In amongst all the shouty, screechy, 'I'm right, you're wrong' slug-fest that passes for political discourse - and to which this blog is a contributor - both here but even more so 'over there', what a relief to come across two articles, one by a Leftie and the other by a Rightie admitting that perhaps they were wrong. Yes, indeed, the hardest words in politics - I was wrong! Interesting that both these mea culpas arise from the recent events in Ferguson, Missouri where a police officer shot dead an unarmed, black robber.
First off, we have Jonathan Capehart in the WaPo, of all places, admitting that the entire furore raised over the shooting and the alleged innocence of the perp who was supposed to have raised his hands in surrender before being shot by the dastardly Officer Wilson, was a based on an outrageous lie which was echoed throughout the liberal media:
But this month, the Justice Department released two must-read investigations connected to the killing of Brown that filled in blanks, corrected the record and brought sunlight to dark places by revealing ugly practices that institutionalized racism and hardship. They have also forced me to deal with two uncomfortable truths: Brown never surrendered with his hands up, and Wilson was justified in shooting Brown. [My emphasis]
Well done, Mr. Capehart, although I fear you may find it hard to find work in the 'liberal' media in the future.
Meanwhile, over on the Right we have an interesting article by Seth Mandel at Commentary Magazine in which he confirms that the DoJ report into matters in Ferguson shows that the entire police and court system was simply a racket - and I do mean 'racket' in the old American meaning of the word. Basically, it was an extortion racket used simply to raise money for the local government and applying every trick in the book to fool the offenders and thus raise the 'vig', or if you like, the fines, to astronomic heights. Obviously a very large proportion of the 'perps' were poor and ignorant and even semi-illiterate and thus were easy fodder from whom the authorities could suck blood! You do not need a degree in sociology to guess the skin color of the majority of those who were ensnared in this vile system!
Anyway, well done to Mr. Capehart and Mr. Mandel for telling it the way it was despite their finer feelings!
