Many liberals are skeptical of religion and outright antagonistic toward people of faith, which makes the left's penchant for elevating their version of patron saints all the more peculiar.
Latest example of leftist canonization -- Michael Brown, an 18-year-old black man who was shot to death in Ferguson, Mo., in August after he robbed a convenience store, assaulted a cop, tried to wrest control of the officer's gun, and charged toward him when told to stop.
A grand jury scrutinized evidence in the case and decided that Darren Wilson, the white police officer who shot Brown, should not face criminal charges. Rioting and looting quickly ensued in Ferguson, with two dozen businesses destroyed or damaged, though there can be little doubt this would have also occurred had Wilson been charged.
President Sharpton -- oops, sorry for the Freudian slip -- President Obama yesterday held a day-long series of meetings at the White House for the stated purpose of engendering greater public trust in police. Conspicuously absent were any representatives from the Ferguson police department, since they apparently can't be trusted.
About the only thing that will be remembered about these meetings, at least based on media accounts, is Obama's push to equip police with cameras and place limits on military gear sent to local cops.
But there's a bit more going on here, as pointed out by Rush Limbaugh on his radio show yesterday. After lamenting that race relations are actually worse six years into the presidency of the nation's first African-American president, Limbaugh cited White House support for a suggestion that might strike many people as bizarre (audio) --
It's only gotten worse and the flamethrowers are in charge of the gasoline, that's exactly right, because what Obama is doing at the White House today is community organizing. He's not acting as president. The official White House African-American Education Twitter account, which is run out of the White House, has retweeted an article from the Huffing and Puffington Post, what they're discussing today. Community organizing is what they're discussing at the White House, there's a panel of people, Holder's up there, Al Sharpton's up there, and what they are doing is coming up with five ways to teach about Michael Brown in Ferguson. And here they are -- in the classroom, ask students what they know and what they want to know. And of course, after the students ask, and of course implied here is you have the right answer, which is not what the grand jury said. Number two -- help students make connections. Number three -- ask students to write letters and become agitators themselves. Number four -- create a classroom memorial to the Gentle Giant. (Limbaugh's euphemism for Brown, a term initially used by Brown's apologists, until video footage was released of his strong-arm convenience store robbery). And number five -- carry the theme for the rest of the school year.
Create a classroom memorial to Brown ...? Was Limbaugh reading from The Onion? Why didn't I hear about this in any media coverage?
Typical was this story in the New York Times, headlined "Obama Offers New Standards on Police Gear." Here's the lede --
WASHINGTON -- President Obama, grappling with how to respond to civil unrest in Ferguson, Mo., and a wave of anger at law enforcement officials across the country, said Monday that he would tighten standards on the provision of military-style equipment to local police departments and provide funds for police officers to wear cameras.
The closest the Times' story came to describing what Limbaugh cited was this, buried in the article --
The president also announced on Monday the formation of a task force to improve local policing. Leading the panel will be Charles H. Ramsey, the commissioner of the Philadelphia Police Department, and Laurie Robinson of the George Mason University, a leading criminal law scholar.
Got that? A "task force" to reverse "militarization" of our police. Let's hope the attorney "general" takes part.
And what can we expect from the earnest members of this task force? The White House twitter account cited by Limbaugh -- specifically White House Af-Am Ed, @AfAmEducation, known formally as the White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for African Americans -- provides helpful guidance.
Yesterday, White House Af-Am Ed posted numerous tweets about that day's meeting at the White House, including the tweet shown below that went out a half-dozen times --
While news coverage of the meeting was focused on the first two bullet points cited in the tweet, little attention was given to the third -- "Engage law enforcement and community leaders in devising new ways to reduce crime while building public trust."
How will these "new ways" to build "public trust" between citizenry and police proceed, you might ask? White House Af-Am Ed's Twitter feed again proves illuminating. Posted below is a screenshot of a tweet sent out by the office on Friday, in anticipation of yesterday's high-profile meeting at the White House --
The tweet links to a Huffington Post story from August -- In Case You Missed It -- by Columbia University education professor Christopher Emdin. And of his "5 Ways to Teach about Michael Brown and Ferguson in the New School Year," number four stands out --
Create a classroom memorial.
During the first few weeks of classes, students can create a memorial to Michael Brown on a classroom bulletin board. This activity involves having students use whatever they feel skilled in to create something that would honor Michael Brown and other people who have been victims of police and other violence. Students may choose to draw, write poetry, design art pieces, paint, or collect news clippings. Students can use this opportunity to create a counternarrative to negative stories about Ferguson and Michael Brown, or even to document stories and images they have seen in the media about the case. Engaging in this type of activity allows teachers to understand youth strengths and form classroom solidarity.
"Classroom solidarity" ... that would be so awkwardly disrupted by the ne'er-do-well student wearing a "pants up, don't loot!" T-shirt to class, and asking whether Brown had bullied a much smaller man of color whose convenience store he robbed. Perhaps students might learn about property rights and free enterprise from the people whose businesses in Ferguson were destroyed.
Putting these educational practices into effect would also serve the useful purpose of identifying potential future conservatives, obvious racists and other subversives who might dare to question the rationale for creating classroom shrines to Michael Brown.
Limbaugh also pointed out yesterday that Ferguson protesters are in the lead for Time magazine's "Person of the Year" designation, as determined by a readers' poll. But don't be surprised, Limbaugh predicted, if the eventual winner is the "Gentle Giant."
