HuffPo | Wearing a Bushnell camo hat, Jeremy Arnold held up a black poster
with a single blue line taped across it to show his support for Darren
Wilson and other police officers.
As for the man he shot to death? Michael Brown, Arnold said, "got exactly what he deserved."
Arnold
said he traveled from Fairview Heights, Illinois, for the Wilson event
at Barney's Sports Pub here on Saturday. It was a public unveiling of
sorts for the Support Darren Wilson Facebook page, which has garnered
thousands of online followers and helped raise more than $200,000 for
the Ferguson police officer. Not all of the dozens gathered at the pub
shared sentiments as blunt as Arnold's. But they did seem united in the
sense that Wilson, not Brown, is the real victim.
Wilson's supporters also agreed that the media is a perpetrator.
Between chowing on free hot dogs and drinking beers -- with a DJ playing
Journey's "Don't Stop Believing" adding to the party atmosphere -- few
seemed to stop talking about the ways Wilson has been misrepresented and
maligned.
"It takes two sides to every story, and I think he has
gotten such a bad rap," said Sharon, one of the many people who only
offered to give a first name or no name at all.
"Sharon Stone," a
friend quipped, before hurriedly leading her away with the admonition
that she shouldn't talk to reporters, because they "twist your words
around."
