Ferguson, MO

Michael Brown, an unarmed teenager, was shot and killed by a police officer in Ferguson, Mo., a few months back. The exact circumstances are in dispute, and I can't contribute anything useful to that discussion. I can say this. In our country, on average, nearly one black or brown male is killed by the police each day. In Japan the average number of people killed by the police is zero per day. It isn't fair, of course, to make a simple comparison between Japan and the United States. Japan is not very ethnically diverse. Both nations struggle with racism, but in only one country do the police shoot down unarmed teenagers with the backing of their bosses and the district attorneys. Something needs to be done. A lot needs to be done.