The world we live in is amazing. By “amazing,” I mean I’m constantly shaking my head at the audacity of some people. Take, for example, this GoFundMe page set up for Darren Wilson, the Ferguson, Mo., police officer who killed 18-year-old Michael Brown.
As of this post, the page has received more than $19,000 in donations.
“We stand behind Officer Darren Wilson and his family during this trying time in their lives,” the page’s creators write. “All proceeds will be sent directly to Darren Wilson and his family for any financial needs they may have including legal fees.”
The Daily Beast contacted Allison Wilson, the creator of the page, but she asked for their privacy to be respected. “We are not interested in speaking with the press at this time,” Wilson said. “Please do not attempt to contact myself or any member of my family. Thank you for your understanding.”
There was no information given to determine if she was a relative of Officer Wilson.
On top of the GoFundMe page, there are now tons of pages on Facebook that support Wilson. The most popular page, I Support Officer Darren Wilson, has more than 33,000 likes, and with comments like the ones below, it’s easy to draw your own conclusion as to the types of people who support him:
Brian Dawson: Know this … you go for my weapon, I'm going to put you down. Period. Everytime. Because my kids deserve to have their father. Anybody that tries to go for an officer's weapon, society does not need you, or you to reproduce. That is all.
Greg Lutz: Get beat about your head and tell you wouldn't have done the same. Jessel, you are naive. Firing while someone is charging you is not easy. And I live 'there', grew up there, hung out, drank beer there, met my share of COPS there, know half the town. These animals looting are not FERGUSON people. Get some REAL FACTS, Then make a decision, then you can comment
Look at that—talking about who doesn’t need to reproduce and calling people animals. Way to go, post-racial America. The sad aspect of this support for Officer Wilson is that these people feel he was justified in killing an unarmed man. But that’s OK—let them support who they want to support, especially with their real names behind it.
If you’re looking to support Mike Brown’s family, two pages have been set up on GoFundMe. The official Mike Brown GoFundMe page was started by his family’s attorney Benjamin L. Crum; there’s also a scholarship page set up by the Wisconsin Hope Lab.