. You disgust me. You are either incredibly naive, incredibly stupid, or just a lame opportunist trying to use this tragic situation to promote your artwork. I'm not sure which is worse.
DeleteLibel Anonymous, I suppose I have what Christians would refer to as a "calling" about certain issues. It was certainly my intent to memorialize Michael as well as get off my chest my own outrage at unarmed children being gunned down in the street. It appears some of us have different ideas of which side the "thugs" are on.
DeleteBrandt----it's like Anonymous said....you're either incredibly naive, incredibly stupid, or just plain RACIST !!! People like you don't want justice---you only want REVENGE....and there's no place in society for fools like YOU !
DeletePathetic! Please don't quit your day job and as for Michael Brown, this 6'4", 292 pounds thug would be alive today if only he had complied with the Wilson's request to put his hands up.
ReplyDeleteIf Wilson were truly out to kill black men, don't you think that Brown's buddy would be dead too?
He did put his hands up asshole, and then he was promptly filled with fullets
DeletePathetic Anonymous, some witnesses say his hands were up and some say they weren't. It doesn't take 6 bullet holes to stop anyone despite whole 2 inch advantage he had over Officer Wilson.
DeleteIf you had spent the time reading the transcripts of the witnesses and other documents from the grand jury, you may have a completely f=different point of view. http://hosted.ap.org/specials/interactives/_documents/ferguson-shooting/
DeleteDocumented Anonymous, I did read some of the comparisons of witness testimony. Half said he had his hands up, half didn't. Half said he charged, half didn't. Neither matters- an unarmed teenager was still shot 6 times for striking a police officer. His crimes don't warrant a death sentence no matter the circumstances or witness accounts.
DeleteThis "art" is really shitty - it just sucks - don't quit your day job.
ReplyDeleteShitty Anonymous, Everyone is a critic right? And yes, I do still have my day job which gives me the freedom to choose my own subject matter since I'm not at the mercy of clientele. Lucky you!
DeleteThis is raw and human. I love it. There's so much in the eyes.
ReplyDeleteKeep doing you. The best version of everyone is needed.
Human Anonymous, thanks for the kind words. We're all in this together.
DeleteThis man was not an angel & the policeman was not just a person hating blacks. This was just a case of a thug who robbed & threatened people & a po;iceman tried to stop him. If the thug had been white & had robbed & attacked the same store owner you all would have cheered when he would have been shot. But NO, Just because the thug was black you all started pulling the race card & looted & stole from stores which makes you all no different than the thug Michael Brown. Instead of teaching your children not to be like Brown & to act civilized & not hurt others you teach them to be even 10 times as bad as Brown & will wonder why your children wind up dead in the street after robbing or beating someone up. Act civilized, obey laws & treat others as you would want to be treated & then & only then will you be able to be respected. If either of my sons did what Brown did I would expect the police to stop him in any way possible if he acted like the thug Brown was. Also none of these people on here (not even me ) knows what happened on the street & can not judge the situation. The witnesses all did not know what happened until after Brown was lying on the street. And then they all just conjectured about what happened. And then the conjecturing just grew & grew with NO facts to back it up. Stop wasting your time holding up for a thug & go home & spend time with your children & teach them not to be thugs & teach them to obey laws & respect our laws & respect the men & women (no matter their skin color) serving to stop criminals from breaking laws.
ReplyDeleteCivilized Anonymous, I can't say I'd call you the Parent of the Year if you'd truly want a cop to gun one of your children down for breaking the law. I can't say it enough times- it is the court's job to punish criminals, not the police officer's.
DeleteGreat memorial, please don't loose your faith in humanity Brandt, there are some ugly comments on here from cowardly racists who think it's a good use of time to attack a person for paying artistic tribute to the death of a young man. Let's hope that the result of Brown's death is a new revolution in civil rights, lest he die in vain.
ReplyDeleteI don't let the negativity get to me Mr. Dizzle! Thanks for the support. I as well hope the positive from this is attention brought to the civil injustices involved in our Police State.
DeleteGet a life will you please
DeleteGot a damn good one, Anon... I'll still be here.
DeleteYour painting looks like a 45 year old black man. Who is that supposed to be anyway? Seriously.
ReplyDeleteColor Blind Anonymous, I'm sorry I've failed to live up to the standards of each and every one of my visitors (again.)
Deleteyour art sucks and you are a naive libtard
ReplyDeleteSuck Anonymous, if naive is expecting Police Officers not to pass death sentences on the citizens they are employed to protect then I'll wear that shoe.
DeleteAnonymous y don't u just shut up. Bcuz what do u say bout the cop killing the 12 yr old. What u say he was right in shooting him n all he had was a toy gun? U need ur head examined ok
ReplyDeleteSTFU Anonymous, all nine shootings which have occurred since Michael Brown's death signal a broken system full of profiling. I have to agree that anyone who thinks these cops are just doing their job needs to reassess their way of thinking.
DeleteThanks for sharing the art work. Be positive.
ReplyDeleteThere is no need to respond to psychopaths. Psychopath's goal in life is to make crime the norm.
Positive Anonymous... We enjoy killing trolls with kindness around here!
DeleteI agree.
DeleteMichael Brown and his supporters are psychopaths whose goal in life is to make crime the norm.
Norm, if you'd read what I wrote to accompany the portrait, you'd understand this has nothing to do with allowing crime running a muck. It has to do with passing sentences with bullets instead of a day in court.
DeleteSelf defense does not equate 6 shots hitting Michael brown and 2 of those were in the head. That is excessive. Period. Good riddance Darren won't be working there anymore. He should move to a white neighborhood where he feels "safe". While his child goes to school and could get killed at school by his white peer. Typical white privilege thinking they are above anyone when their own kind mass murder each other. So which is worse? Black on black or mass murders of white on white? I say neither bc no one ethnicity is better than the other. Also we are all the same race as well; human. Keep fighting the good fight. Stand up to those who take the side of Darren BC you know they were against OJ Simpson. No evidence but he was condemned. Darren clearly murders a human and gets away with it and he gets defended.
ReplyDeleteExcessive Anonymous, I agree... we're all human and need to find a solution to this.
DeleteBeautiful tribute to a young man who died because of our racist, broken do-called justice system. There is no reason for the bigotry and hatred directed at your amazing work of art. Right wing bigots are everywhere, unfortunately. Faux Noise stokes the fires of such hatred.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the nice comment.
DeleteBeautiful drawing, and great writing.
ReplyDeleteI'm not American, don't live in the U.S. either, but I'm an African mother living in Europe with my two teenage sons, and to read of all this needless killings of young men about my sons age has me very distraught. We have yet a long way to go, and all of us, regardless of race, should stand together and force the system to see young black men as just young men, without the black- and treat them just as they'd treat young white men or Asian men.
World-View Anonymous, thank you for the insightful comment.
DeleteWould people be protesting if a white cop shot a white teen. Or a black cop shot a black teen? No, this happens every day. People choose this one to try and show racism. He broke the law. Common sense tells you not to hit someone with a gun. Where are the people like Charles Barkley, believing in the justice system. I am sure the public defender had a equal number of people who where both white and black. Bit, stupid people continue to say it was not Mr. Browns fault only the cops fault. Respect the law and you will not be harmed. I speed I get a ticket, I take something that is not mine I run the risk of being shot. He should break into a home in Alabama. See if a person who is at home and armed let's him live. Just saying that I don't think he should have been shot that many times. At the same time the cop doesn't know if he has a gun or not. If you stupid enough to rob a store most of the time you have a weapon. Or you wind up like a robber did in clanton at Maw bates store. He stole money out of her drawer. She pulled out a 44 mag from under the counter. Told him to give his life to Jesus because she is about to send him there. He dropped the money and waited on the cops. She was serious. People work hard for what they own. If you rob someone you might just pay with your life. Please send me your thoughts at seth_easterling@yahoo.com
ReplyDelete