This is a Letter to the Editor that I received from a member of the social work community. Although I disagree with the opinion and facts of this reader, I believe this Letter to the Editor provides a perfect example of how conservatives and non-minorities conduct their analysis of the events in #Ferguson. I will be writing a response in order to open a dialogue on the competing viewpoints. You may also want to view “Social Work Appears Absent from Ferguson Global Conversation“~Deona Hooper, MSW
Here is the Letter to the Editor in full:
Hi I’m a licensed clinical social worker who has been working in the field since 2000. I read your latest article “Social workers Appears absent in #Ferguson Global Conversation”. I appreciate your opinion on Michael Brown’s shooting & I know there is a tremendous amount of pain in the communities of color because of years of experiencing prejudice & discrimination. At the same time, different opinions need to be discussed openly for the conversation on race relations & police brutality to progress.
I consider myself a very socially liberal person, but I strongly feel most of the media, far left wing activists, & some prominent members of the black community were quick to label the PO a murderer without hearing all the crucial evidence from both sides.
I know Brown’s friend (Dorian Johnson) was a key eye witness from the beginning, but since the shooting, it has become clear he has a history of lying to the police. For example, Johnson told the police & the media after the shooting that Brown & himself were not doinganything wrong when they were confronted by the PO.
The video from just minutes earlier proves that Johnson was with Brown while Brown was committing the robbery & nearly assaulting the shop keeper. From my understanding, if Brown was still alive, he might be charged with a felony. We also now know Brown had marijuana in his system at the time of the confrontation which might help us understand his mindset at the time.
It’s also really difficult to take Johnson’s testimony of the shooting seriously. It was widely reported that in the past, he was accused of stealing a backpack & I believe lying to the police regarding the incident. The PO also experienced a swollen face with a possible broken eye socket from his confrontation with Brown. This information flies in the face of Brown being called a gentle giant.
Of course, Brown did not deserve to be killed at only at eighteen years old & I feel very sorry for him & his grieving & traumatized family. At the same time, there is a strong possibility that the PO would most likely not get charged with homicide because of some of the contradictory evidence I described.
I think one of the most important things to remember right now is for people to continue protesting for justice in the case, but at the same time not be so quick to jump to conclusions about the PO being a murderer & a racist. I’m aware there are still very racist cops throughout the country, but it does not mean the PO was not within the law to protect himself if Brown used physical force against him.
No matter if the PO is found guilty or not, we must allow our criminal justice system to examine all the evidence & make a final verdict. I just wanted to express my opinion to you & I hope I was respectful because I did not mean to be insensitive to anyone. I’ve never written an email to a social work site, but I’ve been following the Brown killing very closely.
Giovanni Forcina, LCSW
I agree. If this letter was not framed as the thoughts of a Social Worker it may not stand out as so alarming because clearly we all know these opinions exist. But to try to back up your opinions with your “professional” Social Work practice history makes it appear that the writer could be harming folks with your judgments and inability to grasp the social context and history that informs the protest movement in Ferguson.
I think it would be interesting to see if you got a different response based on the platform you published this on. Have you seen a tonal difference in the comments to this post on Twitter or LinkedIn?
Oops posted to wrong site.
I did read the preface and I do get it, but I also know that just by sharing this letter you give it credence, whether you intend to or not. The preface notes that the letter is from a member of the social work community and I have to say again how frightening that reality is. It is much like how terrifying the analytic skills of some members of the law enforcement community can be. Thank you for your response and I look forward to reading your article if possible
To be fair, I actually agree with you. I was apprehensive about publishing the letter because I did not want to contribute to misinformation. But, as a social scientist, I saw an opportunity to see what others’ responses would be to this letter. As you can see, you are the only dissenter so far. I do plan to write an article responding to this letter, and I tried to add a preface in the intro for those seeking to understand Ferguson better. I 100% agree with you.
There is no benefit to posting this letter to the editor. It is destructive. This is the voice that cautions us to quiet ourselves and calm down because we don’t know for sure that an unarmed man was shot in the head by an armed Police Officer. We don’t need the language of oppression in social work forums, this letter is not given relevance by the frame that inclusion of it gives us a look at the oppressors’ analysis. I think it is scary beyond measure that this understanding comes of an individual practicing social work since 2000.
Andrew Mayer, you have just said what I have repeated all along. There are so many keyboard warriors out there that have been so quick to judge and argue and be so sure they are right, when the real issue is this: this is a seriously tragic situation for all parties. Because we are all human, no matter the circumstances, and all the lives involved will never be the same. If we would all focus on that and support each other, and wait for the totality of the evidence to come out, there would be a lot less hate and anger.
Because of the hearsay and conflicting reports, there is confusion and fear. And confusion and fear leads to anger and bad decisions on both sides of the coin.
105 people have been killed by Police over the past 23 yrs in Australia. That’s right, 105 in 22 years.
I think the issue in the US is bigger than black, white or any other color. The issue is the gun culture and until you address this incidents such as this will continue to occur on a daily basis. In 2013 alone about 30 US Police Officers were shot (dead) and that would only be a fraction of the number of civilians that were killed. Shame shame shame on a country that thinks it is the Best Nation in the World…..
Good letter! Could do without the labels though.
Not that this should matter but proves the point that the Ferguson police were being deceptive and manipulative by sharing (part of) this video: http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/08/19/1323057/-Crooks-and-Liars-Brown-appears-to-have-paid-for-those-cigars#
I don’t understand the problem with the letter or how it can be generalized as an example of how conservatives or non minorities analyze the case. While we know some, we don’t know all of the facts and details yet….
This is my fear with Facebook justice. We are not investigating the case, we do not have access to the details of the case and it would be, in fact, unethical to release much of the evidence to the public. So what we have here is mobs on either side declaring themselves the morally right side without the benefits of facts. I’m more concerned with the events in the aftermath, with the militarized police force, the assaults on news crews, and the trampling of constitutional rights than the events of that day. I wasn’t there when Michael Brown was shot. I don’t know the circumstances, I don’t know if it was justified. I know this, an 18 year old kid is dead and a cops life is ruined regardless of the outcome of the investigation. We have judged the situation, we have declared guilt where we choose to, yet we do not know nearly all of the actual facts.