Ferguson: The Conservative Spin – Or Their Deafening Silence (OP/ED)

Visit the Tea Party Facebook page and you will see one post that makes Michael Brown look like a monster and one that blames the “black elite” for what is happening in Ferguson MO.

Visit the Tea Party Patriots and you will see no mention of Ferguson MO. At all. Nothing. Nada. Zippo.

Why would that be?

Chicks On The Right have a blog post criticizing Sean Combs because he is asking President Obama to visit Ferguson. They write, “It [sic] Obama not EVERYONE’S president? Because I’m not sure I’m fully understanding the connotation of “your people” here. Am I missing something, P Diddy Puffy whatever-your-name-is this week?” The only other post dedicated to events in Ferguson is a criticism of how the protesters are handling it. No mention of how the police are handling the situation.

Being Conservative has almost 3 million fans. No mention of Ferguson.

Matt Walsh is a conservative blogger and while I personally disagree with 99.99999% of what he says, he does come from a sincere place and writes about what he thinks and feels to be true. Walsh covered Ferguson on his blog, and it came as no surprise to me, that his handling of the topic was very safe and controlled. He explains that none of us know what is really going on. He predictably uses Christ in his piece to serve his evangelical following, and he scolded MSNBC for being “reckless” and “misleading.”

He says in part:

“Does anyone think the protestors will go home and apologize if the officer is vindicated by the evidence? Will MSNBC retract every reckless conjecture and misleading statement?”

“Michael Brown was shot six times, twice in the head. Much is being made of the fact that the officer hit him with six bullets, but there is nothing that can be immediately gleaned from this. Despite what you’ve been told, six shots are not automatically “excessive.” It’s particularly relevant in this case to note that Brown was shot in the arm several times, and that the first five wounds were survivable. This could mean that the cop riddled an innocent man with bullets, or it could mean that the cop was shooting at an aggressive, charging suspect, and he had to keep shooting until the suspect went down.

Really, what’s the thought process here? If (notice, “IF”) Brown was on the attack, are we now saying that the cop should have fired a predetermined “reasonable” quantity of bullets, and then, if the suspect was still coming after him, he should have holstered his gun and ran for the hills, all in the name of meeting the media’s bullet quota?

This isn’t Hollywood. You can’t take everyone down with one shot.”

Walsh also refuses to come out and say what many of his followers clearly believe – that black people are criminals and thugs. How do I come to this conclusion? Read the comments on this FB POST.

Laura Ingraham makes no secret of her racism:

“I understand that impulse, I really do,” she insisted. “But we know now that thugs are thugs. People who are going to take advantage of the situation are going to do that, especially if they know that the media is all there.”

Ingraham noted that “Tea Party activists” had not rioted when the IRS targeted conservative groups like Ferguson protesters had done following the death of Brown. And she added that it wasn’t fair that Attorney General Eric Holder was planning a trip to Ferguson, but had not visited the U.S. border.

Bill O’Reilly offered no opinion on his Facebook page. He simply asked his fan base to discuss Ferguson.

Just a few of the comments (grammatical errors and misspellings have not been corrected):

“I hope this police officer is supported and not used as an escape to solve the issue in Ferguson. I can’t even imagine what not supporting him for doing the right thing would do to our country. A country who succums to the likes of Sharpton and other thugs might as well close its door for business. And I might add our schools and streets are dangerous enough now. Kids afraid of bullying in schools and the drug thugs who kill innocent people. The legal system better support this policeman and make a strong stand in doing so. Otherwise forget Democracy.”

I Agree I am sorry to see that this young man is dead, but here it is from my Fair and Balanced Prospective. This young man went into a convenience store and robbed it. He was the aggressor, and supposedly was on Pot. When you go out to rob a store, a home, or personal property, then he should be prepared for the fact that anything can happen to him, including death when the police has to come, or the shop owner draws a gun and shoots him, which is his right. You are on MY PROPERTY, and you are steeling from me. What made him think, that what he stole was his???

“I think black. do crime more than Hispanic and white together but let see the evidence.”

Fox “News” has a few posts up and the comments mirror the ones on O’Reilly’s page – sympathy for the police officer who shot Mike Brown, blaming protesters and referring to them as criminals and looters.

From my search, the most attention paid to Ferguson by a conservative site or page was Breitbart. The articles are blaming Obama, that original Brown witness’ story is falling apart, as well another story about a Breitbart reporter who was arrested. There are more Ferguson posts on that page.

Are there exceptions? Yes. Not every comment is racist. Does this mean every conservative is heartless or blind to the racial problems we are facing? No. Of course not. But it is an overall picture of the GOP narrative and what is stunning to me is the complete disconnect from reality and an absolute refusal to recognize the increasing divide.

The KKK wants to defend businesses owned by whites in Ferguson. I see no conservative site reporting this. Again, ZERO. If conservatives are not actively speaking out against white supremacy – they are condoning it by staying silent.

Politically speaking, here’s the uncomfortable truth for conservatives: Ferguson is happening at a very unfortunate time – right before the November midterms. The racist response we are seeing as well as the complete lack of commentary whatsoever will not serve them well on Election Day. They know this and I think they feel stuck between racism and a hard place.

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Kimberley A. Johnson (BIO) is the author of AMERICAN WOMAN The Poll Dance: Women and Voting & The Virgin Diaries and an activist for women’s rights. Like her on Facebook, Twitter or follow her on FB HERE.

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