How ironic that Eugene Robinson finishes his Aug. 22 column on black youth violence with the sentence, "After the smoke clears, we will be blind once again." I would contend it is the smokescreen of the progressive political narrative that has clouded the truth about Trayvon Martin and Michael Brown.
Last year, I closely followed Robinson's columns on Trayvon Martin and was simply appalled at his simplistic racial constructions. It was as if the facts presented in the trial meant nothing. Martin was not innocently tracked down and killed, Martin died while doubling back and committing a felony assault.
Likewise, Michael Brown's death also is devoid of the salient facts. It appears Brown and Officer Darren Wilson had three encounters: jaywalking, attempted arrest and assault. After running on an order to freeze, Brown allegedly taunted and bum rushed the officer with his 300-pound, 6-foot-4 frame.
A background audio of a witness who was dumbfounded someone would charge an officer with a gun pointed at him also notes he thought the first few shots missed since he kept charging, not running away with his hands up. The autopsy confirms only frontal wounds. Brown died while committing felony assault on a police officer. Apparently the hands up surrender story was an invention of his partner in crime, with absolutely disastrous consequences. Self-defense is not racist.
Mark Schroeder
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Rochester
