Who speaks for those the media forgot?

Who speaks for those the media forget in the Missouri killing? from the files of Armstrong Williams at the Washington Times

Meet Armstrong Williams

In the past few weeks, the mainstream media have been consumed with the tragic events that continue to unfold in Ferguson, Missouri. An unarmed 18-year-old American named Michael Brown was shot at least six times by a Ferguson police officer.

Needless to say, the media has a lot to talk about. A white police officer shot an unarmed American who happens to be of African decent. Members of the press were detained by the police. The riots and protests grew increasingly violent. U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder traveled last week to the site of the altercation while Ferguson police fired tear gas at the protesting crowds.

But with all the pain and ongoing chaos in Ferguson, we seem to have forgotten the thousands of shootings that take place on a daily basis all throughout this nation.

Sixteen individual human beings, mainly black and Hispanics, can get shot and killed over a July 4th weekend in Chicago — and no one talks about it.

Are we as a society made so shortsighted by racial tension that we forget the larger truth that we are all human beings created in the image of God?

Every single human being who is killed, no matter what their skin color, should be acknowledged, mourned, and their killer brought to justice.

The shooting that occurred in Ferguson, Missouri is tragic and shameful. The tens of thousands of ongoing shootings in major U.S. cities, especially Chicago, are even more shameful and dreadful.

Through the first half of this year alone, Chicago has experienced 172 homicides and over 1,100 shootings. On just one weekend while the riots were breaking out in Ferguson, seven people in Chicago were murdered while 29 more were wounded. These killings included an innocent 16-year-old little girl who was caught in the crossfire.

Righteous anger over the killing of Michael Brown is justifiable. But why are we quick to protest the taking of innocent life in this case yet ignore the innocent life taken in so many other cases?

Why are the mainstream media so focused on running 24-hour news coverage of white-on-black crime, yet pay little attention to the daily killings of black Americans by fellow blacks in our cities?

Have we become apathetic to the sight of blacks killing each other? God shows no partiality. He sees the value of the person, not the shade of their skin. Shouldn’t we do that same?

Instead of praying for families and focusing our efforts on community revitalization after tragic events like the shooting of Michael Brown, we waste our time watching television and gossiping on social media.

Ending the cycle of violence in American requires active love that drives out fear, hatred and a mentality obsessed with revenge. Martin Luther King Jr. said: “Man must evolve for all human conflict a method which rejects revenge, aggression and retaliation. The foundation of such a method is love.”

As you struggle to support those families grieving the death of a son or daughter victimized by irrational violence, remember the words of Martin Luther King Jr. and respond in kind.

_________________________________________________________

Armstrong Williams is sole owner/manager of Howard Stirk Holdings and executive editor of American CurrentSee Online Magazine.