We’ve seemed to reach a familiar, awkward juncture in America: the intersection of race and sports. Several St. Louis Rams players decided to take a stand on Sunday by walking onto their home field in a “hands up, don’t shoot” gesture of solidarity with protesters of police brutality.
On November 25th, a Ferguson, Missouri grand jury decided not to indict officer Darren Wilson for murdering Mike Brown. In the months since the shooting occurred, racial tensions have ratcheted to a fever pitch in America. In this country, race “relations” are nonexistent, and the hysteria surrounding the Rams’ subtle protest exemplifies it. The fact that the game was played in Missouri, the current ground zero in the war on Cops, is fitting.
After the demonstration, there was backlash against the players on social media. Twitter users who sided with Darren Wilson called for the involved players to be released from their NFL contracts. The St. Louis Police Officers Association is upset and demanding an apology. The Rams have reportedly been banned from a bar in the city.
There is a growing movement on social media in support
of a misguided article stating Mike Brown did not have his hands up. This current hysteria has become yet another example of white America not seeing the forest for the trees.
Regardless of where Mike Brown’s hands were when he met his fate, that dialogue doesn’t address the climate that subconsciously infected Darren Wilson to view Mike Brown as a suspect the second he saw him. It doesn’t address the very real concern that
black men are literally being targeted for their skin color. It doesn’t siphon the awareness of Rams players or anyone else contributing to what’s becoming the most important movement of the 21st century. It doesn’t change the discussion that will ensue when a young black child asks an elder what “hands up” is referring to.
And that white jury pretended to believe that bullshyt.
I heard that today. Dude said that the Rams players are supporting "killing cops".
the NFL for not fining them.
