I have automatic racist thoughts as a result of this, but I realize those thoughts are merely reactive and primitive. When searching deeper, I have sympathy for the people of Ferguson because I can find more similarities between us than differences.
I know what its like to get angry about something, even though I was wrong about the situation all along. I know what its like to misjudge a situation, feel I am right, and despite realizing I was wrong, to stubbornly maintain that anger and justify it with past events.
I know what its like to feel like others are better than me and to be resentful for that. I know the pain that fills me when I feel like I am less than others, and an outcast. I know what it feels like to believe I was born at the short end of the stick in life, regardless of whether or not I am correct in my assumptions.
I know what its like to be human and to make cognitive errors and to operate based on emotions alone, like a child who begs for candy at dinner time instead of eating what their parents give them.
The people of Ferguson were wrong about what took place with Michael Brown, but I understand their pain and don't fault them for it. I don't fault them for looting and taking advantage of the situation. I don't fault them for being wrong and pouting about it when they lost.
None of this is their fault. None of this is anyone's fault. They are like me and I am like them. We are flesh and faulty. We presume one thing when another is actually true, and we get angry about it. We share in our frustrations of being human and imperfect, incapable of manipulating our environment to suit our needs.
The people of Ferguson were wrong and acted out in anger, and I love them anyway for who they are, not for what they do, even though sometimes I forget and once again am quick to judge.
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