Metro Times Michael Jackman Says Detroit BBQ Company ‘Being Unfairly Targeted’

Love him or hate him, Metro Times food blogger Michael Jackman always comes through with an opinion. In the wake of the Detroit BBQ Company debacle today, Jackman comes in, perhaps more controversially, on the side of Detroit BBQ Company with "Why Detroit BBQ Company is being unfairly targeted."

With some brief scene setting, the author lays out his thesis: "It's a big old firestorm, and one that not only didn't need to happen, but shows some pretty bad behavior on the part of those criticizing (Tim) Idzikowski."

Jackman notes that while poorly worded, the sentiment of Idzikowski's statement is similar to one by novelist Ron Jacobs, who wrote on CounterPunch today. He continues:

"It's also clear that Idzikowski also does not support the killing of police officers. His remarks may be tactless and it you may not like them, but he has a right to talk about the climate created by all these killing being recorded and posted online. In a climate where police seem to be able to shoot black men with impunity, it's only a matter of time before some unhinged jackass figures he's going to even the score, right?"

The author goes on to make, what he admits is, a rather thin comparison of Idzikowski to Malcom X.

While Jackman's thoughts on the culture of impunity that prevents anyone from critiquing police work is worth conversation and his addressing of the poor behavior on the part of protestors (i.e. death threats) are important, Jackman manages to miss the part where Idzikowski responds to his criticizer by telling them to "try suck starting your service pistol."

What do you think about Jackman's post? Sound off in the comments!