Tuesday, November 11, 2014
Michael Brown's Parents Testify at U.N.
Lesley McSpadden and Michael Brown Sr. are the parents of Michael Brown Jr., the teenage boy killed in Ferguson. The parents traveled to Switzerland to speak in front of the U.N. committee about what is going on in Missouri. They want to let the U.N. know what kind of violence is happening and are pushing the U.N. to take measures against the police brutality. The parents say they addressed the U.N. to bring worldwide attention to the occurrences in Ferguson.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
I am still not sure with where I stand with this issue but it seems a little extreme for the Browns to go all the way to the UN. I think police brutality is an issue and should be addressed but I don't really think this is the best example of police brutality. I also don't think the UN will make a big power move against the US. I'm just not sure how much good it will do for the UN to become more aware then they already are of the issue.
ReplyDeleteThough I don't think it was necessary to go the UN I don't believe the UN will do anything anyways. What needs to happen is the US government needs to handle the situation. They have ignored Ferguson for far far too long. It started as a peaceful protest but the people of Ferguson are frustrated and have started fighting back. Darren Wilson needs to be put in jail and the Ferguson police need to be transferred to an area that better fits their demographics. In a county that is over 80% black, an entirely white police force is not going to make them feel safe and will only anger them more. Unless an entirely new police force is brought in, there will never be peace in Ferguson.
ReplyDeleteI agree with both Becky and Taryna that it was a little extreme for the Browns to go all the way to the UN. I don't think there is much the UN can do about the situation, and I don't think they raised much more awareness than there already is. What they need to do is keep working within the US to solve this issue. The US government is the one the needs to handle this situation, so the Browns should be focusing all of there attention on them, rather than the UN.
ReplyDeleteI think that the situation has been exaggerated by the community of Ferguson. Though I do not doubt that some of the officers in Ferguson used unnecessary and illegal force, it is also true that the people Ferguson have not been very "peaceful" protesters. I doubt that Brown's parents have enough evidence and information in order to convince the UN to take action, but I still believe that there needs to be changes made to certain police forces in the United States so that situations such as the one in Ferguson do not occur.
ReplyDeleteThough I mourn the Browns' loss of their son, I don't understand their decision to speak at the UN. The UN is ineffectual in terms of solving social problems, so I can't imagine that the Browns are actually seeking productive action by the organization. Therefore, it seems that they are only speaking there to bring attention to issues of police brutality and race. It would make more sense to discuss these issues with American leaders, who have direct impact on our policy. In terms of the actual issue, it would be in everyone's best interest to target and prosecute genuine cases of racially motivated police brutality that can be proven in court, rather than making blanket assumptions about law enforcement and claiming, in spite of vast contradictory evidence, that America still faces a major problem in terms of racial violence and injustice. Also, it would be unwise to put Darren Wilson in jail, considering the verdict in his trial has not yet been reached.
ReplyDeletei agree with Taryna, Becky, and Victoria. I don't think that by bringing this case to the UN will help the situation. It may bring more attention to the matter but even that may be very little. I think that the family of Michael Brown and the people of Ferguson should try to resolve the problem in Ferguson and not drag the situation into a place where it should not be. The UN is not going to solve the problem. I think the only way at this point, there is not really much more or anything that can be done about the case except for wait for the grand jury's verdict.
ReplyDeleteThe U.N. is too weak to enforce anything in actuality. We act as though the U.N. is a method that we can use to solve the worlds problems, but it is not. There needs to be rework of the system in order to produce a system that works to govern the world. And, like many others have said, it was pointless of the Brown's to go the U.N. They have other issues that need to be solved before police brutality.
ReplyDeleteI get that the Brown family wants to get their tragic story out to the world. Yet I don't think the U.N. is actually going to help at all. At this point, like Becky said, The US government needs to come in and handle the situation, not the U.N.. Also I have to disagree with the Brown family. The United States does not need to "conduct a nationwide investigation of systematic police brutality and harassment in black and brown communities, and youth in particular. Methodology and findings of this investigation must be made publicly available." I don't think this is necessary, and if the government did conduct this investigation I think it would be a waste of time and resources.
ReplyDeleteAs others have said, I don't think the UN will be able to help Ferguson much. This is a problem within the U.S. that needs to be dealt with forces in America. However, the fact that the Brown family felt they had to go to the UN shows how ineffective local Ferguson police as well as the federal government have been in this case. If Americans, such as those in Ferguson and everyone who supports their cause, feel that police brutality and racial profiling still exists in America, then it must be taken seriously and dealt with, though I personally believe it's an issue ingrained in American society.
ReplyDeleteI think that going to the UN will prove futile. The UN is meant to regulate international and human rights issues. I have previously addressed my thoughts about this situation is another blog post so I won't belabor it ultimately I think that Micheal Brown was just as much at fault as the police officer so I really don't know what they are protesting. I think now the issue has become more that the protests are not peaceful and less about the real issue, abuse of law enforcement power.
ReplyDeleteIt seems to me like going to the UN is a desperate attempt to get attention to the issue in order to resolve it. I can kind of understand why they'd be desperate enough to go to the UN, considering our government appears to be ignoring this issue, and has been for months. My guess is that the ultimate result of this appeal to the UN will be to bring more attention to the issue. I don't think the UN will be able to do anything, as others have said, but at least this might bring back awareness to a problem that has unfortunately been brushed aside.
ReplyDeleteTo me, testifying to the UN seems rather bizarre and pointless for Brown family to do. With the great influence of the US and its allies in the UN, no motion would ever likely be passed that criticizes the US, and with the testimony occurring behind closed doors, the value to the media in replaying the testimony was eliminated.
ReplyDeleteAll of the procedure proposed in this article seem like very valid regulations to enforce with police officers. The reoccurrence of excessive force used by some cops is absolutely appalling and it is an issue. However, even when strict procedures are imposed on police officers (such as cameras), the officers seem to still be above the law (ie the Eric Gardner).
ReplyDelete