Addressing Ugliness

It is safe to say every country has its dark side. In the case of the United States, that aspect is on full display right now in Ferguson, Missouri. The recent shooting there of an unarmed black teenager by a police officer has set in motion an eruption of ugliness centering around the perception that blacks are mistreated by whites, particularly those in positions of authority. The mistreatment, the charges go, is fueled by racism against, in this case, young blacks where they are either presumed to be up to no good or constitute a threat to society that young whites do not. Consequently, as a general rule, persons of color are treated more harshly because of a bias against them. Sadly, what happened in Ferguson is not the first time a young, unarmed black man has been gunned down by a police officer in the United States.


Since the election of President Obama in 2008, the fragility of race relations has reemerged as an issue of concern in our country. This has been seen in a variety of ways: the implementation of voter suppression laws in a number of conservative-run states expected to make it more difficult for minorities to caste their votes, a rise of harsher penalties and sentences levied by the courts against minorities than white convicted of similar crimes, and even movements against Obama that he is an illegitimate president because he really was not born in America. The latter example may seem silly but the fact it has been the subject of much so-called debate by the media and even had to be addressed in the courts suggests that to some the prospect of there being a person of color presiding in The White House is a point of major concern.


Ugliness cannot and should not be sugar-coated or glossed over. It needs to be addressed head-on if our society is to rid itself of this blight that has been part of landscape for far too long. To begin, our leaders, including President Obama, need to initiate a series of dialogs throughout the country as a way of addressing the resentment, anger and misconceptions between elements of our society that currently exist. Such a step would be communication at its finest and hardest. The fact is ill feelings are never handled by being ignored. They must be confronted even if one initial result is more anger. At least in this case, the anger would be channeled down a more constructive path. What is happening in Ferguson can be used as a teachable moment if the right communication strategies are put into place by people of good faith.