Ferguson and the Danger of First Impressions

The complex and emotional nature of the Ferguson shooting necessitates a few opening qualifications. This is not a defense of either side or an analysis of available evidence. My point is broader. Today we receive news instantly. Of course, this is not a bad thing. The problem lies in the immediacy of the reaction to instant news.

First impressions are not easily changed. This becomes especially true when someone has a vested interest in not changing his/her first impression. These biases determine how we react to certain events and shape our first impressions. Armed with these preexisting biases, two people can react to the same news in completely different ways. A policeman, for instance, might reflexively defend the police in the Ferguson shooting. This immediate urge would create the lens through which this cop saw all subsequent updates on the situation. Compounding this problem is the unavailability of complete and reliable information right after the event. Upon hearing of the Ferguson shooting, some immediately turned it into a racial story. The problem: we didn’t even know the race of the cop who shot him. Further, people began flashing “hands-up” signs in protest of the shooting. The problem: we didn’t have any reliable evidence that Brown’s hands were up (and the initial autopsy showed that they were in fact not). Both of these assumptions relied at least somewhat tenuously on eyewitness testimonies. This connection indicates that the first impression problem extends to eyewitnesses. The cop’s partner would have a very different view of the same situation than a good friend of the victim’s.

Of course, one can distill these points into a simple and obvious fact: we all have different subjective perspectives. Given the same facts (although this isn’t a guarantee either; news outlets are susceptible to the first impression problem as well), we can reach drastically different conclusions. We cannot avoid this, but we can assuage the effects. First, we must acknowledge our tendencies and biases. Second, we must seek the most objective portrayals of the facts possible. Third, we must avoid exploiting the biases of others toward other ends. The first two are fairly self-explanatory. The third, however, is perhaps the most dangerous. It becomes particularly evident in race-tinged events like the Ferguson shooting. Certainly, racism still exists in this country. And certainly, we need to have discussions about it. But cries of racism are a powerful thing. One should not bring it up lightly and without the facts. When Obama said that if he had a son he would look like Trayvon, for instance, he wasn’t helping. In his powerful position, he was merely stoking the flames. Beware the agendas of others. First impressions are potent; proceed with caution.