Pharrell Questions Why We Aren’t Discussing Michael Brown’s Behavior After Fatal Ferguson Shooting
by Staff Editor
This week has been tough for not only the residents of Ferguson, but for those across the country that had to watch the Grand Jury decide to not indict Officer Darren Wilson in the shooting death of 18-year-old Michael Brown.
Although majority are discussing the behavior and actions of Wilson, and how he is able to now be a free man from the tragic events, Pharrell Williams thinks we are forgetting one major factor.
In an interview with Ebony, the superstar producer recently discussed how he believes that people should be talking more about the behavior of teen Michael Brown leading up to the shooting.
He told the mag:
“It looked very bullyish; that in itself I had a problem with,” Williams said, referring to released surveillance video that allegedly shows Brown forcefully stealing cigarillos from a store shortly before he was fatally shot by Officer Darren Wilson. “Not with the kid, but with whatever happened in his life for him to arrive at a place where that behavior is OK. Why aren’t we talking about that?”
Even though his focus seems to be more on Brown’s actions, he does make it a point to talk about Darren Wilson being held accountable:
“I believe that [the] Ferguson officer should be punished and serve time. He used excessive force on a human being who was merely a child. He was a baby, man. The boy was walking in the middle of the street when the police supposedly told him to ‘get the f-k on the sidewalk,'” Williams told Ebony. “If you don’t listen to that, after just having pushed a storeowner, you’re asking for trouble. But you’re not asking to be killed. Some of these youth feel hunted and preyed upon, and that’s why that officer needs to be punished.”
How do you feel about Pharrell’s words on the matter?
We were told this week that two wrongs make a right. Michael Brown was only 18 years old. He was no saint. He disobeyed a Police Officer. He struck a Police Officer. He broke the law and he should have been punished, not murdered. He should have been given a chance to reform himself through the proper channels of a justice system we’re supposed to trust. Instead, he was given a death sentence in the middle of the street. Michael will never see a day in court for his wrongs- and neither will Officer Darren Wilson for his. I was compelled to create a portrait of Michael in memoriam at http://dregstudiosart.blogspot.com/2014/11/michael-browns-shoes.html to stand in solidarity with the people of Ferguson and families who’ve lost their children to sentences passed by cops in the streets.