Michael Brown’s Memorial Tree Vandalized

in 2nd Amendment – R2KBA, Authors, S.H. Blannelberry, This Week

KMOV.com

To honor police-shooting victim Michael Brown the Black Caucus of the American Library Association in Chicago donated a memorial tree and plaque to be set up in a park in Ferguson, Missouri.

However, the day after the tree was planted and the plaque put in place, vandals cut down the small tree and stole the commemorative stone.

Yeah, that’s just plain wrong and disrespectful.

While one can argue that 18-year-old Brown reaped what he sowed in that just before he was fatally shot, he robbed a convenient store and then, allegedly, physically assaulted the officer who pulled the trigger, one can not excuse the destruction of property.

Put another way, one may not feel any sympathy for Brown or his family, but that doesn’t give one the right to destroy something that doesn’t belong to them. Two wrongs, no matter how you square it, don’t make a right.

[H/T: Guns.com, NBC]

About the author: S.H. Blannelberry is the News Editor of GunsAmerica.

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  • Bob Fueler May 5, 2018, 12:03 am

    As Guns America has posted the video from the day before its apparent no robery ever took place. The police could not have known the store clerks lied before engaging Brown but Mr Brown was resisting an illegal arrest. Tragic. The cliwns throwing around color and labels and destroying a memorial to a citizen killed for fighting for his life and the truth are not valid citizens. Back under your racist rock. Mr Briwn was killed for not obeying orders. Stupid yes. Right or good for our society, No.

  • dave esper May 2, 2015, 5:03 pm

    I don’t apologize for disagreeing with you. he’s a criminal. you want a memorial?. go put up one in your yard and let people gather at your place to mourn and remember him. not in a public park, where I would have to explain to a child that it is a memorial to a person that stole from a store, got into a conflict with an officer of the law, and was killed while trying to hurt that officer. teaching morals to children is the job of the parents and teachers, not trees and signs in public places. what?. someone was surprised when it was cut down? the people that put it up were not stupid people. they knew this would happen. and if any of them say they did not see that coming then I retract the previous statement about the “people that put it up”.

  • Joe McHugh May 1, 2015, 7:17 am

    S. H. Blannelberry, as I read your article I began to think “Hey, this is pretty clever satire!” You started off with a great
    setup line “To honor police shooting victim Michael Brown….” Then you wrote “Yeah, that’s just plain wrong and disrespectful.” That’s when I thought that you were building up to a brilliant put down of all of the thugs that still infest our society.

    You even threw in some sarcasm by noting “…allegedly, physically assaulting the officer….” The entire article was only six sentences and I just knew that the last sentence would be the perfect slam against both the thuggish life of Michael Brown and the wrongheaded organization that tried to honor his anti-social behavior.

    I was wrong. As it turns out, you are the one who was badly caught off base on this matter. You might recover some shred of respect by limiting yourself to writing about firearms and avoiding any clumsy observations about social issues.
    You simply create an embarrassing moment in time for yourself when you try to play the arbiter of what is acceptable behavior and what is not. Worse, you even tried to judge those who criticize the wrongheaded who attempt to glorify violence in the name of racial respect.

    S. H. Blannelberry, You can do better than this, I suggest that you work on it.

  • Will Drider April 29, 2015, 12:59 am

    Every person in LA, Ferguson, NYC and Baltimore; that throws a rock/molotov cocktail or commits arson: should be made immediately eligible for a memorial tree. Cops tape the rioters action then have a designated marksman terminate the threats. No rubber bullets. No EMS response, let them lay there until they disperse and it is safe to respond. Put the full tape on the news and that crap will stop. 100% Justified use of force in any U. S. Court. No discrimination: shoot any color, sex, age!

  • bill kuhlmann April 28, 2015, 3:13 pm

    why a memorial for a thug gangsta and not for an officers career ruined. browns’ memorial should be an outhouses hole.

  • Steven April 28, 2015, 4:20 am

    If it were another black thug that had shot Micheal Brown, nothing would have happened , no protests, no memorial, nothing. Just another “niggah gittin capped”, and few tears being shed.

  • Mike Cornett April 28, 2015, 2:10 am

    What a shame. One of the comments here said he would piss on the tree. I give you permission to take away his guns !!
    Story: A contractor put up a sign at one of his jobs, “Thou Shalt Not Steal”. He was having trouble with thieves taking materials at night. Guess what happened ? Thieves stole the sign ? NO. They didn’t. GOT YA. (Paul Harvey Story)

  • AutoMag April 27, 2015, 2:43 pm

    I believe that if the City Council saw fit to pay homage to one of its criminal thugs by planting a tree in his honor on City property and to be maintained by the City forever, they should have no problem installing the below poem on a plaque in City Hall.

    When Michael Brown was in our town
    he liked to throw his weight around
    he got away with this crap for some time
    until the day he attacked a man with a 9
    the city is now safe from his attack
    but it seems the majority want him back
    it only goes to show they have no idea
    but will support a thug just like the media
    with this news the world just shrugged
    being a thug is what got him plugged
    may he rest in holy peace
    By Mr. Jack Meoff

  • Hoot Gibson April 27, 2015, 2:20 pm

    “police-shooting victim Michael Brown”

    Your bias is showing. He was not a victim, he was killed while attacking a police officer in the performance of his duties. If it had been a citizen, non-police, that shot the perp, would you have addressed Brown as a victim of “gun violence” (illegitimate leftist term)?

    Yeah, I know, you didn’t write the story. You quoted it, but you allowed the lie to stand. You’re even supporting it, in this article. You’re more worried about a memorial to a thug than the truth. Typical of todays “news reporters.” Advance the leftist agenda while pretending it’s about something else. At best you’re stupid, and a useful tool of the left. At worst, you’re a wolf in sheep’s clothing. Whichever, your credibility is highly suspect.

    Allegedly? The Grand Jury found that Wilson was protecting himself, as did an investigation by Eric Holder’s Justice Department. Surely, if the current Fed Gov wouldn’t charge a white male police officer for shooting a black person, there is no allegedly about it. So, your bias (or ignorance) is showing again.

    “Two wrongs, no matter how you square it, don’t make a right.”
    That depends upon whose definition of “wrong” one choses to use. Would you have opined about how wrong the Boston Tea Party was? About George Washington being a terrorist, and a traitor against the Crown? Benedict Arnold being a misunderstood hero? Was Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. wrong when he broke the laws that he did?

    “disrespectful”
    Sometimes disrespect is earned, and deserved. Michael Brown deserves no respect. Allowing Brown’s memorial to exist is a greater wrong than destroying it. That memorial to a lie disrespects and dishonors Darren Wilson, the law abiding folks of Ferguson, the people that followed Dr. King, indeed, everyone in this nation. Supporting the lie tears at the very foundation of our country. Bit by bit, piece by piece, lie by lie, we are losing the Constitutional Republic given to us by our Founding Fathers.

    “Civil disobedience becomes a sacred duty when the State becomes lawless or, which is the same thing, corrupt.”
    Mohandas Gandhi

  • Anthuawn April 27, 2015, 2:00 pm

    All White people are responsible for Slavery. All White People owe Blacks. Figuring a fair compensation, every Black man, woman and child, who are citizens of the USA, should each receive 37.9 million USD lump sum payment, lifetime free medical and dental, free Education including College, and if serving in the Military be Officers no Black should be an enlisted rank. Further; Blacks should be in 22 % of all leadership positions and have 27% of all Federal and state contracts automatically awarded to them. The Confederate flag, a flag of a defeated nation, should be illegal and only worn on White southern prisoners uniforms while doing their sentences.
    Only this would finally BEGIN to pay the Black’s back for the building and labor in making the USA what it is today. Pay Up White man, there will be more protests.

    • Amazed April 27, 2015, 5:43 pm

      Wow! Just Wow. You truly are an idiot. You have all the opportunity in the world especially compared to millions if not billions of people on this planet because of where you live. Instead all you can do is point the finger and blame others for your circumstances. Look at the majority of who your young children have to model themselves after, but all you can do and think is that it is the white man’s fault. That is sad and for that you will not progress and move forward.

      Yes there are past atrocities that the white man has perpetrated but the same can be said of any race or religion. Don’t think so? Then look into world history and be prepared to have your mind blown. You’re a douche bag! Have fun with your protests that cause millions of tax dollars in damage, don’t affect change and will probably kill another black person in the process that you will then have to protest that. At first I thought your post was a joke and still think it is to an extent. If it is not a joke then you are an idiot and your kind of thinking is one of the key problems within this country.

    • Education for black racist April 27, 2015, 6:47 pm
    • Steven April 28, 2015, 4:02 am

      The check is in the mail , with keys to a Crown Victoria.

    • Roger October 13, 2017, 4:46 pm

      Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha
      ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha
      ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha
      ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha
      ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha hahaha!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  • American April 27, 2015, 1:49 pm

    Should have planted his parents there instead of a tree….

  • Hoot Gibson April 27, 2015, 12:28 pm

    “police-shooting victim Michael Brown”

    Your bias is showing. He was not a victim, he was killed while attacking a police officer in the performance of his duties. If it had been a citizen, non-police, that shot the perp, would you have addressed Brown as a victim of gun violence?

    Yeah, I know, you didn’t write the story. You quoted it, and allowed the lie to stand. You’re more worried about a memorial to a thug than the truth. Typical of todays “news reporters.” Advance the leftist agenda while pretending it’s about something else. At best you’re stupid, and a useful tool of the left. At worst, you’re a wolf in sheep’s clothing. Whichever, your credibility is highly suspect.

    Allegedly? The Grand Jury found that Wilson was protecting himself, as did an investigation by Eric Holder’s Justice Department. Surely, if the current Fed Gov wouldn’t charge a white male police officer for shooting a black person, there is no allegedly about it. So, your bias (or ignorance) is showing again.

    “Two wrongs, no matter how you square it, don’t make a right.”
    That depends upon whose definition of “wrong” one choses to use. Would you have opined about how wrong the Boston Tea Party was? About George Washington being a terrorist, and a traitor against the Crown? Benedict Arnold being a misunderstood hero?

    Sometimes disrespect is earned, and deserved. If that’s wrong in your mind, you don’t have anything to say that I want to hear.

    Silly man;
    “We do not consider patriotism desirable if it contradicts civilized behavior.”
    Friedrich Durrenmatt

    Smart man;
    “Civil disobedience becomes a sacred duty when the State becomes lawless or, which is the same thing, corrupt.”
    Mohandas Gandhi

    Pick your favorite.

  • 'ol shooter April 27, 2015, 12:28 pm

    Putting up a memorial to a young thug who did indeed reap what he sowed, legitimizes his attitudes and behavior, and makes him a martyr to be admired. Black people are their own worst enemies, by making excuses for bad behavior. I am white, have many black friends, have worked with many black people, and have always tried to see past skin color, and brought my kids up the same way.

  • Tony April 27, 2015, 11:37 am

    At least they didn’t destroy buildings and burn vehicles,loot shoot and electrocute anyone !

  • gary April 27, 2015, 11:31 am

    Too BAD!

  • Allen lawson April 27, 2015, 10:35 am

    I love how this article was slid in.the reaction sought was accomplished I believe.I believe the author could give a crap about what’s his name .our country is somewhat screwed up honoring who we do.I finally gave up when we flew the flag at half mast for whitney houston . What a disgrace to my flag

  • Larry Koehn April 27, 2015, 10:34 am

    Too bad the tree didn’t make it. It would have made a great pee tree for those exercising their dogs, a fitting tribute to a criminal thug!

  • Cesare April 27, 2015, 10:08 am

    First question. Who is Black Caucus of the American Library Association, that they have the right to burden the taxpayers of Ferguson with maintenance of a memorial to anyone? Hey, if you want to have a thug walk of fame in your own building or on your own grounds, go for it. Don’t send a $10 sapling and a stone to my city for our taxes to take care of for 50+ years! Cutting the sapling down and taking away the stone probably saved the city $50,000 over the possible life of that memorial to a thug, who would likely have been killed in the next couple years anyway, given his penchant for crime and violence.

  • walt morris April 27, 2015, 10:06 am

    why would anyone honor the thug that was shot in the middle of a felony assault on a police officer and who was very close to killing that officer. given other circumstances that officer would have risked/given his life to protect that person. Michael brown got what he deserved! anyone who tries to assault an officer of the law, steal his side arm is going to very lucky if he ends that confrontation still able to breath. maybe if he had good parents he would be alive and well and looking forward to a very successful and happy future. he is no different than travon martin another scumbag thug that got exactly what he had coming to him. maybe no one ever told these two young men that what they were trying to do was not a good thing. it cost them their lives

  • Buck O'Fama April 27, 2015, 10:06 am

    Bummer.

    I’m so tired of political correctness and not offending scumbags and being warned to tiptoe around perverts, I could just puke. A wise man once said, “There are only so many sh!t sandwiches a man can eat, and I’m about full.”

    As for the tree … children are starving and living in poverty, and a group – any group – takes one second and spends one penny to memorialize someone like Brown? As Brown’s stepfather so eloquently opined, “Burn this b!+ch down.”

  • Buck O'Fama April 27, 2015, 10:03 am

    Bummer.

    I’m so tired of political correctness and not offending scumbags, I could just puke. A wise man once said, “There are so many sh+t sandwiches a man can eat, and I’m about full.”

    As for the tree … As Brown’s stepfather so eloquently opined, “Burn this b!+ch down.”

  • Jeff April 27, 2015, 9:26 am

    “…that’s just wrong and disrespectful”. You can argue wether it’s wrong or not, but there’s no denying that the act was disrespectful, AS IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN. Michael Brown was a bully, a thief and a scum-bag whom the Black Caucus of the American Library Association (who???) apparently believes should not only be respected but honored. I say piss on that! (and his little memorial tree as well). He deserves no respect, much less honor.

    • Passer by April 27, 2015, 10:08 am

      BRAVO ! Next a tribute to Hitler or the misunderstood Charles Manson ?

  • Mike K April 27, 2015, 9:20 am

    I’m a retired sheriff’s department major and politically slightly to the right of Darth Vadar. I think Brown was nothing but a common criminal and was the cause of his own death. But being conservative, to me at least, means the law is the law is the law………… If you can break it because you don’t like someone else’s viewpoint, what about those that don’t agree with yours? Is it then OK for them to destroy your monuments?

  • John April 27, 2015, 9:20 am

    Another bleeding liberal has spoken with propaganda equal to Hiltlers filth Goerbbles which n comparison is a ultra moderate as compared to liberal swine! Say SH that probably stands for SH@T HEAD should realize that the blacks R memorializing a thug along with white scum as u! To bad the thug was not more productive course the parents R crap as well when old step father hollers burn this MF down shows intelligence of a lesser race N this case so take ur idiot self with ur liberal jerkoff self + the egotistical worm & cronies & drink a Jim Jomes cocktail I worm oh rah one last thing butt head if that was a memorial to a white the blackie organization with worm Sharpton would B calling for immediate destruction of same!

  • JD April 27, 2015, 8:50 am

    Awww, poor thug. Why don’t we plant a tree and put up a memorial stone in Boston for the two brothers? How about a memorial stone and trees for the 911 hijackers in the lobby of the freedom tower? After all they were persecuted youth who just acted out. What BS. Whoever cut down that tree honoring a thug should have salted the earth where it was planted and crushed the stone for use in a septic tank drain field.

  • Old Ford April 27, 2015, 8:29 am

    Perhaps we should also plant trees and memorials with “Swazstika” on them, or perhaps al-queda memorials at ground zero in NYC.
    Golly gee we could have all kinds of trees and memorials all over North America where murderous thugs have received their just rewards.
    With that in mind we couldn’t walk about without bumping into a tree or trip over a memorial.
    Where do these morons come from?

    • kwi April 27, 2015, 10:52 am

      Bonnie and Clyde have a museum. And they actually killed police officers.

      • RON April 27, 2015, 1:42 pm

        THE MUSEUM IS PRIVATELY OWNED ! IT IS NOT A MEMORIAL !

  • notme April 27, 2015, 6:10 am

    Perhaps this is fabricated and a brown supporter took it down to gain support for brown
    In any event…. not appropriate for public venue and pandering to the wrong people

  • Matt Muller April 24, 2015, 11:53 pm

    What a worthless, liberal-biased article. So I should respect property that does not belong to me when it is a tribute to a thug that stole property just before he was killed while assaulting a police officer? Please. Now S.H. Blannelberry wants to cry like a little b@tch because a thief’s monument was stolen? I guess he has never heard of poetic justice. Go write for Salon.com sissy.

    • S.H. Blannelberry April 26, 2015, 9:54 am

      That’s funny. I’m a “liberal” because I believe in the rule of the law and property rights…

      Listen, I’m not a fan of Michael Brown. IMO, he was a troubled teen who made some very bad decisions that ultimately cost him his life. Do I believe he should be honored or celebrated? No.

      Yet, if the NAACP or the Black Caucus of whatever wants to commemorate his life, so be it. Who am I to say they can’t or shouldn’t? Additionally, if city officials believe that accepting a tree and a plaque from one of these organizations will help to calm tensions and placate unruly protesters then that’s a decision they can make. Folks like you who have a problem with the tree and the plaque can contact these officials and express your disdain for the memorial. You can also protest at the park. You can even start a petition asking for the tree and plaque to be removed.

      But what you shouldn’t do is destroy something that doesn’t belong to you simply because you disagree with it. What if the shoe was on the other foot? Say, this was a tree and a plaque donated by a veteran’s group to honor a fallen hero; Chris Kyle, for example. Then some pacifist comes by and chops down the tree and steals the plaque claiming that “Kyle was a murderer and the memorial was an affront to his belief system.” What would you say then?

      What you fail to recognize is that while we are all free to believe what we want (Brown’s a thug in your opinion, to others he is a victim), we are all bound by the rule of law. When we collectively lose sight of this and start destroying things we don’t like, well, that’s a recipe for chaos and disorder.

      • DRAINO April 26, 2015, 5:37 pm

        I am kind of in between. Don’t think we should be putting up trees in public areas to honor convicted felons, whether its Brown or Manson or Dahmer or Madhoff, it should be taken down in a different way. But I do believe its almost as much a crime to write an article with all those typos….wow! Isn’t there an editor that at least checks for complete and coherent sentences? Come on, Dude! I expect more after seeing some of the previous articles you have written. It’s good that you covered a topic that hardly anyone else would dare touch though.

      • Mervyn Russell April 27, 2015, 8:16 am

        S.H. How much personal property was destroyed by the black protestors in Ferguson Mo.? just because they did not agree with anything at all. Destroying anything that does not belong to you is whole fully wrong, no matter who destroyed it. Not only properties but there were lives lost after the grand jury decided not to press charges against officer Wilson for defending himself, (These lives were of Black citizens that testified in favour of officer Wilson) Although I do not agree with his decision to shoot the young punk because of his size thought he could get away with anything. There were no winners in this tragedy, everyone lost because no one and I do mean no one used any common sense what so ever!!

      • Will Drider April 28, 2015, 4:02 pm

        S.H, I have no problem with your response EXCEPT for your application of “troubled teen” to Brown. Thug and criminal are accurate. Use of the media’s soft term for glossing over of his record is a very poor choice.

  • stevriot April 24, 2015, 6:25 pm

    WHY do we have to honor thugs that got shot by police? I think we would be better off honoring the police and fire fighters who died in the line of duty I don’t want to see any plaques in the name of any thug in any parks in my community that taken care of by my tax dollars..do we understand each other s.h blannelberry? .

  • Josh April 24, 2015, 6:24 pm

    On Arbor Day of all days.

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