I suggest you read Watson's statement a little more closely. He is pushing the Black victimhood meme.
I'M SYMPATHETIC, because I wasn't there so I don't know exactly what happened. Maybe Darren Wilson acted within his rights and duty as an officer of the law and killed Michael Brown in self defense like any of us would in the circumstance. Now he has to fear the backlash against himself and his loved ones when he was only doing his job. What a horrible thing to endure. OR maybe he provoked Michael and ignited the series of events that led to him eventually murdering the young man to prove a point.
I guess Watson is not buying into the Grand Jury verdict and the Rule of Law. Aren't the facts and evidence conclusive? Why the "maybes" and moral equivalence?
I'M OFFENDED, because of the insulting comments I've seen that are not only insensitive but dismissive to the painful experiences of others.
What does he mean by this? Whose painful experiences is he talking about? Who is insulting whom?
I'M CONFUSED, because I don't know why it's so hard to obey a policeman. You will not win!!! And I don't know why some policeman abuse their power. Power is a responsibility, not a weapon to brandish and lord over the populace.
In the case of Michael Brown, perhaps his failure to obey a policeman had to do with his prior strong-arm robbery of a convenience store.
I'M HOPELESS, because I've lived long enough to expect things like this to continue to happen. I'm not surprised and at some point my little children are going to inherit the weight of being a minority and all that it entails.
Michael Brown was not the victim of racism. He robbed a convenience store and attacked a policeman in his car attempting to take his weapon--a felonious, unwarranted attack.
The cure for the Michael Brown, Trayvon Martin, Tamir Rice and Eric Garner tragedies is not education or exposure. It's the Gospel.
So what links these people together except their skin color and the fact that they were killed at the hands of the white man? The circumstances surrounding Brown's death were far different than the other cases.
Watson is trying to have it both ways. In the immortal words of Rodney King, "Can't we all just get along?"
"Watson is trying to have it both ways. In the immortal words of Rodney King, "Can't we all just get along?" That is the real problem with his missive...he does want it both ways. But even with the parts that are faulty, there are parts that ring true.
It reminds me of the old saying that, whenever someone says the word "BUT" in a sentence, you disregard everything that comes before the word "BUT", and glean the true meaning of what the person is trying to say from what follows the word "BUT".
I like Ben Watson, as much as one can like or dislike any public person in the absence of any real personal interaction, and instead on the basis of interviews, quotes, or articles.
I have been a football fan for 40+ years, and a Patriots fan for 20+, so I have had the opportunity to be familiar with Ben Watson.
As an NFL player (when he played for the Patriots) a freakishly physically talented individual who is a very intelligent team player and doesn't make mistakes. Big, very strong, very quick, and fast. He would be the perfect tight end, one of the all-time greats, if he didn't suffer from a fundamental fault for someone who plays his position: He has hands of stone. Can't catch the ball. Oh well. That is what made him somewhat of a journeyman instead of a real star like Gonzales, Graham or Gronkowski.
Check out this video of a play Watson made against the Denver Broncos a few years back in the 2005 AFC Championship game, where Denver completely kicked the Patriots collective butt. Brady was intercepted, and the ball ran back for what appeared to be a 101 yard interception return. But Ben Watson, who had to cover 120 yards to the 101 the defensive back had to cover, somehow caught up with him at the 1-yard line and plowed into him.
How we loved him for that play!
Anyway, I think he is a quality guy, just tried to straddle the line with some aspects of his opinion piece, which I think he should have avoided.