Most of us, who have watched the events of Ferguson,
Missouri play out on television, have our own perception about what really
happened that faithful August 2014 day.
Those who witnessed the event have their own. In the final analysis the perception of those
who witnessed the shooting is much more impactful than ours, a passive one
gained by watching television.
The grand jury sifted through often-inconsistent and
contradictory perceptions to arrive at a conclusion, supported by the physical
and forensic evidence collected by law enforcement.
Regardless, there is no way we can rationalize away
the loss of a human life. The sorrow and
pain of Michael Brown’s family deserve our respect and solidarity. They are the ultimate victims.
What Is
Perception?
Douglas Adams defines perception as “everything you
see or hear or experience in any way that is specific to you…” Psychology
defines it as “the conscious recognition and interpretation of sensory stimuli
that serve as basis for understanding, learning, and knowing or for motivating
a particular action or reaction”.
The illustrious late scientist Albert Einstein defined
reality as follows: “… merely an illusion, albeit a persistent one”.
A fact that often escapes our understanding is that
perceptions are real, even though not necessarily true or based on sound
evidence.
The Case of
Two Realities
In Ferguson, there are two completely different
perceptions, hence realities. You choose
the one that fits your experiential lens.
If you are a Black person, you might see the tragedy rooted in a white
policeman’s killing of an unharmed teenager, simply because he disregarded the
life of a Black person. If you are a
white person, you might see the tragedy rooted in the behavior of a 275-pound
Black thuggish kid, high on marijuana, who refused to heed a policeman’s
command.
The Black community bases its perception on its own
interaction with white policemen, while the white community will base theirs on
their own experience with the police.
The Rashomon
Effect
In 1950 Akira Kurosawa directed the film Rashomon. Ryunosuke Akatagwa based the film on two
stories. The plot is known for a ploy
device, which involved four characters providing alternative versions of the
same incident -- a disturbing story of rape and murder. All four depicted the story very differently.
The film received many awards. But I must admit that, when I saw it as a
youngster, that I did not like the film, because I found it confusing and
missing the happy ending for which I was hoping. Later on, during the early 1980’s, as a
behavioral science student, I ran into the Rashomon
Effect, which dealt with the contradictory interpretations of the same
event by different people. Its author Valerie
Alia advanced this principle in her book Media Ethics and Social Change.
Alia’s notion intrigued me so much that I decided to
learn more about it. I remember being
troubled by the statement that perceptions are “facts” that people use to make decisions,
never mind that the “facts” might be wrong.
This important revelation proved to be an important insight when carrying
out my work as a consultant and leader.
The truth?
They say that beauty is in the eye of the
beholder. The same can be said about
perception. For the Black community,
shaped by their interaction with what they might perceive as an insensitive or
racist law enforcement person, the view that the life of a Black youth is not
as valued as that of a white youth, the “truth” is clear -- Officer Wilson is
guilty of murder. For the white community,
not touched by or unaware of police brutality and its perceived disregard for
human life, it is a case of Officer Wilson defending himself from impending
threat on his life.
Both scenarios are “real”.
The
Aftermath
Television loves this kind of drama. It gets people worked up on both sides of the
issue. It also makes for increased
viewership and advertising. Leaders, on
both sides, wade in, some for their own insatiable need for publicity and the
limelight, pushing their own views and viewpoints. Soon Ferguson and many Ferguson wannabes
nationwide become magnets to malcontents and anarchists bent on creating
havoc and attack the police. Again, more
television footage, more viewers to attract.
Looting and property destruction are rationalized as
part of the rage that people experience when they feel that the system is
unjust. Law enforcements attempts at
quelling the strife are seen as “over the top” shows of force. The net effect is that innocent bystanders
watch helplessly the destruction of their stores, offices, warehouses, cars,
and so on.
What is your perception about what went on in Ferguson
that fateful August day?
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