The major news outlets have literally invaded the small town of Ferguson, Missouri. This small suburb of St. Louis with slightly more than 22,000 has become the center of one of the most publicized crimes of the year. What makes this so unique is that there seems to be two entirely different stories depending on which channel is being watched, with little to no overlapping facts.
On one side of the facts, we are presented with a young African-american teenager who has no adult criminal record. He graduated high school earlier this year, and he was out with his friend on August 9th. He was approached by a a police officer allegedly shot him as he was walking towards him with his hands in the air. The crowds have cited this as an example of over zealous police using excessive force.
On the other side of the facts, we are presented with Darren Wilson who is an decorated police officer with a spotless record of more than six years. His most recent accommodation was earlier this year who was responding to an strong arm robbery at a convenience store. He stopped two teens, one of whom matched the description, named Mike Brown. The teen allegedly had a physical confrontation with the officer, and shots were fired. This side has also released videos from the store showing someone who looks like Mike and wearing the same clothes he was found in, manhandling the the clerk. Additionally, there have been some photos released showing someone who looks similar Mike Brown flashing gang signs for the Bloods.
Since the incident, the news teams have been there non-stop and each side is producing hours and hours of video to back up their perspective on the story. There have been riots, and the two sides are also completely divergent in their reporting on the gatherings after the fact. They are being called peaceful protests by one group while violent looting bands by the other.
The one amazing takeaway from this event is the bias of the news. There is zero question that both sides are discussing the exact same issue, despite more than a week of investigative research and hundreds of hours of film, the two sides are further apart than before. Each time new facts are revealed they are called into question either for accuracy or appropriateness. In the end, it is only a guess where we will end up, but this is an important lesson in taking the news through a lens with the understanding that the facts are being interpreted by the person telling the story.
At LoneMind.com, we are in no means stating which side is more accurate. We are taking no side and merely pointing out the difference between the two different sides of the same story.
