“We are Michael Brown!” shout black people.
“I am Darren Wilson,” proclaim white people.
The situation in Ferguson is not about Ferguson. It is not about Michael Brown. It is not about Darren Wilson.
It is about us.
It is about our identities. It is about who we are as a people. It is about our goodness as human beings.
When the media says Michael Brown was a thug, many black people are offended, as if the media were calling them thugs, and to call someone a thug is to deeply attack one’s character, one’s goodness.
When the protestors call Darren Wilson a racist pig, many white people are offended, as if the protestors were calling them racist pigs, and to call someone a racist pig is to deeply attack one’s character, one’s goodness.
I believe that what happened in Ferguson was a travesty. I believe that Michael Brown was a good person. I also believe that Darren Wilson is a good person. Again, I believe that what happened was a travesty.
When you shame someone for their behavior, you push them away instead of bringing them closer. You further ingrain the divide that exists. You rob them of their humanity.
Instead, when we focus on the act, not the actors, we can reconcile. We can release our guilt. We can release our rage.
When we remove the shame and realize that what made us afraid, hurt, angry, or confused was the thing that happened, not who made the thing happen, we can work with the other side to build a better world.
Imagine how this situation would be different if white people thought all black people were good people and black people thought all white people were good people.
Imagine how this situation would be different if we collectively mourned the death of a good man at the hands of a good man.
Imagine how this situation would be different if white people defended the goodness of black people and black people defended the goodness of white people and we all defended the goodness of ourselves.