Is #Ferguson an opportunity for ... centrist bipartisanship?

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch has had good coverage and editorials about Michael Brown's killing by white Ferguson cop Darren Wilson. But in Can the mourning of Michael Brown help us find our common language? 08/25/2014

Indeed, the past two weeks of unrest in the St. Louis region have brought attention to not just racial divides we have ignored for too long, but our country’s difficulty, magnified in recent years, to find common ground on most issues. It’s not just race. It's climate change. It's Obamacare. It's Gaza. It’s war and peace. Our nation is divided. Ferguson is just one place where the division is laid bare.

To some, for instance, the mere mention of Mr. Sharpton’s name causes them to close their ears. On MSNBC, the cable news channel where Mr. Sharpton works as host, Michael Brown was a gentle soul who didn’t deserve to die. On Fox News he’s a thug of questionable character.

There is no in between.

The truth, however, almost always lives in that space between the extremes.

As a pious platitde, it's harmless enough. And instantly forgettable.

But, no, The Truth does not always lives "in that space between the extremes." Not even almost always. Especially on the issues they name.

And when it comes to combating the politics and the structures of white racism, if you assume that the solutions lie "in that space between the extremes," you've pretty much given up the fight.

And that's a comfortable position. For white people.

Tags: ferguson, michael brown, police brutality, political violence, white racism