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Attorney General Eric Holder has a compelling federal case in the Michael Brown killing if he decides to bring civil rights charges against Ferguson, Missouri cop Darren Wilson. He's certainly taken almost unprecedented lightning fast first steps in that direction. He's got a phalanx of FBI agents assigned to the case. He's authorized an autopsy by a crack medical examiner from the military.
The crude and clumsy message was that Brown was a bad guy. Though they didn’t dare say it openly, the even more unstated but lethal message was that there was a legitimate cause, if not outright justification, for the deadly train of events that occurred. The aim of the savage assault on Brown's character was to deconstruct him as an innocent victim. If enough dirt could be tossed at Brown to cast doubt and suspicion about his character and motives, then maybe there was probable cause to kill.
On the surface, the unrest in Ferguson, Mo., was about local police using deadly force on an unarmed young man. But on a deeper level, it reflected the increasing poverty and economic decline that affects ethnic communities all over America. Despite rosy reports in the media about the end of the national foreclosure crisis and the recession that followed, all is not well in our inner cities and suburbs with largely minority populations, like Ferguson.