How Does Ferguson Make You Feel?

One of the most fascinating things about Ferguson is how much how YOU feel about Ferguson dictates your opinion about Officer Wilson’s guilt or innocence.

Days after the riots, a YouGov poll found that “64 percent of black Americans said Wilson was at fault, compared with just 22 percent of whites. White respondents were more than seven times as likely as blacks to say that the shooting was justified” (“Americans remain deeply divided,” 2014, para. 5).

The Racial Divide is Not New

The poll about the racial divide after Ferguson is similar to one released after O.J. Simpson was acquitted. In October of 1995, a CBS poll found 64% of whites thought O.J. Simpson was probably guilty. In contrast, 41% of blacks believed he was guilty (Frankovic, 2014). Most whites felt disappointed that the justice system failed, but their was no rioting in the streets. The feeling was different.

Are you Surprised about What Happened?

I am not surprised when a white racist sees the shooting as a good thing (that is pathetic, but I am not surprised).

I am not surprised when I see a white conservative Christian view the same situation as a justified tragedy (both terms: justified and tragedy used at the same time).

I am also not surprised when an African American says, “this could happen to me” (and he truly believes that Michael Brown A) had his hands up, B) was saying “don’t shoot,” and C) the officer “just wanted to kill somebody” (as Michael Brown’s mother said in an interview the other day). It is all about social identity.

The center for creative leadership defines social identity as: “group memberships such as nationality, race, gender, language, religion, generation, sexual orientation, and the like.” (Center for Creative Leadership, & VanVelsor 2010, pp. 147-148).

True Justice is Always Individual

I have read that some people wanted Officer Wilson to be punished to “pay for past injustices” as much as for the shooting of Michael Brown. This type of thinking is always wrongheaded.

Follow this first assumption, and then think about what follows.

Assumption: Assume that Wilson is completely clear (that he followed procedures and acted in self-defense) as the Grand Jury has determined. I realize that I am asking some of my readers to swallow an assumption here, but I just follow me.

There are those who want him to “pay” anyway because of the “injustice of the system.” But we need to think in particulars, not in the aggregate. In the aggregate, such an action would appear to be payback for past wrongs, but in the particulars, it is the very definition of injustice. 

How would you react if he was made the fall guy so that the town of Ferguson would not burn in riots? I would imagine you would be pretty angry. What if Officer Wilson was murdered by an angry protester and the murderer received a presidential pardon? How would that make you feel? Angry? Abused? Victimized? That is the type of anger that the African American community is feeling.

Yet, in neither scenario would justice would be served because the individual would be paying  for the sins of the collective. That is not justice.

The lesson: Each particular case we get right leads to an aggregate of greater justice.

True “Social Justice” is Nothing More than the Aggregate of Individual Justice

Now, the reverse is also true. Each particular we get wrong leads to a greater sense of injustice. That is not too hard to understand.

Application: African Americans feel these particulars disproportionately. There is greater interaction and greater negative affect between African Americans and the police, which may be through racism or may be due to a higher rate of negative personal interactions with the police due to higher crime rates in African American neighborhoods (coupled with  a feeling of being abused, not served, or ignored by those in power).

It is likely that their perception of each of these particular instances of injustice is far more intense, leading to a greater aggregate impression of injustice. Naturally, they want these wrongs righted. This is understandable as they have more negative experiences that inform them that the system is broken, that the deck is stacked. I think I understand this (at least as well as a white conservative can).

Yet, this is no reason to lynch an innocent man (remember the assumption).  I think it explains why it is so much more difficult for African Americans to accept the Grand Jury’s decision (and the subsequent release of anger). 

The Common Cause that Divides Us

“An old Arab proverb warns: ‘Me against my brother; me and my brother against my cousin’ me, by brother and my cousin against the world.’” (Mulgan, 1998).  de Tocqueville’s wrote that “In politics… shared hatreds are almost always the basis of friendships” (de Toqueville, 2009, p. 73).  These fault lines everywhere–by race, gender, religion, etc.  A study by Drew Weston, a Political Science Professor, found a divide on O.J. not only between black and white but male and female based on social identity:

A revealing study attempted to predict which black women would believe O.J.Simpson was guilty of killing his wife. African-American women were in an emotionally complicated position. As women, they were likely to identify with his wife and, hence, to be emotionally inclined to take seriously evidence such as DNA samples. On the other hand, as African Americans, they were likely to identify with Simpson, and African Americans overwhelmingly believed that O.J. was framed. So how did they resolve this conflict? The answer lies in the relative strength of their identifications—and, by extension, their feelings. The extent to which African-American women believed Simpson was guilty depended on the extent to which they identified with being black or being female. If being female was more central to their identity, they were more likely to believe evidence against Simpson. If their African-American identity was stronger, they were more likely to find the evidence uncompelling. (Westen, 2007, p. 103)

Yet, it is not our identity, but our common humanity that makes us feel our differences. In a Facebook post that went viral, Benjamin Watson listed the mixed emotions he felt as he watched Ferguson burn. He felt anger, frustration, fear, embarrassment, sadness, sympathy, fear, offended, confused, introspection, hopelessness, hope,  but he concluded:

I’M ENCOURAGED, because ultimately the problem is not a SKIN problem, it is a SIN problem. SIN is the reason we rebel against authority. SIN is the reason we abuse our authority. SIN is the reason we are racist, prejudiced and lie to cover for our own. SIN is the reason we riot, loot and burn. BUT I’M ENCOURAGED because God has provided a solution for sin through the his son Jesus and with it, a transformed heart and mind. One that’s capable of looking past the outward and seeing what’s truly important in every human being. The cure for the Michael Brown, Trayvon Martin, Tamir Rice and Eric Garner tragedies is not education or exposure. It’s the Gospel. So, finally, I’M ENCOURAGED because the Gospel gives mankind hope.

It is a complicated scenario, but I hope this little post provides a bit more understanding. I would love to know what you think.

-Darin Gerdes

References

Center for Creative Leadership, & VanVelsor, E. (2010). The center for creative leadership handbook of leadership development. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Frankovic, K. (2014, Aug 12). The O.J. Simpson Case and the Public: 20 Years later. YouGov: What the World Thinks. Retrieved from: https://today.yougov.com/news/2014/06/12/oj-simpson-case-and-race-20-years-later/
_____________

Dr. Darin Gerdes is an associate professor and director of graduate programs in the School of Business at Charleston Southern University. His interdisciplinary background includes undergraduate degrees in government and psychology from Liberty University, a master of business administration, a master of arts in public policy and a PhD in organizational leadership from Regent University. He designed the master of arts in organizational leadership program at Charleston Southern University.