Perhaps it is time for the police in Ferguson to put their hands up and just quit. Leave this town to its fate. This strife is well organized. There is a agenda behind it. The left wants to nationalize and cripple police departments across the nation. This is the first step in that agenda. One by one police departments will be hauled into court on trumped up "disparate impact" lawsuits by the DOJ and subsequently neutered. When things get bad enough the Federal Government will step in to "save the day" by nationalizing the country's police departments.
20
Whites do have a tendency to get more leniency. That does not mean that the innocent are being convicted because they are black. Yes it happens, no it is not common with blacks or whites. Unfortunately whites are more likely to get a second chance. They should not.
2
What I am troubled by in these sorts of discussions is the consistent use of a racial lens to analyze problems that may not be directly related to race.
I've lived in poor urban black communities and poor rural white communities. In both places there is considerable tension between the residents and the police. In my observation, this has much more to do with economics than race. It's simply harder to live when you're poor; harder to follow the laws and harder to be generous and kind to others. One reaches frustration levels in which something bad is bound to happen. If it just so happens that these incidents have visible racial contours then we tend to blame it on racism.
Of course, racism is very much a part of black poverty. However, viewing every issue through the lens of current racism is not very constructive, and may be detrimental to winning the support of people who are in a position to help.
As a nation there is much we can do to help struggling communities, starting with educational opportunities and jobs. It won't be easy, but it will be more constructive than blaming everything on race.
I've lived in poor urban black communities and poor rural white communities. In both places there is considerable tension between the residents and the police. In my observation, this has much more to do with economics than race. It's simply harder to live when you're poor; harder to follow the laws and harder to be generous and kind to others. One reaches frustration levels in which something bad is bound to happen. If it just so happens that these incidents have visible racial contours then we tend to blame it on racism.
Of course, racism is very much a part of black poverty. However, viewing every issue through the lens of current racism is not very constructive, and may be detrimental to winning the support of people who are in a position to help.
As a nation there is much we can do to help struggling communities, starting with educational opportunities and jobs. It won't be easy, but it will be more constructive than blaming everything on race.
28
I am the son of a physician, and he was very, VERY good; the kind the other MDs came to when they were stumped. I saw how he and his colleagues protected their own, and I saw how at times that was the right thing to do. I also saw how difficult it was even for other doctors to get rid of a bad doctor, but I saw that it would get done. The quack would get marginalized, get no referrals, get hints about practicing elsewhere, get his reputation shattered among other doctors, etc., right up to being ruthlessly told by the Chief of Staff (my Dad) to get the hell out and find somewhere else to screw up before he got turned in to the law (saw that one; quite an impressive if brief corridor conference). I also saw that the MDs would do the endless due diligence and paperwork and chasing around required to get rid of the true rogues (not just drive away, get licenses stripped), not just because they made the rest look bad but because THEY MAIM AND KILL PEOPLE.
So, I get it that cops stand up for each other; I do, and see how at times it's the right thing to do. But I don't see them turning out the rogues, not even the ones who repeatedly maim and kill and cost huge legal outlays with their brutish behavior.
I will more fully and publicly back the cops in general when I see their professional associations and unions working hard to get rid of the true recidivist rogues among them. Not all cops are rogues, but those that ARE rogues must go or we all suffer.
So, I get it that cops stand up for each other; I do, and see how at times it's the right thing to do. But I don't see them turning out the rogues, not even the ones who repeatedly maim and kill and cost huge legal outlays with their brutish behavior.
I will more fully and publicly back the cops in general when I see their professional associations and unions working hard to get rid of the true recidivist rogues among them. Not all cops are rogues, but those that ARE rogues must go or we all suffer.
12
Admittedly Mr. Blow has soft-pedaled the facts (ignoring the Justice Department of Officer Wilson and fudging the shooting of the officers by a black youth associated with the protests). Many of the commentators have taken him to task for this as well as for the hyperbole of the protest movement. However, the thrust of his column is that progress is actually being made and and that violence is counter-productive. He is urging that it is time to diminish the provocative details of the "past" in Ferguson and work together in civility to improve the administration of justice in this nation. It is striking to me that so many of the commentators have ignored this plea and wish to re-affirm divisive talking points.
4
This commentary insults all of us who have put our lives in peril as we protest and combat the racism of our police departments and others in our nation.
The flawed and destructive narrative has purchased the allegation that the suspects who shot these police were a part of the protest movement in Ferguson.
This narrative tragically gives license to the backward theme that self defense in the face of lethal racism is a criminal act and never justified . Clearly Blow would find civil disobedience as a basis for cops to deliver endless blows on protestors under the color of the law.
Blow is out of order here and his need to pacify and pander to those who support police terrorism is troubling ...
The flawed and destructive narrative has purchased the allegation that the suspects who shot these police were a part of the protest movement in Ferguson.
This narrative tragically gives license to the backward theme that self defense in the face of lethal racism is a criminal act and never justified . Clearly Blow would find civil disobedience as a basis for cops to deliver endless blows on protestors under the color of the law.
Blow is out of order here and his need to pacify and pander to those who support police terrorism is troubling ...
2
Despite Mr. Blow's eloquent shark-jumping demagoguery and a full regiment of strawmen, what cannot be avoided is the shifting narrative.
We have gone from "White police shot an innocent child (hands up, don't shoot)" to the new "okay Officer Wilson didn't do anything wrong, but racism is still real and we should still "protest" which apparently now includes declaring open season to shoot police officers.
As a Black man, I am encouraged that so many Times readers see through Mr. Blow's tortured rhetoric, apparently still influenced by his VIP trip with the Obama WH to Selma, where the divisive demagoguery continued.
We have gone from "White police shot an innocent child (hands up, don't shoot)" to the new "okay Officer Wilson didn't do anything wrong, but racism is still real and we should still "protest" which apparently now includes declaring open season to shoot police officers.
As a Black man, I am encouraged that so many Times readers see through Mr. Blow's tortured rhetoric, apparently still influenced by his VIP trip with the Obama WH to Selma, where the divisive demagoguery continued.
36
"a movement that quickly expanded from a focus on a single case to a sprawling indictment of the system — has been one of the most successful in recent history"
Lets see, a movement that started with the beatification of a violent criminal, let to the arson of over 100 buildings, 2 NYC police officers assassinated in cold blood, and 2 Ferguson police officers shot in the chest and face.
I can see how, for Mr. Blow, that is considered very successful.
For hard working, law abiding Americans, not so much.
Lets see, a movement that started with the beatification of a violent criminal, let to the arson of over 100 buildings, 2 NYC police officers assassinated in cold blood, and 2 Ferguson police officers shot in the chest and face.
I can see how, for Mr. Blow, that is considered very successful.
For hard working, law abiding Americans, not so much.
31
Dear Mr Blow
On the day that he died, Michael Brown used physical force against a much smaller man in the course of a robbery. He then attacked a police officer and was shot and killed. I have not read all of your columns since that sad day, but I cannot help but wonder if you have ever included the above in any of them. Now that we know that the "hands up, don't shoot" aspect of that encounter is a myth will you include that as well?
On the day that he died, Michael Brown used physical force against a much smaller man in the course of a robbery. He then attacked a police officer and was shot and killed. I have not read all of your columns since that sad day, but I cannot help but wonder if you have ever included the above in any of them. Now that we know that the "hands up, don't shoot" aspect of that encounter is a myth will you include that as well?
39
"What was happening in Ferguson," Mr. Blow, was Blacks' continued lawlessness and disrespect for authority, now augmented by Obama's and his adviser's, Sharpton, audacious stoking of the ever glowing embers of racial unrest, the unfirm foundation of their, and your, positions.
23
Truth and reality: a young black man who had just robbed a store attempted to get a police officer's gun and shoot the police officer. Faced with that assault, the police officer shot him. In response, the black community falsely screamed "racism" and concocted a false narrative that the young man was shot for his race while surrendering. Reacting to that false story put forward by fellow black people, lots of black people destroyed stores and looted peoples stores. Now, a black man has shot and attempted to kill two cops in response to the false story. So, what are white people to think of the black community when these are the facts?
36
It is nothing short of a gut punch to still hear people on the wrong side of the gap between the fantasy of what the law does and the reality that Black people live. Some people want to give credence to the fiction that if citizens just faithfully adhere to being “a nation built on the rule of law”, the result will be justice. Perhaps that will finally happen in Ferguson one day , but today,
we are a nation looking upon a pile of ashes, death and broken dreams.
we are a nation looking upon a pile of ashes, death and broken dreams.
1
the "comments" section, posted to this hour (@1055pdt),
says almost as much about the difficulties that we are experiencing in this country today as the confused-to-date-known-facts-on-the-ground.
"truth",
unlikely to be found and even less likely to be accepted on all sides,
is,
sadly,
at present:
missing in action.
sigh
says almost as much about the difficulties that we are experiencing in this country today as the confused-to-date-known-facts-on-the-ground.
"truth",
unlikely to be found and even less likely to be accepted on all sides,
is,
sadly,
at present:
missing in action.
sigh
1
There is no "nation’s struggle" or "profound conversation" in this country when it comes to race. There is just finger pointing by Charles Blow and Co. with their McCarthy-like zealotry when it comes to wrongs towards blacks-whether real or imagined and to create a false narrative that blacks are terribly persecuted above and beyond everyone else. This must be the 20th column Blow has done on Ferguson and I have not seen one word of condemnation over Brown's robbery and attack on that Asian store clerk. It is obvious that Brown's parents and supporters think that's no big deal. That is the conversation we should be having in this country . Not a thought given to the multitude of wrongs blacks do to others but leave no stone unturned to find anti-black racism.
Only last week this author did a column condemning the frat boys in Oklahoma singing a racist song. Vice President Biden condemned it while only months ago the White House sent two dignitaries to the funeral a black college student who robbed then attacked a vulnerable Asian immigrant. How can Brown's violent and criminal transgression against an Asian man be dismissed so flippantly when whites are expelled from college within 48 hours of expressing insensitive views about blacks off campus? I would be curious to know whether, if Brown had lived, how many who support the expulsion of those white frat boys would have supported the same consequences for Brown?
Only last week this author did a column condemning the frat boys in Oklahoma singing a racist song. Vice President Biden condemned it while only months ago the White House sent two dignitaries to the funeral a black college student who robbed then attacked a vulnerable Asian immigrant. How can Brown's violent and criminal transgression against an Asian man be dismissed so flippantly when whites are expelled from college within 48 hours of expressing insensitive views about blacks off campus? I would be curious to know whether, if Brown had lived, how many who support the expulsion of those white frat boys would have supported the same consequences for Brown?
37
The perseverance of the protests has indeed grabbed national attention. And it shed light on a system that had gotten WAY out of whack. But that raises another question that seems to have been passed by - how did that system get so far out of whack without corrections taking place at a local level? Why did it take a federal investigation to bring correction? If injustice was so commonplace in that community, why have the locally elected officials not seen the wrath of the voters. Why haven't other community leaders who recognized the injustice, run against the mayor with a promise to fire the village manager and police chief. These were corrections that should have taken place far earlier, without the need for federal involvement. If they had, Michael Brown may be alive today.
Local politics may not be as sexy as the national stage, but that is the level that has the most direct effect on people's everyday lives. People need to be involved in their communities. Yet voter turnout in these broken communities seems to indicate the opposite. The people in such communities seem have tuned out the local politics. In fact, voter turnout has suffered for all elections, except perhaps for the presidential election, as if that was the only one that counted. If that's the case, then it's not a wonder at all that things have gotten so far out of whack.
Local politics may not be as sexy as the national stage, but that is the level that has the most direct effect on people's everyday lives. People need to be involved in their communities. Yet voter turnout in these broken communities seems to indicate the opposite. The people in such communities seem have tuned out the local politics. In fact, voter turnout has suffered for all elections, except perhaps for the presidential election, as if that was the only one that counted. If that's the case, then it's not a wonder at all that things have gotten so far out of whack.
2
Healing and mutual understanding between Blacks and Whites in America will only occur after tough, honest dialogue.
Heather, a NY Times commenter from Palo Alto, started that dialogue today.
She writes:
History will record this as the anguish of a community wracked by joblessness and home foreclosures, looking for a scapegoat. History will record that the man in the Oval office was the true source of their misery, having overseen the biggest transfer of wealth -- FROM the middle class TO everyone else -- in history. The black middle class, and anyone else clinging by their fingernails to middle class status, suffered most under Obama. But being unable to lash out at their "hope and change" messiah, and with a good bit of nudging and prodding from said messiah, they found another target for their frustration: the local police force."
This is the Obama legacy. Denial, excuses and scapegoating to explain away the internal problems in the Black community and how President Obama's billion dollar entitlement complex goes hand in hand with his rhetoric designed to create victims, instead of empowering progress.
Amen Heather. This Black man applauds you.
Heather, a NY Times commenter from Palo Alto, started that dialogue today.
She writes:
History will record this as the anguish of a community wracked by joblessness and home foreclosures, looking for a scapegoat. History will record that the man in the Oval office was the true source of their misery, having overseen the biggest transfer of wealth -- FROM the middle class TO everyone else -- in history. The black middle class, and anyone else clinging by their fingernails to middle class status, suffered most under Obama. But being unable to lash out at their "hope and change" messiah, and with a good bit of nudging and prodding from said messiah, they found another target for their frustration: the local police force."
This is the Obama legacy. Denial, excuses and scapegoating to explain away the internal problems in the Black community and how President Obama's billion dollar entitlement complex goes hand in hand with his rhetoric designed to create victims, instead of empowering progress.
Amen Heather. This Black man applauds you.
21
The element of this piece I find most telling is the prosecutors statement that the shooter was a "demonstrator". These presumptive statements of association, and therefore communal guilt, are exactly what drives todays protests and shows the prejudice inherent and often unnoticed in our system. A proper statement would have been limited to a "dispute with people in front of the police department 'which had nothing to do with the demonstrations that were going on'." The shooters possible participation in the protests was unrelated and should not have been included in that venue, nor as an article headline. Mr. Blows call for non-violent protest is noble, but without another Ghandi I'm not so hopeful.
1
Although the DOJ final report on the Ferguson Police Department is a well-deserved indictment on their racist tactics, I am appalled at the fact that very little has been said about the false allegations against Officer Wilson.
No mention has been made of the systematic falsehoods that were spread by community leaders and even members of Congress. According to the DOJ report and AG Holder himself, witnesses were intimidated into sticking to the narrative that Brown had been shot in the back; while his hands were up and after he was on the ground.
The entire theme of the protests was "Hands Up, Don't Shoot" facts that the DOJ reported were not substantiated by eyewitnesses and forensic evidence yet no one had reported on these facts.
Ferguson has more problem than a racist Police Department; it has a community that will indict a police officer regardless of the facts or the evidence. That is also racism and it should be condoned by the same media that propagated the idea that Brown had been "executed like a rabid dog".
No mention has been made of the systematic falsehoods that were spread by community leaders and even members of Congress. According to the DOJ report and AG Holder himself, witnesses were intimidated into sticking to the narrative that Brown had been shot in the back; while his hands were up and after he was on the ground.
The entire theme of the protests was "Hands Up, Don't Shoot" facts that the DOJ reported were not substantiated by eyewitnesses and forensic evidence yet no one had reported on these facts.
Ferguson has more problem than a racist Police Department; it has a community that will indict a police officer regardless of the facts or the evidence. That is also racism and it should be condoned by the same media that propagated the idea that Brown had been "executed like a rabid dog".
25
It seems the myopia of white privilege is an equal opportunity offender. One would think that the readers of the NYT are the most educated, sophisticated and intellectual news hounds that America has to offer. Yet, these comments are chock full of false equivalences, blame the victim rhetoric and the utter denial of an American history replete with slavery, oppression and unmitigated racial violence. Context people, context!
7
When a community has been abused by its police force chaos reigns. Regrettably it's that simple. All bets are off in terms of who is civil to who, and why.
Shooting police officers? That's awful. Them shooting at members of your community unnecessarily? That's equally abominable.
There aren't any winners in that situation.
Which is why the DOJ or other appropriate body needs to step in here to put a stop to the disorder.
The citizens of Ferguson deserve as much.
Shooting police officers? That's awful. Them shooting at members of your community unnecessarily? That's equally abominable.
There aren't any winners in that situation.
Which is why the DOJ or other appropriate body needs to step in here to put a stop to the disorder.
The citizens of Ferguson deserve as much.
10
So far, the comment monitors have not published any of my brilliant comments on this completely misleading column.
But -- thankfully three are enough smart people out there who have identified all the problems with Charles' column, its omissions, misrepresentations, obfuscations and distortions. Notice I didn't use the word lie as that probably wouldn't get my the censors here.
I hope you read these comments Charles and take them to heart. People really think you are off track here You are doing nothing to improve things, you are like Al Sharpton with a Times column.
Oh -- one thing. I don't if they teach this in journalism school but passive voice is usually undisciplined, bad writing. May I point out, as an example, the sentence that begins:
"But unfortunately, two police officers have also been shot..."
A better way to write that sentence?
"In a horrifying act, a Black protestor shot two police officers."
See, that's a whole lot better isn't. It doesn't obfuscate or leave the impression that it was just one of those things (thanks Cole).
Any way, just a tip...
But -- thankfully three are enough smart people out there who have identified all the problems with Charles' column, its omissions, misrepresentations, obfuscations and distortions. Notice I didn't use the word lie as that probably wouldn't get my the censors here.
I hope you read these comments Charles and take them to heart. People really think you are off track here You are doing nothing to improve things, you are like Al Sharpton with a Times column.
Oh -- one thing. I don't if they teach this in journalism school but passive voice is usually undisciplined, bad writing. May I point out, as an example, the sentence that begins:
"But unfortunately, two police officers have also been shot..."
A better way to write that sentence?
"In a horrifying act, a Black protestor shot two police officers."
See, that's a whole lot better isn't. It doesn't obfuscate or leave the impression that it was just one of those things (thanks Cole).
Any way, just a tip...
22
Well, gee! I can't even remember the last time I talked to or had an interaction to the police. But then, I've been pretty much a law abiding citizen all my life and took advantage to the opportunities that were offered to me (like education, the Y, the Boy Scouts, and church) when I was young.. Maybe people wouldn't get picked on if they hadn't been in trouble with the law all the time when they were juveniles; and now have an adult rap sheet - sometimes pages long. Some people act like the police don't know who they are and about their past; even though they've lived in their police jurisdiction a long time. One thing I know about cops; they have very good memories and are good at recognizing people. Police catch criminals. That's what they do; and if you have a criminal bend - they'll be watching you and wanting to catch you ALL the time...
13
But protests are largely based on a false narrative. Protesters interviewed universally talk of "hands up don't shoot" posture of Michael Brown. This has been debunked by two separate investigations. Isn't the truth relevant?
24
" An eye for an eye, makes the whole world blind " - Mahatma Gandhi. And so did his ardent follower, Rev. Martin Luther King show the futility of violence. The story of Ferguson is the story in the rest of the country. So why not start a 'Movement of Non-violence'? This could be a Movement starting at the grassroots, in communities around the country. The Citizens already have the 'Right' to assemble according to our Constitution. Passive Civil Disobedience works! Gandhi and MLK have proven it. It has worked against a powerful Empire and Government. It is a totally different decade, one could argue. But the tool has not lost it's sharpness. In this age of digital communications where every event happens and conveyed in real time with evidence that cannot be refuted and recorded for posterity. The task of sending the message of peace is made much, much easier. Now only, we had a Gandhi or MLK.
4
What an appalling set of comments to this column. Mr. Blow, please keep on writing what needs to be said. And all you comment writers who appear to garner your "information" from a combination of scaremongering TV news and ill-informed assumptions, please make an open-minded effort to learn some actual facts.
6
I love Where Do We Go from Here: Chaos or Community. I read it in college, in the Fall of 2001. King's pacifist anti-Vietnam message resonated as the US was preparing for war in Afghanistan.
1
Mr Blow. I wish you would devote as much effort as you have to Ferguson to discuss the black on black homicides. It is way too high and something should be done to reduce the homicides. Suggest you start with the City of Chicago.
26
Mr. Blow,
The fact that four police officers have been shot, two fatally over a false narrative--the "hands up don't shoot" lie flowing from Ferguson is sad enough.
Continuing to milk the lie to cry racism where there is none is certainly not helping.
The fact that four police officers have been shot, two fatally over a false narrative--the "hands up don't shoot" lie flowing from Ferguson is sad enough.
Continuing to milk the lie to cry racism where there is none is certainly not helping.
34
The greatest injustice facing black people today isn't the policing tactics used in Ferguson, or a song sung on a bus, or anything happening in America in the past century.
The greatest injustice facing black people today is still slavery. Millions of black people are still kept as slaves in Africa, mostly by other black people.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slavery_in_contemporary_Africa
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/worldviews/wp/2013/10/17/this-map-sh...
Why do we rarely hear about this practice that has been ongoing for more than 1,000 years? Because it breaks the media narrative of black people as the oppressed, and demonstrates that they are among the biggest slave owners in history and modern times, and the most astonishingly egregious violators of basic human rights.
Unfortunately, giving press to the most basic human rights of millions of enslaved human beings would not serve the media's profit-centered narrative as much as repeated griping about social "bias".
The greatest injustice facing black people today is still slavery. Millions of black people are still kept as slaves in Africa, mostly by other black people.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slavery_in_contemporary_Africa
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/worldviews/wp/2013/10/17/this-map-sh...
Why do we rarely hear about this practice that has been ongoing for more than 1,000 years? Because it breaks the media narrative of black people as the oppressed, and demonstrates that they are among the biggest slave owners in history and modern times, and the most astonishingly egregious violators of basic human rights.
Unfortunately, giving press to the most basic human rights of millions of enslaved human beings would not serve the media's profit-centered narrative as much as repeated griping about social "bias".
15
Are you suggesting that there is no problem in Ferguson?
There may be terrible problems in Africa, but I fail to see what that has to do with systematic police abuse of Americans in the U.S.
It almost sounds as if you are suggesting that black Americans should just shut up and be grateful that they don't live in Africa, or maybe you are saying that the media should ignore domestic problems because there are worse problems overseas.
There may be terrible problems in Africa, but I fail to see what that has to do with systematic police abuse of Americans in the U.S.
It almost sounds as if you are suggesting that black Americans should just shut up and be grateful that they don't live in Africa, or maybe you are saying that the media should ignore domestic problems because there are worse problems overseas.
2
Sorry Jonathan but the Jews were enslaved, oppressed, and systematically murdered by the millions and they found a way to survive and even thrive in hostile societies time and time again throughout all of history. Why?
There's much to be learned there.
There's much to be learned there.
3
I find it quite disturbing that people like Mr. Blow and other people from the left appear genuinely disappointed to learn that Officer Wilson's actions were not motivated by race. The Grand jury testimony of dozens of people, almost all of whom were African American, and follow up investigations by the FBI and Justice Dept proved beyond a doubt, that Officer Wilson discharged his duties appropriately. Yet, the left, instead of being joyful to learn that Officer Wilson is not a racist....they seem to be upset. Clearly, they want racism to thrive in this country to be happy.
36
Neither the grand jury nor the Justice Department--which by the way, is run by one of the people you're yowlping about--said any such thing.
They said that they had nothing like enough evidence to try the case, which under our system of justice means that the potential charges went away.
They said that they had nothing like enough evidence to try the case, which under our system of justice means that the potential charges went away.
2
There's another issue that can or should unite across color lines: the systematic financial strangulation of public services that leads municipal governments to turn citizens - especially poor and disenfranchised citizens - into profit centers. When the police (or corrections, or schools, or any other arm of government) are pushed to generate revenue, and rewarded for showing annual increases, policing ceases to be about public safety. Abuses that reveal our worst instincts as a society are almost inevitable in this case. Want to honor the police? Own up to the cost of a functional and civilized government. And let police officers be the public servants that so many good, intelligent officers are and want to be, instead of putting them in the untenable position of having to raise revenue by violating others' constitutional rights.
7
My suburban Philadelphia area borough (in New York this would be a small town or a hamlet, certainly nowhere near the size of Brooklyn) has recently raised the cost of parking tickets, supposedly to encourage parking spaces to turn over. I can't help but wonder if it is also to raise revenue. While my little borough doesn't have quite as many African Americans as Ferguson (We have a sizable minority of AfroAmericans, but my town is mixed) I wonder if having revenue keep up with expenses contributed to this decision.
1
The real story here:
Two police officers were shot in front of the Ferguson Police station by a Black man raging over a lie--the debunked "hands up don't shoot meme" advanced by Obama and his sycophants for weeks and picked up for cheap ratings by the media.
Two police officers were shot in front of the Ferguson Police station by a Black man raging over a lie--the debunked "hands up don't shoot meme" advanced by Obama and his sycophants for weeks and picked up for cheap ratings by the media.
43
The President didn't do it, we do it to ourselves when we allow judgment to be perverted.
1
And you still believe everything that came out of the prosecutor's office?
1
Of course this moron was around 125 yards away from the demonstrators, and sitting inside a car when in got into some sort of argument with anotheridiot and opened fire on him and missed, but you go right on ahead.
1
It's amazing that 49% of whites believe that the justice system treats blacks and whites equally, and that 6% of whites believe that it actually favors blacks.
It's hard for any of us to see the world from other people's perspective, and everyone's perceptions are filtered through their own biases.
Okay, but there's overwhelming evidence that blacks have been mistreated by the criminal justice system since before the Civil War, and that they're still being mistreated. The evidence is not only overwhelming, it's hard to ignore.
Black Americans don't live under the old Jim Crow system anymore. They live under the new Jim Crow system. If you don't know why I would say such a thing, I'd recommend that you pick up a copy of "The New Jim Crow" by Michelle Alexander. If it doesn't shock you out of the fantasy that black people (especially young black men) are being treated fairly -- or that they're even being treated better than you -- I don't know what will.
The Watts riots surrounded my white neighborhood back in the 1960's, and scared the hell out of us. And I've lived through a lot of race-related violence since then. The looting and shooting in Ferguson, not far from where I currently live, has been terrible, but America has endured much worse.
Only criminals favor looting and shooting and hate-filled violence. The rest of us need to understand that racial injustice is still very real despite the evil and counterproductive ways that some people respond to it.
It's hard for any of us to see the world from other people's perspective, and everyone's perceptions are filtered through their own biases.
Okay, but there's overwhelming evidence that blacks have been mistreated by the criminal justice system since before the Civil War, and that they're still being mistreated. The evidence is not only overwhelming, it's hard to ignore.
Black Americans don't live under the old Jim Crow system anymore. They live under the new Jim Crow system. If you don't know why I would say such a thing, I'd recommend that you pick up a copy of "The New Jim Crow" by Michelle Alexander. If it doesn't shock you out of the fantasy that black people (especially young black men) are being treated fairly -- or that they're even being treated better than you -- I don't know what will.
The Watts riots surrounded my white neighborhood back in the 1960's, and scared the hell out of us. And I've lived through a lot of race-related violence since then. The looting and shooting in Ferguson, not far from where I currently live, has been terrible, but America has endured much worse.
Only criminals favor looting and shooting and hate-filled violence. The rest of us need to understand that racial injustice is still very real despite the evil and counterproductive ways that some people respond to it.
30
I am a Black man, one of the so-called millenials laboring under the oppressive, New Jim Crow America.
I have never in my adult life been denied the right to pursue my dreams, personally, academically and professionally, nor has the color of my skin been an impediment in any way. I defended White police officers, falsely accused just as Officer Wilson was--and I'd do it again.
It is time to stop dusting off the racial wrongs of the past for current and future profit. I choose every day to honor the lives of Dr. King and countless others who died for my freedom in America by refusing to allow false memes and phantom cries of racism influence anything I strive for.
And its working.
I have never in my adult life been denied the right to pursue my dreams, personally, academically and professionally, nor has the color of my skin been an impediment in any way. I defended White police officers, falsely accused just as Officer Wilson was--and I'd do it again.
It is time to stop dusting off the racial wrongs of the past for current and future profit. I choose every day to honor the lives of Dr. King and countless others who died for my freedom in America by refusing to allow false memes and phantom cries of racism influence anything I strive for.
And its working.
20
It is easy to ignore, people ignore unpleasant facts all the time, black and white people. Are blacks treated more unfairly because of a higher crime rate, do they have a higher crime rate because they are treated unfairly, or both? Blacks do have a higher crime rate, they do have a higher murder rate, this does lead to more suspicion. It is not fair to the innocent, but it is inevitable. It is not fair, but it is human nature, black or white. Ferguson was exacerbated by sensational and undeserved news coverage. Mr. Blow was part of that.
11
The officer that killed Mr. Brown was cleared of wrongdoing. This came as no surprise since the evidence did not support the narrative that Brown was a college bound honor student. On the heels of this, the DOJ has found significant discrimination in issuance of traffic tickets. This may be true, and I suspect it is, but how in the world does this justify burning down the center of the town, the nightly protests, homicides, assaults, and shooting of police officers? The left jumped all over this before the facts were known and gave license to the malcontents to further depress and already bad state of affairs. But we still see people with their hands in the air pretending Brown was the college bound boy scout the press tried to pass his off as.
19
He wasn't cleared. Couldn't be, because he wasn't tried in court. A kangaroo Grand Jury was fed a mix of evidence, much of it tainted; the DA made no attempt to make a case. When the DOJ got to look at the evidence it was so messed up they preferred not to fight a case. Wilson was not cleared. He got away with murder.
1
So why did the Times capture the incident of the shooter's arrest with the headline "Protester, Arrested for Ferguson Shootings"?
8
I recently had the opportunity for the first time of traveling through Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi and Tennessee. I was appalled at the subtle and not so subtle variations of racism that I encountered. I am disheartened and now believe that racism is so deeply ingrained that it will take a long time to go away, if ever.
9
Try Trenton, Newark, and Camden.
3
Many commenters are making extremely pertinent points on this issue, and are being summarily ignored by the NY Picks as they prune the very few that actually agree, or try to, with Mr Blow.
It would appear that Mr Blow doesn't blink twice at the assumption that, sure, young black males beat people up, rob liquor stores and shoot randomly into crowds, hitting police officers (that were treated and released, don't forget to add that in so we don't make a "big deal" out of it) and who knows what else.
Never mind about those truths, they're inconvenient and should be ignored. Let's, like Eric Holder, deflect all that and fixate on skewing statistics on traffic stops from a community that's predominantly black and poor. Don't bother with any rigorous comparisons, just call them racists and leave the room. Boom, let the bodies fall where they may, it's not our fault.
It sounds like Ferguson was actually a really nice place for blacks and whites to live, thank you Barack Obama, Eric Holder and Al Sharpton for helping to destroy it.
It would appear that Mr Blow doesn't blink twice at the assumption that, sure, young black males beat people up, rob liquor stores and shoot randomly into crowds, hitting police officers (that were treated and released, don't forget to add that in so we don't make a "big deal" out of it) and who knows what else.
Never mind about those truths, they're inconvenient and should be ignored. Let's, like Eric Holder, deflect all that and fixate on skewing statistics on traffic stops from a community that's predominantly black and poor. Don't bother with any rigorous comparisons, just call them racists and leave the room. Boom, let the bodies fall where they may, it's not our fault.
It sounds like Ferguson was actually a really nice place for blacks and whites to live, thank you Barack Obama, Eric Holder and Al Sharpton for helping to destroy it.
32
Really? Those that say racism doesn't exist in places of like Ferguson and isn't used against the most helpless and poor that can't defend themselves are part of the problem. You cannot deny clear cut evidence though I expect that many will still try to defend this proof of injustices.
1
We can't fix problems, like those among some young Black males, while a large portion of the population denies the origins of the problems, and while the same people support a political party that is largely the cause of poverty and limited opportunity in America.
3
Ferguson police don’t take motorists to jail because they are caught speeding or violating other traffic laws. Traffic cops run driver’s license numbers through their computer databases and arrest everyone who has an outstanding warrants, regardless of race. Virtually all of the racial disparity in Ferguson arrests is attributable to the fact blacks are more likely than whites to have outstanding warrants. According to the Justice Department report, “from October 2012 to October 2014, FPD arrested 460 individuals exclusively because the person had an outstanding arrest warrant. Of those 460 people arrested, 443, or 96%, were black.” The 95% figure isn’t as “damning” as it appears. Blacks make up 67.4 percent of Ferguson residents while whites make up 28.7, but the city is bordered by other cities that are more predominantly black than Ferguson. Many of those arrested by Ferguson police are not Ferguson residents. But population percentages are not the only demographic statistic relevant to arrest rates. The median age of Ferguson's black residents is 25 while the median age of its white residents is 48. There is a high correlation between age and arrests. The age group that produces by far the most arrests is the 16 to 27 age group. There is a dramatic drop off in arrests after age 26. This age gap alone is enough to explain the racial disparity in arrests.
15
"The Department of Justice has released its scathing report documenting widespread racial targeting of citizens with fine and tickets."
Disparate impact does not prove "racial targeting." That is disingenuous hyperbole.
Disparate impact does not prove "racial targeting." That is disingenuous hyperbole.
21
Dear Mr. Blow, There is one part of this sorry saga that has not been talked about in your columns. From the beginning I wondered why in a city that was majority black, those running the show were white? Ferguson is not the south before the civil rights movement. Well I got my answer when I read an article a couple of days ago about two blacks and two whites running for a city council seat. It was stated that in the past candidates were white and ran unopposed! In the last election African Americans voted in the single digits! So much for those who marched and those who died getting black men and women the right to vote. For shame. If you choose to allow others to grab the power you distain than the power can and usually will be used against you. All the protests, all the violence or non-violence will not make a difference unless you empower yourselves and become engaged in your own community.
15
It's worth remembering why Ferguson became a flash point. Interracial officer involved shootings always stir up ant-police sentiment and often lead to protests. But memory deceives you if you think that's why Ferguson became national news. What caught national attention was the heavy armored police response to protestors. For improperly arming the police, the feds are to blame. The DOJ report blaming the locals should be followed by a Ferguson report blaming the feds.
3
The one time the feds should have provided a strong response, which was on the first night of the riots, the feds were nowhere to be found. Instead, the feds allowed the looters to destroy those stores.
10
While watching a weekend talk show in which Ferguson was being discussed, the one thing that was on glaring display was, “white privilege”.
Every white Ferguson resident interviewed had the same response regarding the way in which the police had targeted Blacks in order to generate revenue for the city, “I didn’t know that this was going on.”
Until the bulk of White America acknowledges how their white skin privilege shields them from injustices experienced daily by Black Americans and other minorities, real progress cannot be made in addressing the issue of race. Many will vehemently oppose any program, no matter how meager, that attempts to address century’s old invidious discrimination waged against Black people, while refusing to acknowledge the many ways in which their white skin facilitates their advancement while also serving as an Aegis shield.
Every white Ferguson resident interviewed had the same response regarding the way in which the police had targeted Blacks in order to generate revenue for the city, “I didn’t know that this was going on.”
Until the bulk of White America acknowledges how their white skin privilege shields them from injustices experienced daily by Black Americans and other minorities, real progress cannot be made in addressing the issue of race. Many will vehemently oppose any program, no matter how meager, that attempts to address century’s old invidious discrimination waged against Black people, while refusing to acknowledge the many ways in which their white skin facilitates their advancement while also serving as an Aegis shield.
5
I don't know if you understand stats or not, but the DOJ did a simplistic comparison that didn't include crime rates of Blacks vs Whites. If they had, they might have found something quite different. So Bo, learn some lessons here and also -- white privilege, as you call it, is really the result of hard work and achievement.
11
Does the public think police treat whites and blacks equally? We will never know.
The poll: "In general, do you think that the country's criminal justice system treats whites and blacks equally, or does it favor whites over blacks?"
That "system" is: laws, police, citation, arrest, investigation, prosecution, defense, judges, sentencing, rehabilitation, probation, prisons, restitution.
Two decades ago I was targeted by traffic 'cops' two times in two days. So was everyone else in my white, middle-class, residential neighborhood. I cannot recall the race of the officers now. The revenue-scheme was citywide and lasted several months. I do remember the traffic judge, the mayor, and a city council member we voted out of office for their revenue-scheme. The police chief went with them.
And I do recall the county judge, black, who overturned nearly every traffic citation.
You write letters, band together, go INTO the police station and courtrooms and 'protest' by asking for investigation and justice. You register and you vote.
Yes, Charles, "We can register indignation while preserving civility." What did Selma mean and still mean for everyone? Every race.
The poll: "In general, do you think that the country's criminal justice system treats whites and blacks equally, or does it favor whites over blacks?"
That "system" is: laws, police, citation, arrest, investigation, prosecution, defense, judges, sentencing, rehabilitation, probation, prisons, restitution.
Two decades ago I was targeted by traffic 'cops' two times in two days. So was everyone else in my white, middle-class, residential neighborhood. I cannot recall the race of the officers now. The revenue-scheme was citywide and lasted several months. I do remember the traffic judge, the mayor, and a city council member we voted out of office for their revenue-scheme. The police chief went with them.
And I do recall the county judge, black, who overturned nearly every traffic citation.
You write letters, band together, go INTO the police station and courtrooms and 'protest' by asking for investigation and justice. You register and you vote.
Yes, Charles, "We can register indignation while preserving civility." What did Selma mean and still mean for everyone? Every race.
9
The protesters have an eery quality that is similar to waring factions in the Middle East. Peace is not their desire, it is the continuation of the hostilities. Unfortunately, the people who are hurt most by this behavior are those living in these neighborhoods.
When the police stand down, when businesses are shuttered, it is only a matter of time before whole communities fall deep into crime and horrid living conditions.
Stay tuned, it will happen in Ferguson as it has happened in Detroit, and soon to come NYC
When the police stand down, when businesses are shuttered, it is only a matter of time before whole communities fall deep into crime and horrid living conditions.
Stay tuned, it will happen in Ferguson as it has happened in Detroit, and soon to come NYC
19
We've been looking for the criminal justice system and the "Constitution" to protect us. And as it has turned out, it hasn't.
Flashes of violence? Maybe a window breaking is a "flash of violence". Cops getting shot for being cops is more than that.
14
Mr. Blow says that Ferguson reflects how white people behave. Why is it not equal: Ferguson reflects how black people behave: they orb stores forcibly, resist arrest, attempt to kill police officers, blatantly lie about the arrest and circumstances of the shooting, loot, rob and destroy stores and shoot cops who are apparently guilty of no more than defending stores. That is also the story of Ferguson: the story of how black people behave in America today!
15
1. Ferguson is a potent symbol, but it is not isolated! In fact, it is not even the worst case of an oppressive municipal court justice system run amok and quite likely guilty of corruption. Missouri needs to redo their whole justice system as it relates to local traffic violations, fines, and bail.
2. I cannot help but wonder if the St. Louis County Prosecutor, Robert McCulloch will utilize the same style of case presentation he used against Darren Wilson in the present case, i.e., presenting all information, tips, etc. received in the case to the grand jury and letting them make sense out of all of the facts, discrete bits of information, etc. I seriously have my doubts that he will be consistent, which in itself may be a clue about structural and institutional racism in Missouri.
2. I cannot help but wonder if the St. Louis County Prosecutor, Robert McCulloch will utilize the same style of case presentation he used against Darren Wilson in the present case, i.e., presenting all information, tips, etc. received in the case to the grand jury and letting them make sense out of all of the facts, discrete bits of information, etc. I seriously have my doubts that he will be consistent, which in itself may be a clue about structural and institutional racism in Missouri.
5
Too many truths were not spoken early enough, about Ferguson.
Yes, it is important to know at last how the police gave out too many tickets & fines to undeserving blacks. A genuine & long-standing grievance.
Destructive rioting by a mob afterward the shooting was nonetheless on a par with a senseless terrorist attack, abetted by criminal incitements uttered by Mike Brown's stepfather.
Young Mr Brown walked out of the convenience store guilty of forcible robbery & assault. His outright contempt for the law was expressed aggressively. Had he but listened to a police officer telling him to get out of the street, he would be living still.
Yes, it is important to know at last how the police gave out too many tickets & fines to undeserving blacks. A genuine & long-standing grievance.
Destructive rioting by a mob afterward the shooting was nonetheless on a par with a senseless terrorist attack, abetted by criminal incitements uttered by Mike Brown's stepfather.
Young Mr Brown walked out of the convenience store guilty of forcible robbery & assault. His outright contempt for the law was expressed aggressively. Had he but listened to a police officer telling him to get out of the street, he would be living still.
22
Please take all of the police out of Ferguson. Then they will have an 'ideal' town. This could be a good 24/7 TV show.
14
I don't know if Charles Blow wants to change anyone's mind or not, since his presentation of the facts is so selective and his sympathies so limited. But it seems likely that the minds he is changing were once on his side.
21
anyone who reads the NYT knows that Mr. Blow is obsessed with screaming racism ad nauseam while exhibiting a very strong anti-whet bias. Apparently, Mr. Blow's obvious and blatant racism is acceptable because he targets whites. If any columnist for a major mainstream media regularly and consistently just wrote opinion pieces denigrating and criticizing blacks, incessantly railing that they are immoral and warped, the left would go wild and the Justice department would be called in. But, anti-white racism is just the taste du jour. Meanwhile, could we please just look at behavior, not color?
16
"All of it has caused the nation’s attention to once again turn to this small town and the sustained protests there." You sure about that?
6
Mr. Blow- you claim that the citizens of Ferguson are involved in a "profound conversation" about racial justice. Unfortunately some of these brilliant orators have decided to express themselves in the language of robbery, arson and attempted murder. And yes, to date, all of them are black.
The media's embrace of the Ferguson protesters and the profound lies of the entire narrative ("hands up, don't shoot) have done a great disservice to the civil rights movement. A word of advice- when you lie down with dogs (like Al Sharpton) you wake up with fleas.
The media's embrace of the Ferguson protesters and the profound lies of the entire narrative ("hands up, don't shoot) have done a great disservice to the civil rights movement. A word of advice- when you lie down with dogs (like Al Sharpton) you wake up with fleas.
33
While I certainly acknowledge that crimes against persons are intrinsically worse than crimes against property, I do wish to make one point. During the protests/riots in Ferguson, the crimes were committed against people who had absolutely no connection to the events being protested/rioted over. Store owners who were not on the Grand Jury, had not testified before the Grand Jury, and in many cases were neighbors of the protesters/rioters were robbed and burnt.
At least in the case of the shooting, the protest was actually directed against the force the protesters claim is suppressing them. While I in no way condone the use of violence, at least the shooter got the target right. Next time, perhaps the citizens of Ferguson should take a page from the citizens of Paris, and storm the prison where they claim their people are unjustly imprisoned and release them.
At least in the case of the shooting, the protest was actually directed against the force the protesters claim is suppressing them. While I in no way condone the use of violence, at least the shooter got the target right. Next time, perhaps the citizens of Ferguson should take a page from the citizens of Paris, and storm the prison where they claim their people are unjustly imprisoned and release them.
No one should shoot anyone because they are police officers.
But who cannot tell there is tremendous difference between a lone creep and a whole criminal justice system pervaded by racism? Both injustices should be remedied - one by a single prosecution- and the other by wholesale reform. A lone shooter should be encouraged to see what he has done is wrong by punishment, and all people should be much more strongly encouraged to see racism as a filthy lie, and punished in proportion to the damage such a sick attitude has caused, whether in law enforcement or not.
The choice of the media is to remain subtly complicit or change, including being much more openly critical, not neutral or too soft, on racist politicians. It is really objective journalism to be 100% against the falsity of racism, including where one has participated in it in the past. Self-criticism is the real indicator of sincerity.
But who cannot tell there is tremendous difference between a lone creep and a whole criminal justice system pervaded by racism? Both injustices should be remedied - one by a single prosecution- and the other by wholesale reform. A lone shooter should be encouraged to see what he has done is wrong by punishment, and all people should be much more strongly encouraged to see racism as a filthy lie, and punished in proportion to the damage such a sick attitude has caused, whether in law enforcement or not.
The choice of the media is to remain subtly complicit or change, including being much more openly critical, not neutral or too soft, on racist politicians. It is really objective journalism to be 100% against the falsity of racism, including where one has participated in it in the past. Self-criticism is the real indicator of sincerity.
So what is the solution? In spite of all the equal rights laws that there are on the books which are enforced and the severe punishments for racists statements and actions, loss of jobs, extra prison sentences for race based crimes, etc. what should be done? It seems that the Blacks in Ferguson really do not trust White people and the White people do not trust the Black people. That will never change. Therefore, since the Blacks are a much higher percentage of the population of Ferguson than the Whites, the Whites should leave Ferguson. The Federal government should buy everything that the Whites own, homes and private businesses and resell them to the Blacks in Ferguson and provide the Whites with relocation expenses. All of the local government jobs held by whites in Ferguson should be phased out over a 12 month period during which Blacks would replace the Whites. At the end of the day, Ferguson will have a 100% Black population and local government across the board. That will stop accusations of racism in Ferguson.
11
that is about the best idea i have heard so far. kudos to you, NYChap.
2
Take a look at Selma, Alabama to get a look at what this would look like. I've searched for alternatives to your solution but am unable to come up with any. The "answer" (response) appears to be a voluntary separation. Like a married couple who can no longer live together blacks and whites may have to find a mutually agreed separation.
2
No, the accusations will continue. Forever. Because slavery.
The real travesty is not only that the criminal justice system favors whites over minorities but the wealthy over everyone else.
7
Any progress made to reform the city and police structure in Ferguson can be rightly described as a pyrrhic victory.
The ongoing violence and dangerous protests in Ferguson have long-since cemented a perception among St. Louis residents that Ferguson is no longer a safe place to visit or shop.
The basic reality in St. Louis is that there are entire neighborhoods which are simply too dangerous to visit. Rife with violence and ruled by drug gangs, these neighborhoods have no grocery stores, no convenience stores, no gas stations. All they have is payday-loan outlets and liquor stores, if that.
In two years, Ferguson will be just like them. The tax base has been destroyed and will not recover. Businesses are closing, and the remaining ones are struggling mightily. I used to do business with a few places in Ferguson, but have not been there since last fall. I won't be going back.
So spend all the time you want reforming city hall in Ferguson. In two years, it will no longer be an independent city and will become part of the wider County government, and the notion of "local governance" will be a quaint memory (which is fine, since almost no one in Ferguson bothers to vote anyway). Ferguson residents who can get out are advised to get out while they can, and take the loss on your property there. Those left behind can expect to drive a little farther to find a nearby grocery store.
The ongoing violence and dangerous protests in Ferguson have long-since cemented a perception among St. Louis residents that Ferguson is no longer a safe place to visit or shop.
The basic reality in St. Louis is that there are entire neighborhoods which are simply too dangerous to visit. Rife with violence and ruled by drug gangs, these neighborhoods have no grocery stores, no convenience stores, no gas stations. All they have is payday-loan outlets and liquor stores, if that.
In two years, Ferguson will be just like them. The tax base has been destroyed and will not recover. Businesses are closing, and the remaining ones are struggling mightily. I used to do business with a few places in Ferguson, but have not been there since last fall. I won't be going back.
So spend all the time you want reforming city hall in Ferguson. In two years, it will no longer be an independent city and will become part of the wider County government, and the notion of "local governance" will be a quaint memory (which is fine, since almost no one in Ferguson bothers to vote anyway). Ferguson residents who can get out are advised to get out while they can, and take the loss on your property there. Those left behind can expect to drive a little farther to find a nearby grocery store.
17
There are two issues that are at play in the Country and in Ferguson.
One is the tale of our history with slavery, Jim Crow, and the underlying entitlement some of us whites feel we are deserving of.
The other is the breakdown of our civic institutions because we just don't want to fund anything anymore.
When the banksters and oligarchs who brought us the disaster in 2007 declared that they could not be bothered with paying more in taxes, and that a period of austerity would begin for the rest of us, and the party that panders to them dug in its heels to keep Obama from any hint of success the rest of us just said...."Oh OK." And then we elected the party that brought us this and put them in charge of congress.
The only places we don't seem to see any austerity are the war machine and the prison machine, everything else is on life support. We don't have enough money to pay cops and other responders the money they deserve so we hire some who couldn't pass muster in better times and we don't train them fully because we won't. And to make some ends meet cities and states are relying on fees, fines, and other shortcuts to fiscal responsibility.
The right wing pundits and their ilk see a few bad apples and condemn all the protesters. Prosecutors who confuse the issue just add fuel. They would do well to remember there were probably a few fingers wagging at the destruction of all that tea in Boston Harbor.
One is the tale of our history with slavery, Jim Crow, and the underlying entitlement some of us whites feel we are deserving of.
The other is the breakdown of our civic institutions because we just don't want to fund anything anymore.
When the banksters and oligarchs who brought us the disaster in 2007 declared that they could not be bothered with paying more in taxes, and that a period of austerity would begin for the rest of us, and the party that panders to them dug in its heels to keep Obama from any hint of success the rest of us just said...."Oh OK." And then we elected the party that brought us this and put them in charge of congress.
The only places we don't seem to see any austerity are the war machine and the prison machine, everything else is on life support. We don't have enough money to pay cops and other responders the money they deserve so we hire some who couldn't pass muster in better times and we don't train them fully because we won't. And to make some ends meet cities and states are relying on fees, fines, and other shortcuts to fiscal responsibility.
The right wing pundits and their ilk see a few bad apples and condemn all the protesters. Prosecutors who confuse the issue just add fuel. They would do well to remember there were probably a few fingers wagging at the destruction of all that tea in Boston Harbor.
5
Really Bob, if you are speaking about entitlements, be careful, because minorities have been soaking up entitlements in the trillions. If we "don't want to fund anything anymore" please take a hard look at the funding for K-12 education and the huge waste of the funding for higher education for "free" lunches in schools, food stamps, aid to dependent children and the like. "Right wing pundits" condemn protestors who infringe on the rights of the those who have to get to work, travel unimpaired by the arrogance of closing down streets and bridges or destroying stores and whole neighborhoods. Ask the tradespeople of Ferguson if they can survive to serve the population if they fear protestors firebombing or looting.
5
Mr. Blow might have fleshed out his synopsis of the events transpiring in Ferguson with passing reference to the Department of Justice Report Regarding the Criminal Investigation into the Shooting Death of Michael Brown by Ferguson, Missouri Police Officer Darren Wilson, released on the same day that Justice released the "scathing report" vilifying the institutional racism of the City of Ferguson.
Perhaps Mr. Blow has not had time to read the Memorandum issued on March 4, 2015. Let me cut to the chase and include the one sentence Conclusion of the 86 page report:
"For the reasons set forth above, this matter lacks prosecutive merit and should be closed."
Perhaps Mr. Blow has not had time to read the Memorandum issued on March 4, 2015. Let me cut to the chase and include the one sentence Conclusion of the 86 page report:
"For the reasons set forth above, this matter lacks prosecutive merit and should be closed."
14
At the risk of mentioning reality, declining to prosecute on the griunds that there isn't sufficient evidence to take a case to court with any expectation of winning really isn't the same thing as exonerating the guy.
1
Mr Blow was not discussing criminal prosecution in the Michael Brown case. He was discussing the success of the protestors in bringing about the investigation of Ferguson's police department. The conclusion of that report brought to light the problems with Ferguson's police department and governing structure.
1
It would be refreshing to see an article devoted entirely to the fact that law enforcement is not the root cause of this, neither is race. There are so many other factors at play and they are overshadowed by the desire to hate law enforcement and/or the need to believe that race could be the only answer. This issue is not cut and dry, there is so much more. Using Ferguson as the archetype of policing in America is unfair and inflammatory.
7
Historically the main problem with Ferguson and our country as a whole beside slavery has been gun love and corrupt authority that is more than happy to use gun violence or incarceration to control American citizens. This is how the Jim Crow-like executions of unarmed young men and boys like John Crawford and Tamir Rice and our being the world's greatest jailer of its own citizens are swept under the carpet. If skin color matters at all, the primary colors of the victims and victimizers are well known. The main point though is that widespread human rights violations are being perpetrated in our country and are being whitewashed by the media and others in positions of control. This is why the media and Washington focus on foreign issues and not our own domestic ones.
America has a problem with societal violence and violent foreigners are not the main problem, though the foreigners get the media's and Washington’s attention as these well-established special interest groups both vie for your money. Americans have shot and killed about 600,000 of their fellow Americans this century alone, the past 15 years since the year 2000, that's roughly about 250,000 or a quarter million more Americans killed right here at home by their fellow Americans, than the total number of American military personnel killed by foreigners in WWII. We should move toward peace, courage and freedom and not fear, violence and criminalization. We should be behaving better in our country, and not bully.
America has a problem with societal violence and violent foreigners are not the main problem, though the foreigners get the media's and Washington’s attention as these well-established special interest groups both vie for your money. Americans have shot and killed about 600,000 of their fellow Americans this century alone, the past 15 years since the year 2000, that's roughly about 250,000 or a quarter million more Americans killed right here at home by their fellow Americans, than the total number of American military personnel killed by foreigners in WWII. We should move toward peace, courage and freedom and not fear, violence and criminalization. We should be behaving better in our country, and not bully.
3
Well, there is good and bad in every color of the rainbow --- leave the revenge to the Good Lord!
3
Racial realities require that, "remedies developed and implemented."
The best way to end discrimination is to end the two-way street of discrimination.
The best way to end discrimination is to end the two-way street of discrimination.
2
Please explain how the Justice Department's report shows that in Ferguson, this was a two-way street.
GETTING REAL . . .
Though Ferguson, Brooklyn ... and the other horrendous police crimes ... are made pale by comparison when compared to the gang beating of a black high school girls at a McDonald's in Brooklyn by other numerous African-American girls.
And, that there is a relationship between these kinds of behaviors and stereotypes that continue to persist among many persons as well as the police develop.
Let me add: when videos of a huge percent of blacks are shown on TV and in newspapers being arrested or found guilty of felonies... And, black on black crime predominates, it does great damage to the how people perceive the entire population of blacks.
Of course, police culture must change. But, the criminal behaviors of blacks -- which are so disproportionate must be addressed with complete honesty.
Blatant Jim Crow has dissipated and all blacks must make full use ... especially in terms of positive group cultural values and the importance of education.
Though Ferguson, Brooklyn ... and the other horrendous police crimes ... are made pale by comparison when compared to the gang beating of a black high school girls at a McDonald's in Brooklyn by other numerous African-American girls.
And, that there is a relationship between these kinds of behaviors and stereotypes that continue to persist among many persons as well as the police develop.
Let me add: when videos of a huge percent of blacks are shown on TV and in newspapers being arrested or found guilty of felonies... And, black on black crime predominates, it does great damage to the how people perceive the entire population of blacks.
Of course, police culture must change. But, the criminal behaviors of blacks -- which are so disproportionate must be addressed with complete honesty.
Blatant Jim Crow has dissipated and all blacks must make full use ... especially in terms of positive group cultural values and the importance of education.
13
You have it all so neatly sewn up David. And your words are echoed by those who do not see institutionalized racism in our country. Your words do much harm by keeping us from dealing with that injustice.
I have a question.
If someone views everything through the prism of race
If someone denigrates people of a different color every chance they get
If someone ignores or omits facts that would discredit their point of view regarding people of another race
If someone ignores the misdeeds of their own race
If someone blames all their problems on the actions of another race
Is that person a racist?
If someone views everything through the prism of race
If someone denigrates people of a different color every chance they get
If someone ignores or omits facts that would discredit their point of view regarding people of another race
If someone ignores the misdeeds of their own race
If someone blames all their problems on the actions of another race
Is that person a racist?
18
I'm all for disavowing violence and if I were a politician I could understand being questioned by the media on this issue. After all, if you are a public official one would expect some measure of leadership in the right direction.
But this seems to be a one way street. How many politicians get asked whether they support state violence in the form of police beatings and shootings? Or state violence in the form of curtailing the constitutional right to be free from unlawful searches? Or free to walk the streets and move about without police interference? Or free to demonstrate and petition our grievances? Why aren't politicians also asked to disavow those denials of our liberty?
When DA's illegally withhold evidence or use agent provocateurs why aren't politicians asked to disavow those transgressions to our freedom?
When 6% of death row inmates in certain states are found to be innocent why don't our politicians disavow those practices? Or when the DA's who pursue the innocent and withhold the evidence that would exonerate them why isn't there an insistence that our political leaders take stand on those issues?
Why is it when a lone black criminal commits a violent act that then and only then must we all reaffirm our commitment to peace. But when a system perpetrates violence it never has a name, a face or one to apologize for the damage it does?
But this seems to be a one way street. How many politicians get asked whether they support state violence in the form of police beatings and shootings? Or state violence in the form of curtailing the constitutional right to be free from unlawful searches? Or free to walk the streets and move about without police interference? Or free to demonstrate and petition our grievances? Why aren't politicians also asked to disavow those denials of our liberty?
When DA's illegally withhold evidence or use agent provocateurs why aren't politicians asked to disavow those transgressions to our freedom?
When 6% of death row inmates in certain states are found to be innocent why don't our politicians disavow those practices? Or when the DA's who pursue the innocent and withhold the evidence that would exonerate them why isn't there an insistence that our political leaders take stand on those issues?
Why is it when a lone black criminal commits a violent act that then and only then must we all reaffirm our commitment to peace. But when a system perpetrates violence it never has a name, a face or one to apologize for the damage it does?
5
"Violence is weakness masquerading as strength. It is a crude statement of depravity voiced by the unethical and impolitic. It reduces humanity rather than lifts it. The violent must find no asylum in the assembly of the righteous...."
What extraordinary mumbo-jumbo -- and it's only fitting that Blow ends with the king of mumbo-jumbo -- ESPECIALLY when race is the issue -- President Obama.
Is Blow really so blind to the fact that violence is the way the United States operates, has been ever since we violently threw off the yokes of British tyranny, only to substitute our own? On ourselves and everyone else?
What extraordinary mumbo-jumbo -- and it's only fitting that Blow ends with the king of mumbo-jumbo -- ESPECIALLY when race is the issue -- President Obama.
Is Blow really so blind to the fact that violence is the way the United States operates, has been ever since we violently threw off the yokes of British tyranny, only to substitute our own? On ourselves and everyone else?
7
Abie, not only is violence the way the United States (pop culture) operates, it is the preferred barometer of credibility in Black communities. As an educated Black man, I clearly remember the taunts, denigration and times where I had to resort to fistfights with people of MY race because I was "uppity" and "educated" and not some idolized, street thug glorified in the popular culture of many Black communities.
The same Barack Obama who used the White House bully pulpit to advance a false narrative in Ferguson, fetes and treats rap artists who are millionaires because they glorify the violence, misogyny and ignorance that litters the landscape. Yet when the fruits of this result in loss of life, suddenly the news media throws all of us back in chains, cowering from the evil racist boogeyman as innocents, when in many cases we are not.
I cannot fault Charles Blow. It appears that ginning up racism and miscasting America along racial lines is how he pays the rent, which ultimately makes him the victim of his own rhetoric.
The same Barack Obama who used the White House bully pulpit to advance a false narrative in Ferguson, fetes and treats rap artists who are millionaires because they glorify the violence, misogyny and ignorance that litters the landscape. Yet when the fruits of this result in loss of life, suddenly the news media throws all of us back in chains, cowering from the evil racist boogeyman as innocents, when in many cases we are not.
I cannot fault Charles Blow. It appears that ginning up racism and miscasting America along racial lines is how he pays the rent, which ultimately makes him the victim of his own rhetoric.
3
I'd mention how very charming you've been to refer to the President of the United States (he is, you know, oopsies) as "the king of mumbo-jumbo," but you'd likely start howling that this wasn't in any way a racist comment, oh, my, goodness no, perish forbid.
So instead, could you maybe explain just who Martin Luther King ever hit, beat or shot?
So instead, could you maybe explain just who Martin Luther King ever hit, beat or shot?
1
Four words inadvertently sum up Charles Blow's column about Ferguson:
"On Jimmy Kimmel Live." The fact that Mr. Obama flew Air Force One to Los Angeles to speak about Ferguson on a late night comedy show tells us all we need to know about how badly misplayed and overblown the events in Ferguson have become.
If Ferguson was indeed a "flashpoint" if we are as Mr. Blow attempts to portray teetering on a renaissance of Jim Crow and overt oppression, why didn't the President visit Ferguson?
The DOJ, sent by a trigger-happy Obama WH to prosecute Officer Darren Wilson over a fictional tale of a White police officer shooting an innocent small Black child with his hands up begging for his life, had to gin up anecdotal incidents of off-color jokes and comments to justify the airfare, and office supplies wasted to conduct the investigation.
Two police officers were shot by a Black Ferguson protester, a fact that Mr. Blow conveniently glosses over. It is sad to watch the alleged shooter already beginning to attempt to deceive the public on a national scale to absolve himself of pending charges. But this is where we are. The Obama Era has ushered in a victim narrative for my race, where any excuse is a good one.
"On Jimmy Kimmel Live." The fact that Mr. Obama flew Air Force One to Los Angeles to speak about Ferguson on a late night comedy show tells us all we need to know about how badly misplayed and overblown the events in Ferguson have become.
If Ferguson was indeed a "flashpoint" if we are as Mr. Blow attempts to portray teetering on a renaissance of Jim Crow and overt oppression, why didn't the President visit Ferguson?
The DOJ, sent by a trigger-happy Obama WH to prosecute Officer Darren Wilson over a fictional tale of a White police officer shooting an innocent small Black child with his hands up begging for his life, had to gin up anecdotal incidents of off-color jokes and comments to justify the airfare, and office supplies wasted to conduct the investigation.
Two police officers were shot by a Black Ferguson protester, a fact that Mr. Blow conveniently glosses over. It is sad to watch the alleged shooter already beginning to attempt to deceive the public on a national scale to absolve himself of pending charges. But this is where we are. The Obama Era has ushered in a victim narrative for my race, where any excuse is a good one.
17
Could you explain how you know that the moron who shot the two cops was a "protestor?" thanks.
1
A truth we must face as a nation is the violent strain that runs through our veins. Many books have been written on this topic and present many theories for our quickness to solve problems with some form of shock and awe. Even the vocabulary of our political class carries with it continual references to some for of force or punishment for those who express opposition to our policies or beliefs. Our go to domestic and foreign policy seems always to include some form of violence to solve a problem.
4
This goes way beyond Ferguson, MO.
Anyone who cares enough to take a comprehensive dive into modern systemic racism in America needs to read Michelle Alexander's The New Jim Crow. If there's a reputable argument on the other side, I'd like to hear what it is.
Once you've read Alexander's book, you will understand just how easy and natural it has been for the our country to manage persistent poverty and joblessness in black America through the criminal justice system and subtle appeals to racism.
Instead of trying to manage the black population by criminalizing it, we need to make investments by providing jobs, education, power and respect to Americans of all backgrounds.
Continuing to act like racism is an overt act such as a slur is to badly miss the forest for the trees. Far more damaging than those so impolitic or immature to publicly voice their racism, is a system which strives to pin the modern scarlet letter - F for Felon - on the chest of the majority of black boys in America.
Anyone who cares enough to take a comprehensive dive into modern systemic racism in America needs to read Michelle Alexander's The New Jim Crow. If there's a reputable argument on the other side, I'd like to hear what it is.
Once you've read Alexander's book, you will understand just how easy and natural it has been for the our country to manage persistent poverty and joblessness in black America through the criminal justice system and subtle appeals to racism.
Instead of trying to manage the black population by criminalizing it, we need to make investments by providing jobs, education, power and respect to Americans of all backgrounds.
Continuing to act like racism is an overt act such as a slur is to badly miss the forest for the trees. Far more damaging than those so impolitic or immature to publicly voice their racism, is a system which strives to pin the modern scarlet letter - F for Felon - on the chest of the majority of black boys in America.
8
Perhaps the reason that the demonstrators had such staying power, to keep the protests going, was because of their deep knowledge of the depth of the injustice. So injustice leads to passion leads to redress. So demonstrators and everyone else - keep your eyes on the prize. This is not about getting the authorities to do the right thing. This is about keeping the country aware of the wrong thing, always and everywhere; so that "we as a people will get to the promised land" as King said in Memphis on the night before he died - all of us, together
2
We have again the kind of government that greedy flimflammers have always wanted, one that is dysfunctional because greedier Men in Big Business and Congress seem always to be in charge, while working stiffs do the hard work of Nation building.
Does anyone doubt that the Suspect States will always insist that working men be their current substitute for Slave Laborers?
Prisons seem to be the current solution to Homelessness now.
Does anyone doubt that the Suspect States will always insist that working men be their current substitute for Slave Laborers?
Prisons seem to be the current solution to Homelessness now.
There are many factors influencing the situation in Ferguson.
One factor that needs to be made clear is the problem of the lack of black police officers in that town. Small towns don't have the funds to have a Police Academy so the state or maybe the county trains the candidates. This is a funding situation and insures a police force that conforms to state standards.
Graduating black officers are highly sought after as diversity everywhere in the state is desired. Recruiters from all over the state make offers to the graduates, and the black officers have opportunities to work in areas with a lower crime rate than a minority/majority city, and get higher pay from more affluent areas. Can't blame them for that, and then who polices the minority/majority are the less highly recruited white graduates.
Match the offers or exceed the offers made to the black graduates and presto...a blacker police force.
One factor that needs to be made clear is the problem of the lack of black police officers in that town. Small towns don't have the funds to have a Police Academy so the state or maybe the county trains the candidates. This is a funding situation and insures a police force that conforms to state standards.
Graduating black officers are highly sought after as diversity everywhere in the state is desired. Recruiters from all over the state make offers to the graduates, and the black officers have opportunities to work in areas with a lower crime rate than a minority/majority city, and get higher pay from more affluent areas. Can't blame them for that, and then who polices the minority/majority are the less highly recruited white graduates.
Match the offers or exceed the offers made to the black graduates and presto...a blacker police force.
3
You had a wonderful chance to come down on the side of reason and responsibility and boldly to condemn violence as an expression of racial expression, Mr. Blow.
And, true to form, you blew it.
It's a shame that you cannot bring yourself to be firmly on the side of civility.
And, true to form, you blew it.
It's a shame that you cannot bring yourself to be firmly on the side of civility.
15
Please reread the column which does exactly what you ask.
5
What did you read, anyway?
6
What is really interesting is the number of responses that take the violence of one or two toward the police out of the context of the violence done do an entire community for years on end and use them to once again discredit the complaints of the community. "See," they try to say, "these people are nothing but . . . . and don't deserve better."
This comes under the heading of white "justification" for the original oppression. It is the other, unspoken, part of what makes these government practices so intractable: namely the tendency of the larger community to always justify their bias by blaming the victims.
This comes under the heading of white "justification" for the original oppression. It is the other, unspoken, part of what makes these government practices so intractable: namely the tendency of the larger community to always justify their bias by blaming the victims.
48
Look, white people completely and totally understand that black people have special economic, legal and social needs. The problem is that the legal system in America is designed to enforce white, middle class, "puritan" values and many of us are of the opinion that maybe many African Americans are not compatible with those values. This was a severe criticism from the black community towards Moynihan in the 60's. One was quoted as saying "Moynihan would have a point, but it comes from the idea that white middle class values are proper for all Americans. They are not."
So that right there is the issue, white middle class suburban values are too uncool, staid, boring, square and black people chafe under a legal system designed to enforce that straight and narrow on a people whose culture is not compatible with it.
But what is the solution? For whites to "lighten up" by giving up legal enforcement of their value system? For blacks to be given their own shadow court system like Louis Farrakhan calls for? Might as well just carve a reservation out of federal land out west for African Americans and let them create Liberia II. Because I don't see a solution that wouldn't be economically and socially detrimental to whites.
So that right there is the issue, white middle class suburban values are too uncool, staid, boring, square and black people chafe under a legal system designed to enforce that straight and narrow on a people whose culture is not compatible with it.
But what is the solution? For whites to "lighten up" by giving up legal enforcement of their value system? For blacks to be given their own shadow court system like Louis Farrakhan calls for? Might as well just carve a reservation out of federal land out west for African Americans and let them create Liberia II. Because I don't see a solution that wouldn't be economically and socially detrimental to whites.
9
What's "detrimental to whites," are these sorts of ridiculous fantasies, clung to as realities and as shields against the ways that the shabby likes of Donald Trump and Steve Scalise are your real enemies.
Again, we ignore the elephant in the room.
It is poverty, not the tincture of your skin, that is most likely to
lead to your ending up on the wrong side of the law.
Unless you can afford a private lawyer, you, if arrested,
will be at the mercy of the ( lack of ) Justice System.
If you cannot make bail then you will be treated like any other
prisoner though you have been convicted of nothing.
Your Public Defender Attorney will be overworked and more
cooperative than he should be that you accept a Plea-Bargain.
The violent protestors and the shooting of policemen solves nothing
and only makes those asking that their Constitutional Rights be upheld
look like a danger and threatens the livelihood of the businesses in
that area of Ferguson.
Question: Why wasn't the shooting of the two policemen in Ferguson
given as much media attention/urgency as the death of Michael Brown ?
As for proper service by the Police Officers, most are doing their best,
Perhaps you Mr. Blow and anyone else who strongly disagrees should go
on patrols with Police and see what a difficult and dangerous positions
they find themselves in day in and day out. Then come back and tell us
that your behavior in every instance - no matter how recalcitrant the
arrested citizen, no matter the provocation from others was - that
you never acted in any way but proper.
It is poverty, not the tincture of your skin, that is most likely to
lead to your ending up on the wrong side of the law.
Unless you can afford a private lawyer, you, if arrested,
will be at the mercy of the ( lack of ) Justice System.
If you cannot make bail then you will be treated like any other
prisoner though you have been convicted of nothing.
Your Public Defender Attorney will be overworked and more
cooperative than he should be that you accept a Plea-Bargain.
The violent protestors and the shooting of policemen solves nothing
and only makes those asking that their Constitutional Rights be upheld
look like a danger and threatens the livelihood of the businesses in
that area of Ferguson.
Question: Why wasn't the shooting of the two policemen in Ferguson
given as much media attention/urgency as the death of Michael Brown ?
As for proper service by the Police Officers, most are doing their best,
Perhaps you Mr. Blow and anyone else who strongly disagrees should go
on patrols with Police and see what a difficult and dangerous positions
they find themselves in day in and day out. Then come back and tell us
that your behavior in every instance - no matter how recalcitrant the
arrested citizen, no matter the provocation from others was - that
you never acted in any way but proper.
8
Can we assume that after a lengthy investigation charges against the alleged shooter will be presented to a grand jury representative of his community, that he will be allowed to testify in his defense to the grand jury, and that the DA will make no recommendation? If not, why not?
1
Because he's black and he (allegedly) shot at cops. Duh.
Or was that a rhetorical question?
Or was that a rhetorical question?
"they’re criminals. They need to be arrested. "
Is that an acknowledgment that some black folk can be criminals and should be arrested? What if they resist arrest, then what?
Is that an acknowledgment that some black folk can be criminals and should be arrested? What if they resist arrest, then what?
13
Then obviously the Police should follow procedure and they should be brutally beaten into unconsciousness.
Believe it or not, it is possible to oppose the violence by the criminals AND the violence by the Police. You should not be using one to justify the other.
Believe it or not, it is possible to oppose the violence by the criminals AND the violence by the Police. You should not be using one to justify the other.
4
Of course it is. Intelligent people don't traffic in sweeping stereotypes of racial groups.
5
Then the police are required to overcome that resistance, but they are most definitely NOT required to immediately jerk out a gun and kill that person.
1
So, we have come full circle in the race-baiting Olympics that is Ferguson. The hands-up, don't shoot lie is rooted in Michael Brown's criminal accomplice, Dorian Johnson, in the strong-arm robbery that set these events in motion. CNN, NYT, and WaPO ate this stuff up with fawning coverage. The cable and network news accomplices in this narrative even pantomimed the phony message on their broadcasts - followed by the Congressional black caucus standing on the steps of the Capitol. Now we complete the circle...
Headline: Cop Shooter Jeffrey Williams Is Friends With Mike Brown’s Buddy Dorian Johnson
If Obama had a son...
Headline: Cop Shooter Jeffrey Williams Is Friends With Mike Brown’s Buddy Dorian Johnson
If Obama had a son...
18
Are Mr. Blow (and indeed the NYT) EVER going to acknowledge that the first acts of violence originated with Mr. Brown. He assaulted a clerk in a convenience store he was robbing, attacked officer Wilson inside his patrol car, and then when he could not outrun him, turned and charged Wilson who shot him dead. This is not unsupported supposition, but based on voluminous crime scene evidence and the testimony of those witnesses who did not perjure themselves, all of which was cited by Justice in exonerating Officer Wilson. There seems little doubt about the systemic injustices in policing in Ferguson. But Mr. Browns actions tell an additional, and given the homicide statistics in a great many communities of color, not anecdotal story that I believe the Times, and unfortunately Mr. Blow have been at great pains to avoid.
17
Can't bring yourself to look at the bigger picture can you? Can't imagine yourself in the other guys shoes, can you? Don't even know what the word "empathy" means, do you?
The shooter or shooters will be brought to justice. The protesters should hold tight, as Mr. Blow advises. Everyone needs to take a step back look to ways to form community. Adults need to think about the children--they are watching. Yes, children need to see protest when something is wrong when an injustice happens, but they also need to see efforts for peace when change is happening.
16
Did Charles note the "color" of the shooter? and the "color" of the policemen, who weren't even from Ferguson? And what about "burning down the house" essentially in downtown Ferguson. And even Eric Holder's DOJ had to admit that Michael Brown didn't raise his hands in surrender and he wasn't shot in the back.
11
The most recent shooting in Ferguson is the nightmare stereotype of the middle class. A young Black male, with criminal convictions, and a gun, and a grudge, shooting people for no apparent reason. And Mr. Blow won't acknowledge that fact. The suspect claimed he was a protestor, not the prosecutor. You can't blame "The Man" for this young criminal's actions and statements.
Oakland, California was recently declared the most diverse major city in the US. (By Lord knows who.) So far this year, there have been around 19 homicides. All of them, apparently, Black on Black crimes. It is almost impossible to gather facts regarding race from the press, unless it is a white police officer shooting a Black 'child.'
The most recent victim was a Black mother of three young children, trying to get her kids home after a day's work at Kaiser Hospital. There have been no protests following this horribly senseless crime. No one gathering to protest the mayhem being committed in the streets of Oakland. A few years ago, four OPD officers killed by a Black convicted felon in less than two hours, no protests about that either.
The middle class, of every color, will be moving away from Ferguson, I'm sure they already are. There is more to this issue than the lack of 'social justice,' whatever that might mean.
Oakland, California was recently declared the most diverse major city in the US. (By Lord knows who.) So far this year, there have been around 19 homicides. All of them, apparently, Black on Black crimes. It is almost impossible to gather facts regarding race from the press, unless it is a white police officer shooting a Black 'child.'
The most recent victim was a Black mother of three young children, trying to get her kids home after a day's work at Kaiser Hospital. There have been no protests following this horribly senseless crime. No one gathering to protest the mayhem being committed in the streets of Oakland. A few years ago, four OPD officers killed by a Black convicted felon in less than two hours, no protests about that either.
The middle class, of every color, will be moving away from Ferguson, I'm sure they already are. There is more to this issue than the lack of 'social justice,' whatever that might mean.
13
Mr. Blow needs to travel 5 miles from Ferguson to Pine Lawn, Missouri. According to the 2010 census the popluation is 3,500. 96.4% black. The police chief also happens to be Michael Browns family attorney. All the elected officals are black.
In 2014, Pine Lawn police issued 17,000 tickets and had 23,000 open warrants. 50% of the local budget came from tickets.
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pine_Lawn,_Missouri
My point is not tit-for-tat but the danger of disparate impact analysis. By applying the Justice Dept standard of Ferguson to Pine Lawn, is Pine Lawn a civil rights disaster or is it exempt because of its demographics?
In 2014, Pine Lawn police issued 17,000 tickets and had 23,000 open warrants. 50% of the local budget came from tickets.
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pine_Lawn,_Missouri
My point is not tit-for-tat but the danger of disparate impact analysis. By applying the Justice Dept standard of Ferguson to Pine Lawn, is Pine Lawn a civil rights disaster or is it exempt because of its demographics?
84
At least they aren't shooting their unarmed citizens dead in the streets. Well not yet anyway.
1
I find Wikipedia to be a useful tool to learn the sources for facts bandied for political purpose. However the relevant information in this wiki cites as a source, information that cannot be verified. The Wiki itself was just edited to add this unverified information. I'm taking this up with Wikipedia directly.
You conveniently forget, that Michael Brown was a criminal. He robbed a store, assaulted its owner, and then attacked a police officer. Those facts are not in dispute. The city rioted before the facts were known. The other truth is the police and government were operating in a racist deplorable manner.
If we as a society push change on the agents of racism, then the African American community must take some responsibility for the excessive crime and violence in their communities. That does not stem from unemployment, it stems for teenage mothers, no fathers and the resulting decay in understanding right from wrong, and understanding the value of education.
I am still waiting for a leader in the African American community to stand up and speak both truths, not just one.
If we as a society push change on the agents of racism, then the African American community must take some responsibility for the excessive crime and violence in their communities. That does not stem from unemployment, it stems for teenage mothers, no fathers and the resulting decay in understanding right from wrong, and understanding the value of education.
I am still waiting for a leader in the African American community to stand up and speak both truths, not just one.
15
I don't really blame the protestors for the shootings of the St. Louis police officers, the murders of the two New York City officers, or the shootings of the Los Angeles police officers last night. Attorney General Eric Holder and President Barack Obama know exactly what they are doing and the fault lies with them, not their ill-educated patsies.
9
Police officers are putting their lives on the line because it is their job and they have to be brave. But, they are not machines and this must fatigue to the bone. Most protesters are there out of a sense of hearing a calling and are putting their lives on the line for a moral obligation to stand up for a cause or to have a wrong situation addressed.
I have attended a few protest in my day for peace and justice and it a very uncomfortable situation. Usually helicopters are flying overhead and people with opposing views are intimidating and harassing in ways that get very personal like taking pictures and writing down license plate numbers not to mention the treats verbally and stuff thrown. I missed work and money in order to be there. There is often a menacing police force with drawn weapons and gear that looks like a scene out of Dune. I had to force myself to go and often the number of other protesters was discouraging. It is done truly to be on the right side of history and simply be one with the likes of Dr. King and Gandhi, although the nuts and bolts of the thing is lonely. I had no thoughts of anything but the higher calling and getting home safely.
Leadership at these events can be fragmented by the police and there are some agitators embedded to cause chaos to report in the news.. Sadly, the message does get distorted but that does not mean that demonstrations should not be part of a democracy. Even if uncomfortable for the person watching the boob tube.
I have attended a few protest in my day for peace and justice and it a very uncomfortable situation. Usually helicopters are flying overhead and people with opposing views are intimidating and harassing in ways that get very personal like taking pictures and writing down license plate numbers not to mention the treats verbally and stuff thrown. I missed work and money in order to be there. There is often a menacing police force with drawn weapons and gear that looks like a scene out of Dune. I had to force myself to go and often the number of other protesters was discouraging. It is done truly to be on the right side of history and simply be one with the likes of Dr. King and Gandhi, although the nuts and bolts of the thing is lonely. I had no thoughts of anything but the higher calling and getting home safely.
Leadership at these events can be fragmented by the police and there are some agitators embedded to cause chaos to report in the news.. Sadly, the message does get distorted but that does not mean that demonstrations should not be part of a democracy. Even if uncomfortable for the person watching the boob tube.
3
Charles, you seem to be relieved that the shooter "was not one of us" as the protestors claim, but in fact he is exactly that - a young black man attending the protest. Where is your outrage that by his actions he has added to the perception that young black men are thugs?
26
The words of MLK are a stark contrast to the inciting rhetoric we're hearing from Al Sharpton, who seems to view this as a boxing match: "We lost the round, but the fight ain't over. And you don't judge the fight on one round, even if we get knocked down, we get up and go to the corner and come out fighting to the next round. You won the first round, Mr. Prosecutor. But don't cut your gloves off.... Justice will come to Ferguson." Has it come yet, Mr. Sharpton?
And then Blow, while supposedly eschewing violence, says in the same paragraph, "one must always FIGHT."
"Vigilant" may have been a more appropriate word to use here.
And then Blow, while supposedly eschewing violence, says in the same paragraph, "one must always FIGHT."
"Vigilant" may have been a more appropriate word to use here.
13
Unbelievable. As the Irish might say, "Is this a private fight or can anyone join in?"
It seems some of you commentators seem to have forgotten that the police response to the initial protests resembled a full out military frontal assault. Armored vehicles and large magazine automatic weapons is not exactly the kind of response one might expect from a nation that says in its Constitution we have the right to gather to get redress from wrong committed by our governments.
I'm pretty sure a couple of tea merchants back on that day in Boston lamented the "lawlessness" of the crowd of protesters who were dumping their tea into the Harbor.
It seems some of you commentators seem to have forgotten that the police response to the initial protests resembled a full out military frontal assault. Armored vehicles and large magazine automatic weapons is not exactly the kind of response one might expect from a nation that says in its Constitution we have the right to gather to get redress from wrong committed by our governments.
I'm pretty sure a couple of tea merchants back on that day in Boston lamented the "lawlessness" of the crowd of protesters who were dumping their tea into the Harbor.
1
You were in Ferguson at the "initial protests," Bob?
1
The poll reveals how far from reality Blow has cocooned himself. America is not black and white. It's black, white, Hispanic, Asian, and a multitude of other races. The structure of the survey question also leads respondents to say whites are favored over blacks.
Elsewhere in the news, it is shown that blacks are least likely to have a friend who is of another race.
Black America is as badly dysfunctional as our President Obama himself.
Elsewhere in the news, it is shown that blacks are least likely to have a friend who is of another race.
Black America is as badly dysfunctional as our President Obama himself.
16
History will record this as the anguish of a community wracked by joblessness and home foreclosures, looking for a scapegoat. History will record that the man in the Oval office was the true source of their misery, having overseen the biggest transfer of wealth -- FROM the middle class TO everyone else -- in history. The black middle class, and anyone else clinging by their fingernails to middle class status, suffered most under Obama. But being unable to lash out at their "hope and change" messiah, and with a good bit of nudging and prodding from said messiah, they found another target for their frustration: the local police force.
8
First we find out from the Justice Dept. report on Darren Wilson that the whole "hands up, don't shot" theme was a myth. Never happened.
And the "scathing" report cited by C. Blow is a sophomoric statistics exercise wherein a higher proportion of minority groups getting tickets is somehow "equal" to racism. Quick - see if the "disparity" is matched in Detroit or Washington D.C. - You didn't do that? Neither did the writers of the "scathing report".
Now 2 cops are shot.
Well, if minorities actually believe everything they've been told by Holder and C. Blow, et al, why shouldn't they go shoot the racists cops who gun down innocent youth from their community?
BTW, it was not just 2 cops shot in Ferguson. It's that plus 2 cops killed in NY. And although it's early, we just had 2 cops shot in LA.
Thanks Charles.
And the "scathing" report cited by C. Blow is a sophomoric statistics exercise wherein a higher proportion of minority groups getting tickets is somehow "equal" to racism. Quick - see if the "disparity" is matched in Detroit or Washington D.C. - You didn't do that? Neither did the writers of the "scathing report".
Now 2 cops are shot.
Well, if minorities actually believe everything they've been told by Holder and C. Blow, et al, why shouldn't they go shoot the racists cops who gun down innocent youth from their community?
BTW, it was not just 2 cops shot in Ferguson. It's that plus 2 cops killed in NY. And although it's early, we just had 2 cops shot in LA.
Thanks Charles.
26
Are you seriously blaming Charles Blow for the deaths of policemen? So blacks should just shut up and take injustice without protest? What fuels such anger and hatred within you?
Hey, wait.
Are the demonstrators to be found collectively guilty of every bad thing someone does? Are the police guilty of every bad things few officers do? When there is unjustified police violence against citizens, people are quick to say: "That's not all officers. That was just two bad apples in the bunch."
5,000 people can march and 5 people can set off a riot. If you believe the march should not have occurred in the first place, then you blame everyone, not just the 5.
What would be the reaction in the greater New York area if the police and courts issued 27 million arrest warrants in one yr.? That's an proximation of what happened in Ferguson in 2013, with 30,000 warrants in a town of 20,000. Would there be riots? Would the President himself fly in an promise change and relief?
Everything is different when it happens to someone else, especially removed from ourselves by distance and race.
Violence happens every day to blacks in America and, until something erupts most people, white and black, can't think of anything to do about it, so we go about our business. Lacking a response, the violence continues.
The struggle growing out of Ferguson is not tarnished by the acts of a few. This is not one over a few jaywalking tickets. It is over whether African-Americans and other minorities can live in peace without being constantly harassed, fined and denied access to the means to improve their lives. It is about justice and fairness.
http://terryreport.com
Are the demonstrators to be found collectively guilty of every bad thing someone does? Are the police guilty of every bad things few officers do? When there is unjustified police violence against citizens, people are quick to say: "That's not all officers. That was just two bad apples in the bunch."
5,000 people can march and 5 people can set off a riot. If you believe the march should not have occurred in the first place, then you blame everyone, not just the 5.
What would be the reaction in the greater New York area if the police and courts issued 27 million arrest warrants in one yr.? That's an proximation of what happened in Ferguson in 2013, with 30,000 warrants in a town of 20,000. Would there be riots? Would the President himself fly in an promise change and relief?
Everything is different when it happens to someone else, especially removed from ourselves by distance and race.
Violence happens every day to blacks in America and, until something erupts most people, white and black, can't think of anything to do about it, so we go about our business. Lacking a response, the violence continues.
The struggle growing out of Ferguson is not tarnished by the acts of a few. This is not one over a few jaywalking tickets. It is over whether African-Americans and other minorities can live in peace without being constantly harassed, fined and denied access to the means to improve their lives. It is about justice and fairness.
http://terryreport.com
6
In the wilds of Maryland, you might have missed reports of black youths killing black youths - in Chicago, in LA, maybe even in Baltimore. Yes, violence happens every day to blacks in America, and, unfortunately, it is usually blacks who are the perps. However, when a Black child is murdered in a drive-by shooting, the national media don't make much of a big deal about it, but treat the event as passing trivia. The hand-wringers from the NYT, CNN, and PBS don't find such tragedies as newsworthy, perhaps because there is nothing to add to the ongoing narrative of Black victimization.
Yes, Black lives matter. Let the so-called Black leaders tackle the real horror of what takes place in black communities. Let the reverend Reverends speak out against the behaviour that destroys their communities. If there weren't rampant criminality, there would be less police presence, and perhaps the police wouldn't be so expectant of violence that they are emotionally on "hairline triggers." Would the apologists want reduced police presence and let these communities take care of themselves?
Yes, Black lives matter. Let the so-called Black leaders tackle the real horror of what takes place in black communities. Let the reverend Reverends speak out against the behaviour that destroys their communities. If there weren't rampant criminality, there would be less police presence, and perhaps the police wouldn't be so expectant of violence that they are emotionally on "hairline triggers." Would the apologists want reduced police presence and let these communities take care of themselves?
2
Everything happens for a reason: racism destroys people already historically robbed of body, mind and spirit... But the events of Ferguson, brought forward by a mostly fictitious event, the rioting and looting; the nearby police shooting two weeks later caught on film showing the man pointing a gun at a cop, and still another riot, looting... Two cops stand shoulder to shoulder surviving obvious head shots (they wear vests) and no call by protest leaders for community help in finding the shooter..... Another report critical of police offered on the same day officer Wilson is cleared (again) by a federal agency and America looks on transfixed by our nations sins of the past, yet grateful then don't live around people so adversely affected.
REPARATIONS based on free education, pre school to post grad for all victims of this historical crime is the answer and our time is running out...
REPARATIONS based on free education, pre school to post grad for all victims of this historical crime is the answer and our time is running out...
2
REPARATIONS = Give us your money or we'll keep burning the place down.
12
One unfortunate fact is that protests seldom seem to accomplish much until a little violence shows how deep the protesters' feeling of grievance is. The shooting of course was senseless and inexcusable, but do we really believe that officials would be resigning or that the state supreme court would have taken the action it did if there hadn't been some rioting in the protests? when people march decorously the authorities nearly always respond "Thank you, your concerns are noted."
Unfortunate, but mostly borne out by history.
Unfortunate, but mostly borne out by history.
16
From inside the system, I saw constantly unequal treatment between favored and disfavored groups, and blacks are everywhere I've been the most disfavored group.
I know it. I even expect it. I'd be surprised to see anything else; I'd wonder what was really going on.
However, there was a massive change in the 1960's. It is no longer respectable to be that way. It is that way anyway, but it isn't respectable.
That means things can change. We need another change. More. It is possible, because huge change has already happened.
The New Deal of FDR would have been impossible before the Great Depression and the suicidal policies of Hoover that made that so much worse. Nobody could have predicted that huge change.
The same is true of other big changes in politics. It doesn't seem possible until it happens, but then it seems obvious and inevitable that it had to happen. 9/11 was that way, Watergate was that way, Kent State combined with the Tet Offensive were that way, the Civil Rights Movement was that way combining inspired leadership and shocking events.
I hope and expect to see some events that will make sudden change, unanticipated until it suddenly seems inevitable, as to both our race relations and our economy. Things just can't go on as they are, and what just can't go on won't go on. It is just a question of what and when the black swan events happen to change everything.
Ferguson was not that event, but it aggravated things in ways that could produce that event.
I know it. I even expect it. I'd be surprised to see anything else; I'd wonder what was really going on.
However, there was a massive change in the 1960's. It is no longer respectable to be that way. It is that way anyway, but it isn't respectable.
That means things can change. We need another change. More. It is possible, because huge change has already happened.
The New Deal of FDR would have been impossible before the Great Depression and the suicidal policies of Hoover that made that so much worse. Nobody could have predicted that huge change.
The same is true of other big changes in politics. It doesn't seem possible until it happens, but then it seems obvious and inevitable that it had to happen. 9/11 was that way, Watergate was that way, Kent State combined with the Tet Offensive were that way, the Civil Rights Movement was that way combining inspired leadership and shocking events.
I hope and expect to see some events that will make sudden change, unanticipated until it suddenly seems inevitable, as to both our race relations and our economy. Things just can't go on as they are, and what just can't go on won't go on. It is just a question of what and when the black swan events happen to change everything.
Ferguson was not that event, but it aggravated things in ways that could produce that event.
4
Ferguson's use of the police and revenue raisers and the unfair and biased administration of that policy was and is a problem. A problem that perhaps the DOJ can change but certainly a lot more Blacks running for office and voting can change even faster. What was unfortunate was the use of the Darren Wilson Michael Brown confrontation, with all its attendant misinformation and confusion, as some sort of grand evidence about police, about Whites and about America.
3
What did you expect? Everyone from the President on down blamed the shooting of a violent young man in his confrontation with a police officer as clear evidence of racism and used that incident to their own political agendas.
The "protestors" swarmed in from every corner of the radical and opportunistic world and claimed this as the new frontier in their causes. Violent and sometimes crazy rhetoric flowed, often urging violence and revenge. Gangs of thieves and wreckers swarmed over that small town and ruined small businesses, the lifeblood of that town.
Why would anyone be surprised that shootings happened? Isn't that what the opportunists wanted from the beginning?
The "protestors" swarmed in from every corner of the radical and opportunistic world and claimed this as the new frontier in their causes. Violent and sometimes crazy rhetoric flowed, often urging violence and revenge. Gangs of thieves and wreckers swarmed over that small town and ruined small businesses, the lifeblood of that town.
Why would anyone be surprised that shootings happened? Isn't that what the opportunists wanted from the beginning?
12
Half way back in the last century, it was commonly known that some stretches of highway running through small towns in the Georgia and Floriday, no doubt other states as well, had speed signs posted, sometimes in obscure places, cops at the ready and Justices of the Peace on hand to grab any and everyone who was over those limits, eyeball determined only. Many communities keep their books balanced via fines for minor offenses. An age old practice. Was it all racist? Or just trying to pass the cost of government on to strangers or the lack luster who veer across the line?
18
Simple, so let's not escalate. This guy who shot the police needs to be arrested, prosecuted, indicted, and punished. The political system in Ferguson needs to be corrected and this is being done. Curb the anger, get it done right, and move on, this is responsibility & accountability.
26
There is so much to disagree with here, I will only focus on two issues:
1) "And yet, that progress has been tarnished by flashes of violence. That doesn’t have to be the case."
When the entire protest is predicated on a lie - "Hands up, don't shoot"- that celebrates a violent man who strong-armed a store clerk and then attempted to wrestle a gun away from a cop, I would say that celebration of violence is an essential part of the protests. The riots, the incitement to riot by Brown's step-father and the shootings last week are not outliers in the protests ("flashes of violence"), they are in complete sympathy with the 'victim'.
2)"We can honor the lives of police officers — and applaud them when proper service is rendered..."
Oh, really? Like the Yale cop whose actions were excoriated by you on the op-ed pages of the NYT, only to be cleared upon review by the police and the school? When you publicly apologize for your mistaken attack on that officer then maybe, maybe, those words will sound less hollow.
1) "And yet, that progress has been tarnished by flashes of violence. That doesn’t have to be the case."
When the entire protest is predicated on a lie - "Hands up, don't shoot"- that celebrates a violent man who strong-armed a store clerk and then attempted to wrestle a gun away from a cop, I would say that celebration of violence is an essential part of the protests. The riots, the incitement to riot by Brown's step-father and the shootings last week are not outliers in the protests ("flashes of violence"), they are in complete sympathy with the 'victim'.
2)"We can honor the lives of police officers — and applaud them when proper service is rendered..."
Oh, really? Like the Yale cop whose actions were excoriated by you on the op-ed pages of the NYT, only to be cleared upon review by the police and the school? When you publicly apologize for your mistaken attack on that officer then maybe, maybe, those words will sound less hollow.
20
It is worth noting that Mr. Blow used the incident with the Yale police officer and his son to create a false racial narrative, and knowingly downplayed the fact that the officer who detained his son was also Black.
But that is how Charles Blow rolls. And why he is a privileged Obama WH insider.
But that is how Charles Blow rolls. And why he is a privileged Obama WH insider.
13
Although you and your ilk refuse to admit it, the current protests have nothing to do with the shooting that predicated the original protests.
Thanks for encouraging peace. However, you did not go far enough in acknowledging that violent behavior not only prevents progress, it stirs up intense discrimination by blacks against police and whites in general. It also stirs up old feelings of fear and hatred toward blacks who could act so savagely. How do we differentiate an upstanding black member of the community from a violent one in underprivileged neighborhoods? As a child in the 60’s, I was taught to avoid black people because they were dangerous. That did not make us hate them; it made us fear them. Then, in middle school being robbed and beat up almost daily by black students we had to move to a “safer” neighborhood. That made me hate them. Out of college in the 70’s, my working environment introduced me to educated, professional black co-workers and my biases quickly faded. Why not encourage conducting more police department investigations like the one by the DOJ which accomplished the objective? What about the role that Al Sharpton, Bill DeBlasio and Eric Holder played in activating the protesters to nearly destroy the town of Ferguson. Wait till the facts are in? “Hands up, don’t shoot" never happened. How embarrassing! Has everyone forgotten Obama’s condemnation of the Boston police for being racist when the officer in question was in charge of conducting diversity classes for the police? From where I sit race relations haven’t been this intense in decades. How sad.
34
Police do have a difficult job. But while most officers are decent, they close ranks to defend the racist and violent officers in their midst. Until good police stand up to purge their own ranks, instead of closing ranks and defending the worst, they all are partially guilty.
5
It's very important that Charles Blow, a staunch defender of the protesters (and a constant voice against police oppression) has condemned this shooting, and the very next day, too. The police officers were not even Ferguson police officers, they came from other departments. They are human beings. Thank you, Mr Blow, for adding your voice.
4
The fact that they were from different municipalities, not to mention the assassinations in New York, underscores the fact that these events now indicate a movement that has gone well beyond targeting the Ferguson police. Since the "Holder Orchestration," these attacks have gone well beyond the Ferguson city limits to a nation homicidal spree that is only gaining steam. The origin of these crimes will not be soon forgotten.
2
Another view of this situation is that the shooters were actually exercising their constitutional rights granted under the 4th thru 8th amendments in the constitution and have utilized the 2nd amendment to protect themselves from the violations of 4 thru 8. So what's the big deal.
Of course no one should shoot at cops (though if the shooter was able to hit specific targets at 125 yds with a handgun, he should be on our Olympics team). The Ferguson police spent years targeting Black and poor citizens with nuisance violations in an effort to finance the city government. Under these conditions it would be pretty reasonable to see the police as agents of oppression instead of protection. The city used the police to extract what is essentially extortion money from the community. This is what organized criminal organizations do. The shooter needs to be prosecuted. So do the police and the architects of the policy of raising revenue through extortion.
28
james doohan montana:
"This is what organized criminal organizations do."
****
Rand Paul asks a very good question: Why blame police departments, which are merely enforcing the laws put in place by power-seeking governments?
If you recall in the case of poor Mr. Garner in Staten Island, he was apprehended as part of a crackdown on the sale of loose cigarettes that was initiated by the highest ranking uniformed cop in the NYPD.
NYC Mayor de Blasio was pursuing these cigarette sales so aggressively that he had even initiated a civil racketeering lawsuit considered "first of its kind brought by the city against an out-of-state entity for supplying cigarette traffickers"* and had been planning to make a big announcement but kept it quiet because he didn't want to draw attention to it during the Garner case.
*****
*"De Blasio quietly filed untaxed cig suit the week of Garner decision"
http://nypost.com/2014/12/16/de-blasio-quietly-filed-untaxed-cig-suit-th...
"This is what organized criminal organizations do."
****
Rand Paul asks a very good question: Why blame police departments, which are merely enforcing the laws put in place by power-seeking governments?
If you recall in the case of poor Mr. Garner in Staten Island, he was apprehended as part of a crackdown on the sale of loose cigarettes that was initiated by the highest ranking uniformed cop in the NYPD.
NYC Mayor de Blasio was pursuing these cigarette sales so aggressively that he had even initiated a civil racketeering lawsuit considered "first of its kind brought by the city against an out-of-state entity for supplying cigarette traffickers"* and had been planning to make a big announcement but kept it quiet because he didn't want to draw attention to it during the Garner case.
*****
*"De Blasio quietly filed untaxed cig suit the week of Garner decision"
http://nypost.com/2014/12/16/de-blasio-quietly-filed-untaxed-cig-suit-th...
6
It would be difficult to hit an individual target with a handgun at 125 yards, but it would not be difficult to hit a group of policemen standing in formation. It would be difficult to miss
Last fiscal year, Ferguson took in $2.7 million in fines, including traffic fines, and seizures, but the Ferguson Police Department reported expenditures of $5.3 million. So, the Ferguson Police Department operates at a significant loss that has to be made up by sales taxes and property taxes. Ferguson could save millions by disbanding its police force.
Last fiscal year, Ferguson took in $2.7 million in fines, including traffic fines, and seizures, but the Ferguson Police Department reported expenditures of $5.3 million. So, the Ferguson Police Department operates at a significant loss that has to be made up by sales taxes and property taxes. Ferguson could save millions by disbanding its police force.
2
One of the most difficult thing to solve in this is violent crime by young, black, males. Did anyone doubt for a minute that the shooter would turn out to be a young, black, male? It is obviously a very difficult thing to solve, but, Mr. Blow, and the rest of us need to confront the endless violence of this group.
17
So, all of these traffic violations didn't really happen and innocent people were just stopped by the police because they are black? Or they generally do whatever they want in their cars and when they ignore their fines and get summoned to court for non-payment, claim racism to avoid having to pay? Neither? Some of both? I somehow sense we're not getting the whole story here.
13
What is described in the report is what is colloquially called in Florida the "Prison Industrial Complex". It exists in many places.
They find a way to entrap you in the legal system and grind money out of you until you either pay or they toss you in jail (where privatization earns somebody a few dollars a day for incarcerating you).
Florida had a friend of mine entrapped in Kafkaesque madness for almost 4 years until Legal Aid spent 6 months getting the nonsense unwound. 6 months and multiple trips between judges and the motor vehicle registry to unwind the fees, jail sentences, and license revocation, and to obtain removal of the requirement for an auto insurance policy that proved the car had an alcohol breathalyzer interlock (about which the original judge had clearly written on the original judgement the word "WAIVED"), all for a homeless guy with no car who was busted for (wait for it) riding his a bike without a light.
And no, I am not making that up; I'm not that good.
Florida: Came on vacation, left on probation.
They find a way to entrap you in the legal system and grind money out of you until you either pay or they toss you in jail (where privatization earns somebody a few dollars a day for incarcerating you).
Florida had a friend of mine entrapped in Kafkaesque madness for almost 4 years until Legal Aid spent 6 months getting the nonsense unwound. 6 months and multiple trips between judges and the motor vehicle registry to unwind the fees, jail sentences, and license revocation, and to obtain removal of the requirement for an auto insurance policy that proved the car had an alcohol breathalyzer interlock (about which the original judge had clearly written on the original judgement the word "WAIVED"), all for a homeless guy with no car who was busted for (wait for it) riding his a bike without a light.
And no, I am not making that up; I'm not that good.
Florida: Came on vacation, left on probation.
8
I guess I had to see how Mr.Blow was going to treat the now pointless demonstrations "occupying" Ferguson. Another poll, another graphic and an oh yea "unfortunately two policeman were shot" (fourth paragraph down in passing). Yes, being shot in the face can really ruin your day even as Mr. Blow helpfully points out they were treated and released the same day. Witness a man completely without shame and altogether untethered from reality.
For the record the police chief had never been the target or race hate group ire and did make a concerted effort to hire black officers and was even recognized for it. He co operated with every one of the agencies sent to torpedo him and his department. The report was a gift that from the departing Attny General. If anyone is counting that is four policemen shot with two dead. The lastest two in the wake of peaceful demonstrations over the death of a young man who it turns out did not raise his hands nor ask for quarter from a racist cop who it turns out was not racist.
This has taken on O.J. Simpson proportions. It is no longer about real greivences just "face time" for identity politics groups.
For the record the police chief had never been the target or race hate group ire and did make a concerted effort to hire black officers and was even recognized for it. He co operated with every one of the agencies sent to torpedo him and his department. The report was a gift that from the departing Attny General. If anyone is counting that is four policemen shot with two dead. The lastest two in the wake of peaceful demonstrations over the death of a young man who it turns out did not raise his hands nor ask for quarter from a racist cop who it turns out was not racist.
This has taken on O.J. Simpson proportions. It is no longer about real greivences just "face time" for identity politics groups.
62
I agree with your assessment that Mr. Blow in his phraseology diminished the shooting of the two police officers. He also neglected to mention that the two officers were white and the alleged shooter African American. One has to question why the omission of those facts by the writer.
5
But for violence the American national anthem would be "God Save The Queen". In the absence of violence this would still be Native America. Without violence Black African Americans would still be slaves. If there had been no violence then there would have been no successful civil rights movement and Blacks would still be second class citizens. Without two world wars America may not have become a superpower. America was born and has been maintained and sustained in violence.
The issue is neither violence nor non-violence. It is always about effective strategy and tactics in an effort to obtain moral justice. The problem is not what is illegal but what is legal.
The damage done in the Ferguson's is the emotional mental toll take by being brutally profiled, stalked and stopped based upon being colored while doing anything in America. It is that injury to so many that vastly outnumbers any beatings or shootings that festers.
A random shooting that targets innocents is counter-productive and thus earned condemnation. Michael Brown being profiled, stalked and stooped for "his manner of walking in the street" by a white Ferguson cop was the first criminal injustice that occurred.
It is hard to find any recognition of the individual humanity of Blacks between liberal pity and guilt and conservative contempt and absolution. Every violent American slave rebellion or act was morally just but illegal. But every slave master, trader or owner could legally kill/abuse slaves.
The issue is neither violence nor non-violence. It is always about effective strategy and tactics in an effort to obtain moral justice. The problem is not what is illegal but what is legal.
The damage done in the Ferguson's is the emotional mental toll take by being brutally profiled, stalked and stopped based upon being colored while doing anything in America. It is that injury to so many that vastly outnumbers any beatings or shootings that festers.
A random shooting that targets innocents is counter-productive and thus earned condemnation. Michael Brown being profiled, stalked and stooped for "his manner of walking in the street" by a white Ferguson cop was the first criminal injustice that occurred.
It is hard to find any recognition of the individual humanity of Blacks between liberal pity and guilt and conservative contempt and absolution. Every violent American slave rebellion or act was morally just but illegal. But every slave master, trader or owner could legally kill/abuse slaves.
2
Brown was never stalked. He was jaywalking after assaulting and robbing a store owner. Facts are inconvenient, aren't they.
5
The Obama Justice Department's report on the shooting of Michael Brown caused the most recent outbreak of violence in Ferguson, MO...including the shooting of two law enforcement officers.
Rather than focusing on his complete exoneration of Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson in Brown's death, AG Eric Holder chose to emphasize the troubles at the Ferguson PD. Rather than shed light on the fallacy and irrelevancy of the "hands up, don't shoot" protest movement, Holder chose a different path...and got predictable results.
Holder cannot avoid culpability in the subsequent shootings of two police officers in Ferguson.
His outraged response to the renewed violence is a fitting monument to his breathtaking hypocrisy.
Rather than focusing on his complete exoneration of Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson in Brown's death, AG Eric Holder chose to emphasize the troubles at the Ferguson PD. Rather than shed light on the fallacy and irrelevancy of the "hands up, don't shoot" protest movement, Holder chose a different path...and got predictable results.
Holder cannot avoid culpability in the subsequent shootings of two police officers in Ferguson.
His outraged response to the renewed violence is a fitting monument to his breathtaking hypocrisy.
15
No, it was not a complete exoneration of Wilson. It was a decision not to prosecute--a very different thing; a decision forced by the muddying of evidence by a PD and DA, all of whom should be fired if not prosecuted.
2
It is worth noting that Holder did not have to issue a complete exoneration for Officer Wilson. Had his intentions been as incendiary and nefarious as many here claim, he could have merely issued a report that there were not enough grounds to indict, perhaps adding some type of mealy mouthed phrase such as 'at this time' . In fact, since he was in charge of the investigation, he could have conducted it selectively, as many on the left accuse the Ferguson prosecutor of doing. No, indeed, only the obligation of honesty forced him to reveal that witnesses were intimidated by their nieghbors from telling the truth, were intimidated into lying.
The revelations must have been personally painful to Holder, but he sought them out and reported them. I am inclined to respect his judgement, and to believe what he says because of the character he displayed in conducting and releasing this report.
The revelations must have been personally painful to Holder, but he sought them out and reported them. I am inclined to respect his judgement, and to believe what he says because of the character he displayed in conducting and releasing this report.
18
I would like to add that Attorney General Holder probably did a pretty smart thing in releasing the reports at the same time if his goal was to diffuse tensions. Either report released independently could have touched off strong emotions and people saying things they shouldn't.
1
The main point of Holder's indictment of Ferguson was that arrests and traffic tickets for African Americans were statistically higher than for whites.
But this presupposes that law breaking was equal on both sides.
In Madison WI African Americans are arrested at a rate 9x that of whites.
Why haven't we been hearing of the shame and corruption of Madison?
But this presupposes that law breaking was equal on both sides.
In Madison WI African Americans are arrested at a rate 9x that of whites.
Why haven't we been hearing of the shame and corruption of Madison?
12
Either learn a lesson now or be forced to go through it again. Here in Southern California: Watts 1965, Rodney King 1992. Don't think it's not going to happen again, again and again.
When this country gets it's act together and realizes we have this particular problem we will move ahead. Blacks are simply mistreated by the police nationwide and will it ever end? Probably not entirely but no one should expect the Ferguson episode to go away. I think it's just the beginning for now.
When this country gets it's act together and realizes we have this particular problem we will move ahead. Blacks are simply mistreated by the police nationwide and will it ever end? Probably not entirely but no one should expect the Ferguson episode to go away. I think it's just the beginning for now.
1
How condescending of Mr Blow. "unfortunately, two police officers have also been shot... treated and released." No mention that one was shot under the eye. Racial identities? Forget about it; doesn't fit the narrative.
Ironically, the shooting of the police officers appears to have been done by a thug with an attitude similar to that of Mr Brown. Neither individual seemed particularly concerned with the consequences of his action.
That said, the two shootings are the least of the issues raised by Ferguson. The most important issue is the systemic use of predatory policing by the town officials to raise revenues for the town. Down that path lies the history of the KKK, the nazis and the communists. Whenever government forces are used to target a segment of the population for revenue generating purposes or to further an ideological agenda, Americans should be concerned ... and should act.
The value of the demonstrations is that they caused the DOJ to dig deeper into the policing practices of Ferguson. While we have come a long way since the Birmingham fire hoses, we still do not have a country where all of our citizens stand equal before local laws.
Ferguson style governance is part of the racial problem in this country, maybe the most important aspect. But fixing this problem will not change the fact that thugs like Mr Brown and Mr Williams, the suspected shooter of the two white cops, are the reason why violence is so prevalent in black urban communities.
Ironically, the shooting of the police officers appears to have been done by a thug with an attitude similar to that of Mr Brown. Neither individual seemed particularly concerned with the consequences of his action.
That said, the two shootings are the least of the issues raised by Ferguson. The most important issue is the systemic use of predatory policing by the town officials to raise revenues for the town. Down that path lies the history of the KKK, the nazis and the communists. Whenever government forces are used to target a segment of the population for revenue generating purposes or to further an ideological agenda, Americans should be concerned ... and should act.
The value of the demonstrations is that they caused the DOJ to dig deeper into the policing practices of Ferguson. While we have come a long way since the Birmingham fire hoses, we still do not have a country where all of our citizens stand equal before local laws.
Ferguson style governance is part of the racial problem in this country, maybe the most important aspect. But fixing this problem will not change the fact that thugs like Mr Brown and Mr Williams, the suspected shooter of the two white cops, are the reason why violence is so prevalent in black urban communities.
13
We have to keep in mind that the raising of revenue is not for the police department, it is for the social welfare state. But it is not unique to Ferguson. I live in Massachusetts and have been the target of speed traps in Ma, NH, and Ct......and it was not because I was black......because I am not.
3
By which you imply that there are no thugs in white ghettos? I laugh at you.
Let's recall how this started: A strong-arm robber who had just stolen from a convenience store disobeyed the legal order of a police officer, tried to disarm the officer, and was shot and killed by the officer. The white officer nearly died trying to protect a black community from a predator who had just robbed a black-owned business. The robber did not have his hands up, he was not trying to surrender. The science of forensics has proven this beyond any shadow of a doubt.
The nation is at peace, Blow is the one with the problem
The nation is at peace, Blow is the one with the problem
32
Brown fled the scene of his encounter with a racist policeman--who then chose to exit his vehicle and give chase, shooting as he went. Brown's body was found 153 feet from the police car. There was no justification for this murder. Personal pique, assumption of entitlement, license to hunt and kill?
The nation is at peace? By what metric? More gun deaths per 1000 population than any other "civilized" country; a larger proportion of its adults incarcerated...
The nation is a peace if you live in a nice white enclave. If you live where most black people do, you live in an institutionally racist war zone. Read the Ferguson report, learn something, and then understand that Ferguson is the apotheosis, not an anomaly. Go to the closest black ghetto and take a look. Go there and do community work (as I do) to try and help at least not make the pile deeper and stinkier.
Otherwise, you're part of the problem. And it that's harsh, well, that's life.
Otherwise, you're part of the problem. And it that's harsh, well, that's life.
To be objective in our analysis of the whole Ferguson situation, I offer that everyone should read George Will's commentary in yesterday's (Sun) Washington Post about what Daniel Patrick Moynihan was thinking about how the stability of a married, two-parent (Mom & Dad) family would do more for young black men than any government welfare program. The chances of the tragic events in Ferguson happening would have been greatly decreased had Michael Brown benefited in living in a strong, 2-parent, married family. If you recall, Michael Brown's step dad was the guy with his pants down around his thighs inciting the crowd to 'burn this
#$%# down." If someone would like to explain why there is such instability with black men and fatherhood and long term commitment to women in their culture, I would be open to learning about it.
#$%# down." If someone would like to explain why there is such instability with black men and fatherhood and long term commitment to women in their culture, I would be open to learning about it.
19
Michael Brown showed a startling disregard for anyone else's property, rules, law and authority. It's hard to imagine what type of policing would be effective with a civilian population like that, when there is absolutely no recognition for authority and no regard for anyone else or even oneself.
Some very basic building blocks are needed there. Principles, the establishment of rules, discipline, the very basics.
Some very basic building blocks are needed there. Principles, the establishment of rules, discipline, the very basics.
6
I very much doubt you are open to learning about it. The ills of slavery, Jim Crow, and continued systemic racism are well and widely described.
2
> If someone would like to explain why there is such instability with black men and fatherhood and long term commitment to women in their culture, I would be open to learning about it.
You have read American history, right? And you can't understand how hundreds of years of systematic killing, terrorizing, and the shattering by white power structures of any cultural and economic effort by black people to lift themselves up might not have an effect on the people so abused? Then you are either willfully ignorant or really, really stupid about human nature.
"Too much nothing makes a man mean." - old proverb
You have read American history, right? And you can't understand how hundreds of years of systematic killing, terrorizing, and the shattering by white power structures of any cultural and economic effort by black people to lift themselves up might not have an effect on the people so abused? Then you are either willfully ignorant or really, really stupid about human nature.
"Too much nothing makes a man mean." - old proverb
2
People should read the “scathing” Justice Department report to determine for themselves how “damming” it is. For example, the report list fees for trash service and fines for letting dogs run loose without as lease as an example of racist oppression. However, the report admits that “It is rare for the court to sentence anyone to jail as a penalty for a violation of the municipal code; indeed, the Municipal Judge reports that he has done so only once.” The investigators acknowledge that the Ferguson municipal judge “has never sentenced some to jail time for being unable to pay a fine, but we have found evidence that the judge has held people appearing in court for contempt on account of their unwillingness to answer questions and sentenced those individuals to jail time.” No one has ever been sentenced to jail time in Ferguson for not paying a traffic ticket. At its heart, the Justice Department argument is a disparate impact argument. The report's most serious allegation is that the Ferguson Municipal Court issues arrest warrants for motorists who fail to pay traffic tickets or appear in court to answer charges. The report alleges that issuing arrest warrants for unpaid traffic tickers disproportionately impact black residents because they are disproportionately poor. However, virtually all U.S. cities issue arrest warrants for unpaid traffic tickets and failure to appear in court.
60
The video's say it all. At the same time protesters were rioting we saw looting of the stores. At the same time protesters were holding their hands up in response to the so called witness who was an indicted liar, other witnesses who saw what happened remained silent. A protest is held and two police officers are shot. Is all of this just a coincidence?
Our Attorney General writes a report that compares the number of arrests to the population, not the number committing an offense or the number of walking or driving in the area.
What color are the protesters? What color were the looters? What color were the silent witnesses? What color were 90% of the walkers? What color is the man arresting for the shootings? Where are those arrested actually from? What color are the police officers shot?
A picture is worth a thousand words!
71
Let them be turned back for a reward of their shame that say, Aha! aha!
Psalms 70:3
Psalms 70:3
Maybe when whites get it that racism is their problem, the protests and pictures will change. It is amazing that the discriminated against people are expected to also be the onesto fix the problem. I am impressed by their patience in the face of all the lingering confederate thinking such as this comment writer expresses.
Why not decide that we are all human beings and work to eliminate the bias and hatred? Why is there a problem with that? Sure there are bad guys of every color, but so often only the black bad guys are singled out. Slowly that seems to be changing and long overdue it is!
Why not decide that we are all human beings and work to eliminate the bias and hatred? Why is there a problem with that? Sure there are bad guys of every color, but so often only the black bad guys are singled out. Slowly that seems to be changing and long overdue it is!
No inconvenient truths are allowed here. Your eyes are lying to you. See false narrative.
3
The shooting of the two policemen was criminal, and totally distracted from the central complaints of the residents. However, the aftermath of the shootings showed one end of polarized America in action.
The police chief declared that the shooters were "among" the protesters, except that he fluffed his lie, and said that the protesters were among the shooters. He also said that the cops had been very seriously wounded. Fox said the same thing. But then, some miracle, the wounded men were released from hospital the next day. We were all happy with that recovery, but not with the spin.
It was also remarkable how quickly and thoroughly the police went into action--in stark contrast to the way they left the body of Michael Brown lying in the sun for hours, while spiriting his killer, Wilson, away from public scrutiny. We have a long, long way to go--even if it is possible to change the racism that is bred in the bone.
The police chief declared that the shooters were "among" the protesters, except that he fluffed his lie, and said that the protesters were among the shooters. He also said that the cops had been very seriously wounded. Fox said the same thing. But then, some miracle, the wounded men were released from hospital the next day. We were all happy with that recovery, but not with the spin.
It was also remarkable how quickly and thoroughly the police went into action--in stark contrast to the way they left the body of Michael Brown lying in the sun for hours, while spiriting his killer, Wilson, away from public scrutiny. We have a long, long way to go--even if it is possible to change the racism that is bred in the bone.
93
Spin? One policeman was shot in the head - the other in the chest. If it wasn't serious, it seems only by the grace of God! Sounds like they are extremely lucky to be released the next day, and may still face serious complications that haven't been reported.
1
Youre the one spinning.
They were listed in serious condition by the hospital.
ABC NewsVerified account @ABC
2 police officers listed in serious condition following Ferguson shooting; witnesses stunned: http://abcn.ws/1wZaiEp
They were listed in serious condition by the hospital.
ABC NewsVerified account @ABC
2 police officers listed in serious condition following Ferguson shooting; witnesses stunned: http://abcn.ws/1wZaiEp
3
What is remarkable are the wild fantasies and continued clinging to a false narrative from Barack Obama and his liberal sycophants about Michael Brown and the unearned distrust of the facts by those who prefer to suspend belief.
Michael Brown, a robbery suspect, attacked a police officer, wrestled with that officer for his weapon, and was shot and killed. Denying reality in favor of a meme does my race no favors--in fact it makes us look even worse.
Michael Brown, a robbery suspect, attacked a police officer, wrestled with that officer for his weapon, and was shot and killed. Denying reality in favor of a meme does my race no favors--in fact it makes us look even worse.
4
Again the commenters and most observers want to isolate the recent Ferguson shootings as a discrete event, apart from what has been happening in Ferguson for years and well before the tragic Brown/Wilson confrontation of last summer. Today's focus is unfortunately solely on the race of the shooters and the race of the wounded cops. That is indicative of an American tendency to forget its past -- recent and long gone; it cannot be done. The people of Ferguson are assembling in the streets to bear witness to the horrid injustices to which they have been subjected for years, and that have now been made public. The killing of Michael Brown was not in vain after all, for it has led to shedding light on the real darkness of the true evil that surely pointed the way to his shooting in the first place. The people there most assuredly see their places today as standing last in a long line of the righteous ancestors who have gone on before and sacrificed much -- including life -- so that injustices such as Ferguson will never happen again. They are not going home yet. This is their time in history -- along that great continuum -- and America -- all of America should applaud and be grateful that they are there to make us truer and better believers in freedom and justice.
37
To focus on the conditions of the inner city is to focus on the failure of the people of the inner city to stand up and say no to that which is destroying what is left of their society from within.
The liberal experiment, amply illustrated by the conditions in such places as Chicago, Los Angles, New York, DC, Detroit, Atlanta, and others, has shown itself incapable of having a positive impact upon the lives of those who cannot escape its "benevolent" rule.
The liberal experiment, amply illustrated by the conditions in such places as Chicago, Los Angles, New York, DC, Detroit, Atlanta, and others, has shown itself incapable of having a positive impact upon the lives of those who cannot escape its "benevolent" rule.
3
Some people take the present more seriously than the past. Today, most fatal police shooting victims are white and blacks commit most interracial murders. A USA Today study conducted after the Michael Brown shooting revealed that on average white police officers each year kill about 400 people, including about 96 African Americans. This means that about 24 percent of those killed by white police officers are black. It also means that about 76.5 percent of people killed by white police officers are not black, but you would never know that from reading the New York Times. The FBI Uniform Crime Report Table 44: Law Enforcement Officers Feloniously Killed) shows that blacks murdered 44.5 percent of the 595 police officers who were killed between 2002 and 2012. There is no evidence that white cops are more likely than black cops to shoot black suspects. According to a recent ProPublica study, “"Black officers account for a little more than 10 percent of all fatal police shootings. Of those they kill, though, 78 percent were black." The data also show that blacks are quicker on the interracial trigger finger than whites. The FBI Uniform Crime Report (Expanded Homicide Data Table 6) shows that 409 blacks murdered whites while 189 whites (including Hispanics) murdered blacks in 2013.
4
The people "there" protesting in Ferguson are clinging to a false narrative, and conjuring up new hate and distrust from events long past. Members of the news media have interviewed the protesters who are still chanting the disproven meme "hands up don't shoot" as if they do not realize it did not occur.
There are no calls for unity from the protesters, no dialogue about how respect goes both ways regardless of skin color, only a mob who can no longer loot or vandalize local businesses, looking instead to cash in their 15 minutes of fame under the glow of television news cameras. The Brown family, who should be in mourning and contemplation, are in a legal battle over royalties from the "hands up don't shoot" slogan printed on t-shirts, hats and souvenir items.
This is a sad joke. Dr. King did not die so that the color of my skin could be used as a carnival sideshow. The random, hate-fueled shooting of two police officers by a Ferguson protester shows just how far off the rails this has become.
There are no calls for unity from the protesters, no dialogue about how respect goes both ways regardless of skin color, only a mob who can no longer loot or vandalize local businesses, looking instead to cash in their 15 minutes of fame under the glow of television news cameras. The Brown family, who should be in mourning and contemplation, are in a legal battle over royalties from the "hands up don't shoot" slogan printed on t-shirts, hats and souvenir items.
This is a sad joke. Dr. King did not die so that the color of my skin could be used as a carnival sideshow. The random, hate-fueled shooting of two police officers by a Ferguson protester shows just how far off the rails this has become.
2
Mr. Blow: I agree with your columns in just about every essential. Here, however, a deeper problem to violence becomes so obvious. This young man, now in custody for the rifle assaults of the two policemen, is a liar. He did not have a dispute with them, or with Ferguson, for all that. He was lazy and selfish. Why did he not gather signatures from citizens who cannot be bothered to vote (or to register to vote) to change the crushing dynamic of local power that suffocates them? One cannot build by destroying. Yes, Ferguson's municipal government has been exposed as a fraud. But change it legally. Do the hard work: get signatures, canvas for representative candidates, take responsibility for your lives. Any fool can protest from the shadows with a rifle. And violence entrenches the retreating foe in his sense of righteousness. This confirms hostile or indifferent whites in their contempt for people of color who might say something like this: "if they don't care about their poor situation and do nothing to improve it, why should we care?" Mr. Blow: are they wrong?
16
Sometimes old adages remain current and apropos regardless of age. Power corrupts..." is one, for many cops, in spite of what's right, correct and proper behavior continue to abuse the populace, in particular, blacks.
The psychological reasons are diverse, but apparent; Power corrupts is one.
"Protect and serve" is another hypocritical motto. When was the last time a cop "protected" some one; or "served" for that matter?
With armor, machine guns and riot gear? C'mon, gimme a break.
The psychological reasons are diverse, but apparent; Power corrupts is one.
"Protect and serve" is another hypocritical motto. When was the last time a cop "protected" some one; or "served" for that matter?
With armor, machine guns and riot gear? C'mon, gimme a break.
1
It's a bit of a stretch to go from racial problems in Ferguson to the problems created in Congress by radical Republicans (Tea Party), but in my view, a government that could be seen as leading by example would certainly benefit the Black citizens of Ferguson and other areas with like problems.
A good functioning government would contain a Congress willing to step up and aid in correcting the failings of states where racial problems existed.
I'm referring to a Congress of, for, and by the people.
A good functioning government would contain a Congress willing to step up and aid in correcting the failings of states where racial problems existed.
I'm referring to a Congress of, for, and by the people.
6
We can see the fuure in the implosion known as Ferguson: a violent, ugly conflict with race and ethnicity as its basis. A nation that worships guns and embraces the 2nd Amendment with such inexplicable fervor, one that has already been riven by a cataclysmic Civil War on the basis of slavery and race, is a nation that is heading toward another conflict.
3
It has far less to do with guns than it does the systematic dismantling of the social structure that is supposed to be a the root of civility.
It is interesting to note, is it not, that with the institutionalization of "big government", the role of the citizen in his own governance has decreased to the point that he is no longer considered to be a either responsible for or capable of managing his own life?
It is interesting to note, is it not, that with the institutionalization of "big government", the role of the citizen in his own governance has decreased to the point that he is no longer considered to be a either responsible for or capable of managing his own life?
3
Dear Mr. Blow,
Thank you. Your column today is like an inspiring sermon. For me your most important words are these:
"Violence is weakness masquerading as strength. It is a crude statement of depravity voiced by the unethical and impolitic. It reduces humanity rather than lifts it.
The violent must find no asylum in the assembly of the righteous. We can and must stand up to injustice and against vigilante justice simultaneously."
My hope is that the two policemen who were shot are doing well, and that the person who shot them, whether intentionally or accidentally, gets a fair trial.
Thank you. Your column today is like an inspiring sermon. For me your most important words are these:
"Violence is weakness masquerading as strength. It is a crude statement of depravity voiced by the unethical and impolitic. It reduces humanity rather than lifts it.
The violent must find no asylum in the assembly of the righteous. We can and must stand up to injustice and against vigilante justice simultaneously."
My hope is that the two policemen who were shot are doing well, and that the person who shot them, whether intentionally or accidentally, gets a fair trial.
4
Oh yes, by all means let's hope the assailant is treated more fairly than Office Darren Wilson.
3
Nothing epitomizes Rush Limbaugh's description of the mainstream media as the "drive by" media (as in a drive by shooting) more than Ferguson. Ferguson is, simply, a media creation. There was no "hands up, don't shoot." The extensive DOJ report verified this. Not only did Officer Wilson do nothing wrong, he actually exercised more restraint prior to the fatal shots of Michael Brown than he should have. But the ultimate race huckster, Eric Holder, allowed the media to create the false narrative of "hands up, don't shoot" which fanned the flames of racial strife to the point that the DOJ put out its ridiculous report on the Ferguson police department, along with the exoneration report of Officer Wilson, to save face. Eric Holder and the media did a drive by in Ferguson, Missouri, and we all know what the result was.
14
Wow. All credibility is lost when the ambushing and shooting two police officers is downplayed by the following aside "(The two officers were treated at a hospital and released)." This example is even worse than the rant about his son at Yale having a gun pointed at him by a cop in a case of mistaken identity (but failing to mention anywhere in the column that the cop was African American).
19
I appreciate, understand and agree with many of the concerns expressed in the opening of this piece.
Though I believe the author continues to overlook a core aspect of the problems we are experiencing.
To learn and further educate himself Mr. Blow has traveled with and interviewed our president.
In his 2015 Grammy award winning rap performance, "I", Kendrick Lamar reveals, "I've been dealing with depression ever since an adolescent."
Perhaps Mr. Blow might consider having a chat with Kendrick and learning the true roots of his depression as well as the young men who write lyrics expressing pain and frustration.
Perhaps if light were shed on the core reason for their depression as well as other relevant issues we could begin to address these young men's depression and the related issues in a more complete and honest manner?
Though I believe the author continues to overlook a core aspect of the problems we are experiencing.
To learn and further educate himself Mr. Blow has traveled with and interviewed our president.
In his 2015 Grammy award winning rap performance, "I", Kendrick Lamar reveals, "I've been dealing with depression ever since an adolescent."
Perhaps Mr. Blow might consider having a chat with Kendrick and learning the true roots of his depression as well as the young men who write lyrics expressing pain and frustration.
Perhaps if light were shed on the core reason for their depression as well as other relevant issues we could begin to address these young men's depression and the related issues in a more complete and honest manner?
4
"Violence is weakness masquerading as strength." It would be refreshing if the US Government took this to heart. Violence as diplomacy is as abhorrent as violence in civilian contexts.
5
These are a few of the defects in Mr. Blow's Opinion.
1. The Department of Justice report is politically motivated.
2.The "Perception Gap" poll included individuals with criminal records who are inherently biased against the justice system
3.He declares that "the protest movement" "has been one of the most successful in recent history" when for many Americans it has highlighted the too high crime rate in too many communities.
4. Who are the "protesters" and how can they devote so much time and effort to "protests" when most Americans must work to earn a living and take care of their families?How many "protesters" have criminal records and are on government assistance and why is this question never asked by the media?
5. Does any reasonable individual believe,as Mr. Blow argues. that the shootings of two police officers are unrelated to the "protests"?
6. Mr. Blow considers "progress" to be increased racial divisiveness and animosity.
1. The Department of Justice report is politically motivated.
2.The "Perception Gap" poll included individuals with criminal records who are inherently biased against the justice system
3.He declares that "the protest movement" "has been one of the most successful in recent history" when for many Americans it has highlighted the too high crime rate in too many communities.
4. Who are the "protesters" and how can they devote so much time and effort to "protests" when most Americans must work to earn a living and take care of their families?How many "protesters" have criminal records and are on government assistance and why is this question never asked by the media?
5. Does any reasonable individual believe,as Mr. Blow argues. that the shootings of two police officers are unrelated to the "protests"?
6. Mr. Blow considers "progress" to be increased racial divisiveness and animosity.
23
'Mr. Blow considers "progress" to be increased racial divisiveness and animosity.'
And a lot of looted, burned out businesses
And a lot of looted, burned out businesses
6
Oh goody Ferguson is under court supervision. Now what do we do about:
Cleveland, OH
Chicago, IL
Madison, WI
Charlotte , NC
San Jose, CA
Detroit, MI
Euharlee, GA
Columbus, OH
Salt Lake City, UT
ETC.
There is something intrinsically wrong with a society where young people (and old people) are killed by the police and citizens when unarmed, for playing with a plastic gun, walking down a dark staircase, seeking help, or answering the door holding a WII remote. Gee, if that was the standard when I was a child we would never have grown up because we played with our very real looking metal cap guns a lot. We would run all over the block shooting at everyone with our cap guns. Today would the police or homeowners shoot first and asked questions later?
The worse part for me is those that adamantly defend these actions as if they were perfectly normal and correct. As if a child sleeping on a couch, a young man walking down the stairs, a young woman seeking help at a stranger's door, or a 12 year old child playing with a plastic gun being shot is defensible. The police boards and court who uphold shootings as "justified", whatever that means today. What kind of society have we become to accept killing so easily? What fear or evil has crept into our society and our hearts that we believe it is necessary and justifiable to kill our children?
Cleveland, OH
Chicago, IL
Madison, WI
Charlotte , NC
San Jose, CA
Detroit, MI
Euharlee, GA
Columbus, OH
Salt Lake City, UT
ETC.
There is something intrinsically wrong with a society where young people (and old people) are killed by the police and citizens when unarmed, for playing with a plastic gun, walking down a dark staircase, seeking help, or answering the door holding a WII remote. Gee, if that was the standard when I was a child we would never have grown up because we played with our very real looking metal cap guns a lot. We would run all over the block shooting at everyone with our cap guns. Today would the police or homeowners shoot first and asked questions later?
The worse part for me is those that adamantly defend these actions as if they were perfectly normal and correct. As if a child sleeping on a couch, a young man walking down the stairs, a young woman seeking help at a stranger's door, or a 12 year old child playing with a plastic gun being shot is defensible. The police boards and court who uphold shootings as "justified", whatever that means today. What kind of society have we become to accept killing so easily? What fear or evil has crept into our society and our hearts that we believe it is necessary and justifiable to kill our children?
10
"(The movement in Ferguson) has been one of the most successful in recent history..."
No, not at all. B/c any small gains in ousting a couple racist cops/civil servants along with increased scrutiny of a regressive system where local government is financed by ticketing low-income residents (a problem already well-known, though under-addressed), is way offset by the thousands? millions? of once-supportive people like me who have been turned off by the rioting, the looting, the shooting and murder of innocent police officers, the spin and misinformation of community "leaders" and the media, etc, etc., etc. "Hands up don't shoot!!!"
No, not at all. B/c any small gains in ousting a couple racist cops/civil servants along with increased scrutiny of a regressive system where local government is financed by ticketing low-income residents (a problem already well-known, though under-addressed), is way offset by the thousands? millions? of once-supportive people like me who have been turned off by the rioting, the looting, the shooting and murder of innocent police officers, the spin and misinformation of community "leaders" and the media, etc, etc., etc. "Hands up don't shoot!!!"
10
Last fiscal year, Ferguson took in total revenues of $19.1 million, of which $2.7 million, or 14 percent, came from fines, including traffic fines, and seizures. However, the Ferguson Police Department reported expenditures of $5.3 million while the Ferguson Municipal Court reported expenditures of $353,000. So, the Ferguson Police Department operates at a significant loss to be made up by sales taxes and property taxes. Law enforcement is not a “profit-center” for the City of Ferguson.
4
Sure, it was successful - the looters looted, the burners burned and the the shooters shot two police officers. That IS some kind of record........
2
Mr.Blow's selective outrage is why i can barely read him any longer.
Not even a perfunctory mention of the names of the officers,nor
Anys serious condemnation of his assailant .
Everyting for Mr.Blow is filtered through the prism of race.
Objectivity is irrelevant.
Not even a perfunctory mention of the names of the officers,nor
Anys serious condemnation of his assailant .
Everyting for Mr.Blow is filtered through the prism of race.
Objectivity is irrelevant.
61
In all fairness, I don't believe the officers' names have been released.
3
And yet Charles holds one of the most plush jobs at the Times. Checking the box early and often has its own privelages.
5
I agree with you, frank, but not to the extent that I would ever stop reading what Mr. Blow writes - his coverage gives us a much broader view than we usually possess. But, I must also agree with your choice of the phrase "selective outrage". It is very appropriate and I wish I had thought of it.
1
Well, the latest developments in Ferguson should certainly speed up the process - namely, the speed of White Flight from the municipality. Already down to 35% at the start of the troubles, those there should be streaming for the exits shortly, if they haven't already left. I have no doubt the incoming Police Chief, City Manager and other new officials will all be Black. With no whities left to blame for their troubles, I have no doubt the new enlightened leadership will shortly be ushering in a new era of peace, tranquility and economic growth. Who knows, maybe Global Warming will even begin to lessen there.
Or, maybe it will just turn out to be a little mini-Detroit.
Or, maybe it will just turn out to be a little mini-Detroit.
43
Dear Mr. Blow,
As usual. your arguments against violence are commendable and, perhaps, correct save for the apparent "institutional violence" of people wearing badges and holding gavels. I consider the very acts of "arrests and incarcerations" these uniformed and robed thugs meted out as part of the violence visited upon, until now, a defenseless, mostly black and mostly acquiescent population. It took the violent death of a member of that community for the "show me state" to actually show the world that it hasn't changed much since the days of the Civil War.
One cannot condone the shooting of 2 police officers but, as you point out, it's already being pinned on the demonstrators hence justifying potential violent reaction from the heavily and, apparently, poorly trained Missouri police. Does anyone really think that the resignation of the "top cop" changes anything in the rank and file, almost completely white Ferguson Police Department?
The problem in Missouri, and the rest of this country, is the generational "teaching" of ignorance and prejudice. The 2 Oklahoma "frat boys" expelled because of the racist chant were both from Texas and I'm sure, once they returned home, their "misdeeds" were forgiven.
Even now, gun sales nationwide are up and white militias are sprouting like crab grass.
Violence may not be an answer but when that violence is tacitly "condoned" by a corrupt system, I can understand the turn away from peaceful demonstration due to frustration.
As usual. your arguments against violence are commendable and, perhaps, correct save for the apparent "institutional violence" of people wearing badges and holding gavels. I consider the very acts of "arrests and incarcerations" these uniformed and robed thugs meted out as part of the violence visited upon, until now, a defenseless, mostly black and mostly acquiescent population. It took the violent death of a member of that community for the "show me state" to actually show the world that it hasn't changed much since the days of the Civil War.
One cannot condone the shooting of 2 police officers but, as you point out, it's already being pinned on the demonstrators hence justifying potential violent reaction from the heavily and, apparently, poorly trained Missouri police. Does anyone really think that the resignation of the "top cop" changes anything in the rank and file, almost completely white Ferguson Police Department?
The problem in Missouri, and the rest of this country, is the generational "teaching" of ignorance and prejudice. The 2 Oklahoma "frat boys" expelled because of the racist chant were both from Texas and I'm sure, once they returned home, their "misdeeds" were forgiven.
Even now, gun sales nationwide are up and white militias are sprouting like crab grass.
Violence may not be an answer but when that violence is tacitly "condoned" by a corrupt system, I can understand the turn away from peaceful demonstration due to frustration.
3
It is decent of you not to condone the shooting of two human beings, but you might want to update your data base on the situation.
The shooting of the two people is not being pinned on the demonstrators. A suspect, who has confessed to firing the shots, is in custody. His status as a demonstrator, either last Wednesday or previously, is in question at this time.
The Ferguson police did not fire a shot at the time of the incident on Wednesday, so your claim that they would potentially react violently is rather hollow.
If you impute institutional racism, of course you will find an endless supply of racists to justify your own biases.
The shooting of the two people is not being pinned on the demonstrators. A suspect, who has confessed to firing the shots, is in custody. His status as a demonstrator, either last Wednesday or previously, is in question at this time.
The Ferguson police did not fire a shot at the time of the incident on Wednesday, so your claim that they would potentially react violently is rather hollow.
If you impute institutional racism, of course you will find an endless supply of racists to justify your own biases.
3
The problem isn't slavery, the Civil War, Reconstruction, Jim Crow or "generational teaching." To pretend that this is so simply ensures we make no progress in race relations. White, Hispanic and Asian parents don't teach their children to hate blacks. Starting in pre-kindergarten, U.S. children are indoctrinated in the doctrine of racial equality and diversity, but for many attitudes change as they interact with black society and black culture. When you ask young whites, Hispanics and Asians why they harbor anti-black attitudes, they typically cite personal experience.
2
The Justice Department's "scathing" report was a smear job, frankly, whose finding would win awards for fictional writing. Even the very statistics the report made such a fuss over did NOT support the biased opinions we saw. They were purposely - and shamefully - manufactured to appear catastrophic, when in fact they reflected pretty much the expected statistics given the demographics of Ferguson and the area.
To try to make Ferguson the modern Selma is offensive to me, a complete sham. I don't recall any felons, thieves and looters in Selma on that fateful day. These were citizens doing nothing wrong except seeking their rights to vote, already an established right from long ago, but blocked by hateful, racist southerners. Ferguson, on the other hand, had all the advantages that those in Selma did NOT have, but chose rather to express themselves by thuggery, robbing a convenience store, using violent intimidation to do so and then purposely walking in the middle of the street, not to seek their voting rights or equality, but out of spite and meanness. How many whites in Ferguson do you see walking down the middle of the streets?
Ferguson ought to be a blight on the record of civil rights for blacks in America, and has set back the many achievements over the last 50 years by almost that much again. It is a shame.
To try to make Ferguson the modern Selma is offensive to me, a complete sham. I don't recall any felons, thieves and looters in Selma on that fateful day. These were citizens doing nothing wrong except seeking their rights to vote, already an established right from long ago, but blocked by hateful, racist southerners. Ferguson, on the other hand, had all the advantages that those in Selma did NOT have, but chose rather to express themselves by thuggery, robbing a convenience store, using violent intimidation to do so and then purposely walking in the middle of the street, not to seek their voting rights or equality, but out of spite and meanness. How many whites in Ferguson do you see walking down the middle of the streets?
Ferguson ought to be a blight on the record of civil rights for blacks in America, and has set back the many achievements over the last 50 years by almost that much again. It is a shame.
61
The oddity is that Ferguson prior to the Michael Brown shooting was considered much less volatile than neighboring cities with mostly black populations and mostly black city officials. The Justice Department report basically alleges that the Ferguson uses its police force and municipal court primarily to increase revenue. However, the City of Ferguson posts its budget online. Last fiscal year, Ferguson took in total revenues of $19.1 million, of which $2.7 million, or 14 percent, came from fines, including traffic fines, and seizures. However, the Ferguson Police Department reported expenditures of $5.3 million while the Ferguson Municipal Court reported expenditures of $353,000. So, the Ferguson Police Department operates at a significant loss to be made up by sales taxes and property taxes. Law enforcement is not a “profit-center” for the City of Ferguson. Fines account for a larger portion of municipal budgets in surrounding towns.
24
@ William Case, just because something is posted online, does not make it fact. If a PD is corrupt, it's facts online, some budget posted, might also be corrupt. Some ledger posted by corrupt leadership, should not be the basis for an argument. Sounds like you trust the FPD over the DOJ. I don't.
4
First of all, the protests in Ferguson worked. Without them there would be no Dept. of Justice report. We will see what the next step will be, but it will take persistence from people united for positive change. Looting and other violent acts are not condoned by legitimate protest(er)s and will be overcome.
8
Mr. Blow,
My heart is with you, all the way. But today's political climate has set me thinking that it's a mistake to focus so hard on ethnic (and gender and gay) civil rights, their advances and reverses - both of which are very real. That focus comes at the expense
While this group or that concentrates solely on its own grievances, it is advancing the Establishment agenda, which is to divide and rule the rest of us in order to cement what it considers its rightful advantage in the economic pecking order - Entitlement with a capital E.
While minority rights have had their ups and, recently, downs, the trajectory of the middle and working class has been inexorably downward since Reagan/Thatcherism reared their ugly heads. And that's not an accident.
We 99% of all ethnicities are all in this together. We had better overcome our supposed divisions and start speaking up.
By all means keep on writing about racism, but the results that you and I both want will be best attained by undermining classism, for which racism is a convenient proxy.
My heart is with you, all the way. But today's political climate has set me thinking that it's a mistake to focus so hard on ethnic (and gender and gay) civil rights, their advances and reverses - both of which are very real. That focus comes at the expense
While this group or that concentrates solely on its own grievances, it is advancing the Establishment agenda, which is to divide and rule the rest of us in order to cement what it considers its rightful advantage in the economic pecking order - Entitlement with a capital E.
While minority rights have had their ups and, recently, downs, the trajectory of the middle and working class has been inexorably downward since Reagan/Thatcherism reared their ugly heads. And that's not an accident.
We 99% of all ethnicities are all in this together. We had better overcome our supposed divisions and start speaking up.
By all means keep on writing about racism, but the results that you and I both want will be best attained by undermining classism, for which racism is a convenient proxy.
14
I agree with your points except for the one that racism is a convenient proxy for classism. True, they are connected, and in that sense you can fully succeed in advancing racial equality without considering class problems. But racism and sexism cannot be reduced to classism. More and more people of different races marry each other, but I have never heard of a billionaire marrying a homeless. Charity cannot get rid of class differences, but is a must for absolving identity differences.
1
We can honor the lives of police officers — and applaud them when proper service is rendered — and at the same time marvel at the persistence and efficacy of the protesters who have gotten the nation’s attention and gotten results.
-------------------
Your arms will get tired of clapping for all the "good deeds" America's policemen do daily. Nevermind the 9-11 responses, they probably perform at least 10 acts of good will per shift, per officer, no matter the color or gender. They really do run up against society's most troubled, Mr. Blow.
My question, for you, President Obama, Jimmy Kimmel, the protestors, etc.: How should laws be enforced in the black community? The troubles come when social norms from the white and black communities about what is acceptable come into conflict.
Enough talk about talking about solutions, hope and progress. How would you discipline a driver who does not have the money to afford the mandated insurance yet insists on driving? When property is damaged, or lives taken, how would you retroactively help the victims -- of whatever color -- left less by others' personal irresponsibility? If the parking tickets are not paid, how would you allocate the spots? If a poor driver refuses to pay fines, take classes or surrender his license and play by community rules, do you just turn your head as the community defaults into lawlessness?
Please get busy on answers. What is your proposed plan to enforce rules in mixed/black communities?
-------------------
Your arms will get tired of clapping for all the "good deeds" America's policemen do daily. Nevermind the 9-11 responses, they probably perform at least 10 acts of good will per shift, per officer, no matter the color or gender. They really do run up against society's most troubled, Mr. Blow.
My question, for you, President Obama, Jimmy Kimmel, the protestors, etc.: How should laws be enforced in the black community? The troubles come when social norms from the white and black communities about what is acceptable come into conflict.
Enough talk about talking about solutions, hope and progress. How would you discipline a driver who does not have the money to afford the mandated insurance yet insists on driving? When property is damaged, or lives taken, how would you retroactively help the victims -- of whatever color -- left less by others' personal irresponsibility? If the parking tickets are not paid, how would you allocate the spots? If a poor driver refuses to pay fines, take classes or surrender his license and play by community rules, do you just turn your head as the community defaults into lawlessness?
Please get busy on answers. What is your proposed plan to enforce rules in mixed/black communities?
12
Bravo. The problem in America today is that different groups ask for and receive different treatment under our laws, which is discriminatory on its face.
You pose good questions regarding the enforcement of the law.
Keep in mind that Ferguson is a Democrat "machine town" with a Democrat Mayor, City Council and Democrat designed law system designed to enforce Democrat laws. Mr. Blow writes about the situation as if some evil outside force running the system there in Ferguson and the people there are powerless to change anything.
Good Grief......Once again the blame is on the local people who choose to vote or not to vote to make the local government reflect their wishes. Burning the town's business sector must be easier or more exciting that the polling booth.
Keep in mind that Ferguson is a Democrat "machine town" with a Democrat Mayor, City Council and Democrat designed law system designed to enforce Democrat laws. Mr. Blow writes about the situation as if some evil outside force running the system there in Ferguson and the people there are powerless to change anything.
Good Grief......Once again the blame is on the local people who choose to vote or not to vote to make the local government reflect their wishes. Burning the town's business sector must be easier or more exciting that the polling booth.
3
"Violence is weakness masquerading as strength." If only it were that simple. Violence is a necessary adjunct to power, without the threat of violence no state, no matter how "just", could exist.
4
Kind of like using the IRS to intimidate your political opponents! Not even a smidgen, we were promised!!!
5
First, thank you to Mr Blow for not repeating the nauseating NYT description of Micheal Brown as "...an unarmed 18 year-old black man" implying that Brown was a helpless, model citizen who was shot by a police officer for being black. When Eric Holder's DOJ report exonerated the police officer for shooting Brown one would think the NYT would do the responsible thing and change its misleading narrative. As for Mr. Blow's column, the shooting of the police officers was quickly dispatched (as in the president's words) the shootings were "a distraction from the issue." Quoting Dr. King is always a good thing but it's not honest of Blow to hide behind Dr. King's brilliance to advance a dishonest, politically motivated narrative with which King wouldn't necessarily have agreed. Dr. King was better than that. As I see it the core of the issue is not so clear as our race bating president describes it. If crime in the black community accounts for a preponderance of the crime in Ferguson, would common sense dictate that the police department's bigotry is the problem or is the antisocial behavior in the black community that is to blame? My sense tells me it's both, but the president won't discuss that possibility because it wouldn't be good for his politics and Mr. Blow won't discuss that possibility because he is an unabashed apologist for the president and the black community. Why should bad behavior in the black community be ignored any less than bigotry in the police force?
27
Al R. I think you missed the point of Charles Blow's quotes from Dr. Martin Luther King and President Obama. "Returning violence for violence multiplies violence,.." The racial bigotry exercised by Ferguson's law enforcement and judiciary and the violent reaction of shooting two police officers deceives the participants into a dance with the devil. Death, destruction, and mutual distrust result form this dance. "There is a moral continuity that bridges and binds all people of good conscience." "Like-minded, good-spirited people on both sides" need to "work together to try to come up with some good answers." As Red Green said, "We are all in this together. I'm pulling for you!"
What is the evidence for any part of the Ferguson story? There is no evidence, there is nothing, absolutely nothing that can corroborate, to prove any contention of the Ferguson story.
6
"On “Jimmy Kimmel Live,” President Obama put it this way:"
Although Blow does his best to dismiss two cops being shot by one of the black demonstrators, the above quote says it all. While police officers are risking their lives on the front lines in Ferguson, Obama is on the travelling the talk show circuit inciting more protests (and therefore more violence). The reality is that the "peaceful protestors" have been hurling insults and objects at the police for months now. Ferguson itself has continued to devolve as a community and is now a world-wide joke and a place where any sane person avoids, If Blow, Obama and Holder think so highly of the change going on there, why don't they all buy a house there and move in?
Although Blow does his best to dismiss two cops being shot by one of the black demonstrators, the above quote says it all. While police officers are risking their lives on the front lines in Ferguson, Obama is on the travelling the talk show circuit inciting more protests (and therefore more violence). The reality is that the "peaceful protestors" have been hurling insults and objects at the police for months now. Ferguson itself has continued to devolve as a community and is now a world-wide joke and a place where any sane person avoids, If Blow, Obama and Holder think so highly of the change going on there, why don't they all buy a house there and move in?
23
It bizarro-world.
We are watching 90% of Black society implode.
"Yet, something perverse has permeated our culture in America today, a culture where taking personal responsibility for one’s actions has been replaced by a grievance industry that promotes white privilege as the root cause for all that ails them."~Ron Christie
We are watching 90% of Black society implode.
"Yet, something perverse has permeated our culture in America today, a culture where taking personal responsibility for one’s actions has been replaced by a grievance industry that promotes white privilege as the root cause for all that ails them."~Ron Christie
19
Sad to say, Charles, but far too many protestors don't see it your way. They run roughshod over peaceful protest and stir the cauldrons of contentiousness that smolder everywhere today.
Peace is encumbent with love, and will never happen in our time. Hate and disrespect and discivility abide. We indeed have a failure to communicate, a failure to care, and a failure to cooperate for the common cause of peace.
Thomas Merton reminded us that if there is to be peace everywhere, there first must be peace in our own heart.
Peace is encumbent with love, and will never happen in our time. Hate and disrespect and discivility abide. We indeed have a failure to communicate, a failure to care, and a failure to cooperate for the common cause of peace.
Thomas Merton reminded us that if there is to be peace everywhere, there first must be peace in our own heart.
9
This is the nexus of fascism. We have a nation that is is a death spiral. If you understand the economic situation in pre WWII Germany, you'll see the growing similarity. We need economic justice, not merely lip service to equality. Dr. MLK surely saw the rottenness and sought to avoid this place we have reached.
7
Isn't economic justice what the looters were doing? Weren't they just redistributing the wealth from black-owned businesses to themselves??
If you want something, work for it. Work=contribution to society. Mooching off those better than you is no virtue nor is it justice
If you want something, work for it. Work=contribution to society. Mooching off those better than you is no virtue nor is it justice
2
Ah, another believer in the vast, right-wing conspiracy.
1
It would make things clearer if the protestors could articulate just what are their goals. "We want justice". But what does that mean? What will "justice" look like? Who speaks for the people of Ferguson? Who is there to articulate their goals? If a stranger walked into Ferguson now and asked "Who's in charge" what would be the answer?
10
Dear God! Their goals have been articulated over and over. Their only weapons are their feet, and so they take to the streets. Is it possible the American Right can ever learn form history?
3
They've already "articulated" their goals quite clearly. Dozens of burned buildings, looting and violence against cops and unsuspecting citizens. Did I miss something?
5
Socrates as related by Plato could not define "justice."
We know injustice when we see it. We don't excuse that until the victims can perform the feat of philosophy that stymied Socrates.
We know injustice when we see it. We don't excuse that until the victims can perform the feat of philosophy that stymied Socrates.
2
As the Petraeus article also demonstrates, some criminals are more equal than others. In a just society, improper acts performed "under color of law" would have significantly harsher consequences than those performed by a private citizen. But the hand that wields the gun - and the badge - spares itself.
10
It's easier to blame the protesters rather than the forces of law and order even when the latter has abused the former in the past. Nothing that the protestors did invalidated the findings about Ferguson or, by extension, what others have complained about when it comes to race in America.
8
The Ferguson protests have been tarnished by violence from the start.
Remember the riots?
That is the case.
Remember the riots?
That is the case.
46
Remember history? When people have no power in the civic or legislative processes, they are likely to resort to riot. Why does the Right feel compelled to attack every complaint from the poor and disadvantaged and defend every stupidity and injustice from the Right? Tribalism?
1
Charles, like all liberals, is plagued by a selective memory.
6
Des Johnson: "...hey are likely to resort to riot."
If you like violence, I suggest you move to Ferguson.
If you like violence, I suggest you move to Ferguson.
Charles - Since you tend to focus on race, what was the race of the shooter??? What race were the victims??? I guess the answers are a bit inconvenient for you to tell us.
98
Race of community victims and race of oppressors? More to the point.
Bill your point is - white police - black shooter. So that makes what the police were doing right. No! The riots started because of frustration. They were quickly stopped and peaceful protests prevailed. But white police continued to kill black youth. We must stop seeing everything through "colored" eyes. All blacks are not criminals and all white police are not racists. The world according to FOX must stop.
1
We have not been told the race of the officers who were shot. Nor their names. The closest we got is the names of the PDs they each are members of. I read a lot, mostly on-line and have seen no pictures of them. (I think that relative anonymity is a good thing.)
It also appears highly likely that this column was written before the suspect presently in custody was apprehended and indeed before the officers were released from the hospital. I am inferring that from the parentheses around the two paragraphs relating those facts. So in his haste to condemn this violence Mr. Blow was unable to provide the answers you seek.
It also appears highly likely that this column was written before the suspect presently in custody was apprehended and indeed before the officers were released from the hospital. I am inferring that from the parentheses around the two paragraphs relating those facts. So in his haste to condemn this violence Mr. Blow was unable to provide the answers you seek.
It's complicated, complex, and many people have difficulty holding complexity in their mind without reducing it to something simpler. It's that same tendency that we see with campaign sound bites. (Bumper stickers can be a little better --some seem to try to distill an issue down to its essence rather than to oversimplify it.) So I think we now have a greater challenge than just seeing the rights and lives of blacks being trampled, now we are reminded to address the whole symbiotic relationship between oppressor and oppressed. This is not about false equivalencies but about confronting the facts realistically. In law we used to talk about equity and rights separately, and if we went to court pleading in equity, we could be told our hands were too unclean themselves to obtain redress there and needed to present our case in a different way. Thinking about such distinctions here in our discourse about problems with current policing and judicial relations with the community might help us hold onto the complexity of the situation and find our way to the consensus needed to accept solutions in such complicated situations -- rights don't disappear just because people on the other side behave badly, nor does the other side's misbehavior disappear in the face of the misbehavior of those they oppose. In other words, the shootings of the police officers doesn't mean those who find fault with the police in Ferguson are wrong, it shows how complicated the situation is.
14
Diana,
And maybe somewhere that complex scenario between oppressor and oppressed breaks down, as it becomes more distant from its original enactment, gets handed down generations, spreads out into communities far and wide, and is dealt with legislatively through hard won battles.
Maybe at some point it does come down to each person taking personal responsibility for his own actions. Police for theirs. Citizens for theirs. Punishment according to current laws. Change laws, if necessary.
That seems a much more realistic way to address grievances than to go back decades and try to blanket modern day events with "legacy grievances".
To be honest, I'm not sure where you get the idea that anyone is trying to make these events "disappear." There has been an incredible amount of attention on them. What seems to be the problem is that a certain narrative has not been able to survive. Maybe it has finally run its course?
And maybe somewhere that complex scenario between oppressor and oppressed breaks down, as it becomes more distant from its original enactment, gets handed down generations, spreads out into communities far and wide, and is dealt with legislatively through hard won battles.
Maybe at some point it does come down to each person taking personal responsibility for his own actions. Police for theirs. Citizens for theirs. Punishment according to current laws. Change laws, if necessary.
That seems a much more realistic way to address grievances than to go back decades and try to blanket modern day events with "legacy grievances".
To be honest, I'm not sure where you get the idea that anyone is trying to make these events "disappear." There has been an incredible amount of attention on them. What seems to be the problem is that a certain narrative has not been able to survive. Maybe it has finally run its course?
7
AACNY,
Did I say anything about historical grievances? I watched as the police beat my (black) son until his eyes rolled back in his head and he couldn't breathe. The grievances continue to occur. Isn't this why we're talking about it now?
Did I say anything about historical grievances? I watched as the police beat my (black) son until his eyes rolled back in his head and he couldn't breathe. The grievances continue to occur. Isn't this why we're talking about it now?
4
Of course it's very complicated and really that's just the problem. Now days lots of folks want very simple solutions to long term sociological phenomena. And that's not the way problems are solved with people. or any living ecology. The patience required for this was thrown out the door the minute the U.S. decided it would only pay to solve things that were far simpler, like rigged elections. A country that now does not want to pay for the problems it has created, specifically in this case with the Black Community.
10
"a profound conversation about bias, policing, the criminal justice system, civil rights and social justice."
Really? So looting, blocking traffic and cheering when cops are shot is now classified as "profound?"
Really? So looting, blocking traffic and cheering when cops are shot is now classified as "profound?"
117
You're just trying to agitate and deflect attention from the real issues in order to prove how clever you think you are.
57
Dear Mookie,
But stopping black people, pulling over black motorists and shooting unarmed black people because one wears a "badge" is okay in your outlook?
As it was before the ACW, Missouri is, once again, ground zero in the racial imbalance that minorities face throughout this country.
If you cannot grasp this basic unfairness in the United States, then you are not paying enough attention.
But stopping black people, pulling over black motorists and shooting unarmed black people because one wears a "badge" is okay in your outlook?
As it was before the ACW, Missouri is, once again, ground zero in the racial imbalance that minorities face throughout this country.
If you cannot grasp this basic unfairness in the United States, then you are not paying enough attention.
12
Study revolt and revolution throughout history. The French Revolution is usually said to have begun with the storming of the Bastille. But the steps that led to that were related to widespread civic violence around France. Bad harvests and high taxes left the peasants starving. (Remember Marie Antoinette--"let them eat cake!") In response to unrest and violence, the king called together the Three Estates, for the first time in over a hundred years, thus essentially declaring an end to the absolute monarchy that had ruled France. It began with rioting. Beware.
6
If Justice is to finally come to Ferguson, the stepping down of the town's racists from their jobs is not enough; in President Obama's words, "...they’re criminals. They need to be arrested."
14
Officer Wilson tried to arrest the criminal in Ferguson, but Brown attacked the officer
3
I wonder if the many people targeted for tickets could file class action suits, not just in Ferguson, but also towns with a similar history. Seeking and attaining expunged records and financial restitution for the fines and other directly related loses would be a step towards Justice. Going after the assists of those individuals who promulgated these blatantly nefarious policies ought to give pause to those who still think of them as good ideas.
2
Arrested? Who? For what? You undoubtedly feel the same way about the looters, arsonists and the violent people who make up the "peaceful protestors"?
4
I'm having trouble understanding just what is going on in Ferguson. Why are there now demonstrations? What are the goals? Media attention? got it, check that one off..& what about media overload? oh its just Ferguson again with no reduction in tension ie movement based on 'hands up' too bad Michael Brown's hands were not , guns being used-not by police - from night one of the riots & played down,down,down & in a different vein, what's the revenue source to pay for police overtime? there have been major terrible injustices in Ferguson & elsewhere but I don't believe demonstrations now are effective.
12
"I'm having trouble understanding..." Right Wing mantra.
The violence does detract from the issue whether you say it should or not. Around dinner tables, families in America are speaking of disgust, not at the police, but at the protesters and the people of Ferguson. People who behave civilly when confronted with injustice in their lives are speaking of the facts of the case that spawned this entire episode and shaking their heads. If the blood thirsty justice department exonerated the officer, what's this all about? When a community is ridden with crime and without opportunity, unity, morals and family, gathering for a destructive protest is the easy way to go.
35
All members of all communities should be putting this on the agenda of their next Council meetings - how is policing done in the town, how is revenue collected, what is the experience of minority citizens, so that sunshine is shed and injustice averted. Don't wait fo the riots in your town.
19
Why just minority citizens? Shouldn't we all be treated and examined equally?
5
Mr. Blow, where is your outrage over a Furgeson black man shooting two police officers? The least I was hoping for was something trite, "at least he didn't kill them" but nothing. Want justice give justice, want empathy give empathy.
104
Well, they were armed, and they weren't killed. Quite a distinction.
3
Had you watched video of the protest the night after the shooting of the two police officers you would have been appalled at the lack of concern shown for them by the protesters. The DJs continued to spin the music and the protesters kept on dancing. Others denied that Michael Brown had robbed the convenience store and roughed up the owner because they refused to believe the video of it. They even refused to believe the DOJ and AG Holder. It's no longer a protest but a party.
7
Does the fact that one is armed the only determining factor, jkw? It has been pretty well established that the "gentle giant" wasn't so gentle in interacting with Officer Wilson and that his death was his own fault as even the Justice Department could not find the Officer at fault. The Police Officers who were shot were not criminals. Maybe that's the 'distinction' you should note.
4
There are no quick fixes. It's fundamentally about a power shift between the ruling-class WASPs and miniorities that is most intense in the South, since they've delayed this shift by a few centuries or so...
6
I think Me Blow's column makes several good points and his broad based writing is sorely needed.
I would like to think that Ferguson is not reflective of departments across this country. I have talked to several city police and sherriff's deputies who fear being painted with the Ferguson brush. For some relationships in the community have been damaged, in some cases irreparably. That shouldn't happen. If these people want the police to trust them they can't expect the worst and hope for the best.
Trust is created one day at a time, one positive interaction at a time. It's white officers going into a black community with an open mind and a willingness to listen and hear people out. It means seeing them as people. It's not assuming the worst because they don't live in a gated community or are not their neighbors
For the community it means not seeing police as evil but a tool that can benefit them and yes, protect them. It's getting beyond the uniform and seeing a dad, a mom, a soccer coach, a Sinday School teacher. It means we all stop talking all at once and not just hear, but more portably listen. When people can do that without acrimony and hate change can happen But we must all be going in the same direction. Otherwise we fail, again
I would like to think that Ferguson is not reflective of departments across this country. I have talked to several city police and sherriff's deputies who fear being painted with the Ferguson brush. For some relationships in the community have been damaged, in some cases irreparably. That shouldn't happen. If these people want the police to trust them they can't expect the worst and hope for the best.
Trust is created one day at a time, one positive interaction at a time. It's white officers going into a black community with an open mind and a willingness to listen and hear people out. It means seeing them as people. It's not assuming the worst because they don't live in a gated community or are not their neighbors
For the community it means not seeing police as evil but a tool that can benefit them and yes, protect them. It's getting beyond the uniform and seeing a dad, a mom, a soccer coach, a Sinday School teacher. It means we all stop talking all at once and not just hear, but more portably listen. When people can do that without acrimony and hate change can happen But we must all be going in the same direction. Otherwise we fail, again
4
My relatively brief time participating in the opinion (and some other) blogs and reading the comments has convinced me that we remain a nation largely devoted to the language and attitudes of bigotry and and are at the same time heavily in the business of avoiding responsibility.
It's hard for me to believe that more than half of the white population can continue to assert that police treat blacks equally, but no harder than the frequent assertion that the problems of the African-American community are largely self-inflicted. Black on black crime. Social responsibility. Family structure. Morality. Nobody's quite willing to say 'inferior' any more, but gee there must be something wrong with 'those people.' And I think in the end it comes down to this: It's not my problem and I don't want to do anything about it, so I will adapt a set of beliefs that allows me to avoid that responsibility.
But we liberals are no better. Post a snarky comment about Christians or southerners here, in the most mocking language and find yourself at the top of the "readers' picks." Somehow conveniently ignoring the fact that religion was a centerpiece of the movement that made the only significant gains we've ever seen in civil rights. The bottom line is the same. Oh yes, it's a problem, but it's not my problem.
Find somebody to blame. Find a group to hate and mock. Say the right thing and go home feeling good about yourself. Dr. King is rolling over in his grave. When will we learn?
It's hard for me to believe that more than half of the white population can continue to assert that police treat blacks equally, but no harder than the frequent assertion that the problems of the African-American community are largely self-inflicted. Black on black crime. Social responsibility. Family structure. Morality. Nobody's quite willing to say 'inferior' any more, but gee there must be something wrong with 'those people.' And I think in the end it comes down to this: It's not my problem and I don't want to do anything about it, so I will adapt a set of beliefs that allows me to avoid that responsibility.
But we liberals are no better. Post a snarky comment about Christians or southerners here, in the most mocking language and find yourself at the top of the "readers' picks." Somehow conveniently ignoring the fact that religion was a centerpiece of the movement that made the only significant gains we've ever seen in civil rights. The bottom line is the same. Oh yes, it's a problem, but it's not my problem.
Find somebody to blame. Find a group to hate and mock. Say the right thing and go home feeling good about yourself. Dr. King is rolling over in his grave. When will we learn?
110
R-i-A:
a "simple, singular recommend" is far too insufficient:
thank you for your comment,
much needed,
very much appreciated.
a "simple, singular recommend" is far too insufficient:
thank you for your comment,
much needed,
very much appreciated.
1
Once again. Ferguson is just another rat in the wall. No doubt there are beaucoup communities throughout the country that engage in the same tactics on a routine basis. We had a small scale version of the same type of scandal here in small-town Miss. back about 20 years ago, when the entire police force of like six officers resigned after being caught in a scam with a local service station, getting kick-backs on towing, and writing tickets at speed traps. Of course, shooting unarmed suspects is something else again.
We need more FBI stings and investigations of this kind of stuff, on a random basis, across the country.
We need more FBI stings and investigations of this kind of stuff, on a random basis, across the country.
10
Having known some young people who protest, for a short while, I learned from their experience, of how authorities have planted people in protests to deliberately stir up violence. The protesters often know who they are and keep an eye on them, as they do NOT want violence. It gives the police an excuse to crack down on them. It is ever thus. It's very possible that trouble is caused deliberately by those who would like to see justice fail.
36
I get it. The shooter was planted by the police to shoot the police to discredit the police. Sort of like Michael Brown robbed the store and attacked the policeman to solve the injustice in Ferguson.
57
The rogue protester never, ever represents all protesters but the rogue police officer is always a sign of a deep systemic problem.
Funny how the logic flips to suit the pint of view.
Funny how the logic flips to suit the pint of view.
17
Do the police tell people to come from New York, California,Texas and Florida to protest?
Having worked in law enforcement for 23 years I find your comment offensive. People like you make statements about police not based on fact but an imherent bias.
Does the system fail when someone fails when someone fails a court ordered program over and over? Does the system force them to accept a plea bargain? At what point do you ever hold accountable? Do you enjoy playing the victim? Pretty obvious you do.
Having worked in law enforcement for 23 years I find your comment offensive. People like you make statements about police not based on fact but an imherent bias.
Does the system fail when someone fails when someone fails a court ordered program over and over? Does the system force them to accept a plea bargain? At what point do you ever hold accountable? Do you enjoy playing the victim? Pretty obvious you do.
12
Regardless, violence is the case.
4
Imagine violence in a country with the biggest military in the world and with increasingly militarized police forces. What ever next?
1
The shooting was unfortunate, but what will happen is taht the same police force will still be in place after the protests stop. The same police force with the same mentality; so what will change?
8
There is an election in Ferguson. If people want to change anything, they should go out and vote.
15
Considering everything, the survey results are surprisingly positive if as much as 42 % of whites think justice is NOT equal, that it favors whites. That’s a hefty portion and more than you would think reading some of the comments.
I wonder what explains the 19 % of Blacks who think the races do get equal treatment, despite contrary evidence flooding the news? That's a surprising % too.
All the facts aren’t confirmed yet on the Ferguson shooting. Citizens led police to the shooter. The TV kept showing 1 fist fight going on in the protests, but actually most of the protesters were peaceful. But that this man would be crazy enough to inflame the situation, and shoot at anyone, as the protests were winding down, and hit cops, intentionally or not, is truly irrational, after everything the town has been through.
I read the Ferguson shooter had been with the protesters. But so what? The protests are needed for the country. Our justice system is resistant to change and in denial. When people don’t have power and influence they must demonstrate in streets. They are slowly making progress, since the Ferguson resignations and the Doj report.
There are examples in the past of police forces being disbanded and reconstituted, and of officers jailed for unlawful actions against citizens. These should be publicized to show that it is possible to redress grievances in the USA.
I wonder what explains the 19 % of Blacks who think the races do get equal treatment, despite contrary evidence flooding the news? That's a surprising % too.
All the facts aren’t confirmed yet on the Ferguson shooting. Citizens led police to the shooter. The TV kept showing 1 fist fight going on in the protests, but actually most of the protesters were peaceful. But that this man would be crazy enough to inflame the situation, and shoot at anyone, as the protests were winding down, and hit cops, intentionally or not, is truly irrational, after everything the town has been through.
I read the Ferguson shooter had been with the protesters. But so what? The protests are needed for the country. Our justice system is resistant to change and in denial. When people don’t have power and influence they must demonstrate in streets. They are slowly making progress, since the Ferguson resignations and the Doj report.
There are examples in the past of police forces being disbanded and reconstituted, and of officers jailed for unlawful actions against citizens. These should be publicized to show that it is possible to redress grievances in the USA.
44
President Obama's words on Kimmel were wise ones -- he usually excels at placing social frictions dealing with race and ethnicity in balanced and realistic contexts. But it remains to be seen if the legitimate protests, the peaceful ones, continue to have effect.
What will have effect soon if anything does is the encouraging appearance of African Americans among candidates in Ferguson for public office. If we can't just waive a wand and dissipate hatred and fear based on complexion, then at least fairness can begin to be introduced when representative government starts to reflect demographic realities.
But the greater protests that resulted in equal voting rights and an immensely improved prospect for American blacks faded with the 1960s, and the hope of disassembling our ghettos and energetically mainstreaming our minorities faded with those protests. Life improved a lot for blacks then, even if not enough, and that caused a draining away of active outrage.
The only way to leverage Ferguson and sustain the effectiveness of peaceful protest nationally is to set social targets of inclusion and equality high enough that merely a little improvement won't satisfy them.
What will have effect soon if anything does is the encouraging appearance of African Americans among candidates in Ferguson for public office. If we can't just waive a wand and dissipate hatred and fear based on complexion, then at least fairness can begin to be introduced when representative government starts to reflect demographic realities.
But the greater protests that resulted in equal voting rights and an immensely improved prospect for American blacks faded with the 1960s, and the hope of disassembling our ghettos and energetically mainstreaming our minorities faded with those protests. Life improved a lot for blacks then, even if not enough, and that caused a draining away of active outrage.
The only way to leverage Ferguson and sustain the effectiveness of peaceful protest nationally is to set social targets of inclusion and equality high enough that merely a little improvement won't satisfy them.
27
The whole idea of "legitimate" protests is bizarre, isn't it? If the ruling power really thinks a claim is legitimate, a protest isn't necessary.
Nice of you to mention the two cops shot. "Treated and released"-nothing there.
102
I know, right?
15
And yet Blow fails again to even mention the dozens of burned buildings, rampant arson. He fails again to mention the dead Serbian killed in his wife's view. His wife's view. These are his beloved so-called "peaceful" protestors!
Community? No, chaos, indeed.
Community? No, chaos, indeed.
75
Mr. Blow's focus is on injustice toward blacks. Everything from that perspective. Events are either woven in a way to support it or, as the president stated, seen as a distraction. The problems are the huge contradictions (ex., the violence of victims and protestors themselves) and the competing perspectives.
Rand Paul has a particularly interesting theory that big government has turned police departments into "enforcers", complicit in its ever growing civilian dragnet.
Rand Paul has a particularly interesting theory that big government has turned police departments into "enforcers", complicit in its ever growing civilian dragnet.
5
Mr. Blow, did you note that nearly all protesters in Ferguson wear shirts or carry signs reading "Hands Up! Don't Shoot"? Then a PROTESTER shot two police officers! Of course, the officers did not have their hands raised. And I have yet to see any report of even one protester demanding "JUSTICE" for those officers. I do not understand......
82
Pogo, you forgot, the DOJ report found that Brown did NOT have his hands up, was not running away from the policeman, did indeed attack the policeman in the officer's car. Brown attacked a store owner and no mention has ever been made of his part in the incident that led to his death. No one seems to have even mentioned that aspect of the incident. It was all the policeman's fault, who now has lost his livelihood.
I know Brown lost his life. That would not have happened if he were obeying the law and responded with respect to the directions of that policeman. He would still be alive and in jail.
I know Brown lost his life. That would not have happened if he were obeying the law and responded with respect to the directions of that policeman. He would still be alive and in jail.
120
Pogo, the shooter is reporting as saying that his reason for shooting had nothing to do with the protest, that he was shooting at someone who had robbed him. From Mr. Blow's column .. "— although the prosecutor did acknowledge that the shooter said he had a dispute with people in front of the police department “which had nothing to do with the demonstrations that were going on.”
To say that the shooter was "among" the demonstrators is simply saying that he was among a large crowd of people. In fact, at the time of the shooting the police had herded the demonstrators into two parking lots on either side of the street running to the police station. The cleared street gave a clear view from the shooter's location up the hill to the front of the police station, and he was not even "among" the demonstrators at the time he shot. There are some TV news reports that he was in a car at the time he shot - no demonstrators were in cars.
I don't believe the shooter's story. I do believe he was shooting at the police. At this point no one knows why he shot, other than his less than believable story. As Holder said, he is a punk, a punk who is on parole for previous crimes.
To say that the shooter was "among" the demonstrators is simply saying that he was among a large crowd of people. In fact, at the time of the shooting the police had herded the demonstrators into two parking lots on either side of the street running to the police station. The cleared street gave a clear view from the shooter's location up the hill to the front of the police station, and he was not even "among" the demonstrators at the time he shot. There are some TV news reports that he was in a car at the time he shot - no demonstrators were in cars.
I don't believe the shooter's story. I do believe he was shooting at the police. At this point no one knows why he shot, other than his less than believable story. As Holder said, he is a punk, a punk who is on parole for previous crimes.
34
Why mention an inconvenient truth?
7
Robert McCulloch and Jon Belmar's initial comments were irresponsible and inflammatory. It is quite clear from the evidence uncovered thus far that the arrested suspect had no involvement with the Ferguson protests. Demonstrators were correct to denounce the shooting; they have also acted appropriately, using representatives to calmly but firmly point out to the news media that Jeffrey Williams acted for an entirely unrelated reason. They know elements of the old guard in Ferguson may be tempted to use this shooting to try to discredit the protest movement. Thankfully, an arrest has been made and a much more charged and dangerous environment has been avoided, due in part to the de-escalating tactics of some police officers after the shooting. That is the kind of behavior that in time restores some modicum of trust.
28
I presume you also believe Michael Brown had his hands up despite the DOJ report.
18
Actually, I think its worse if this shooting has nothing to do with protesting racism. It just goes to show you what the police are up against there (ie/they're not all unarmed, like Michael Brown.)
6
Chief Belmar was first to insinuate at a press conference a couple of hours after the shooting that the shooter was embedded among the protesters, and he had no idea who it was or why. Prosecutor McCulloch then solidified a connection between shooter and the protest movement, when there no evidence to that effect and the shooter and protest leaders themselves denied he was ever a member. Both Belmar and McCulloch are controversial politicians with histories of questionable tactics.
Shootings of police officers are being used against Black Lives Matter and Ferguson protesters to discredit them. Politicians, pundits and the press have been doing back flips to appease police forces after terrible losses. Yet, when it is a civilian who dies at the hands of the police, all we hear is silence or insinuations about the victims. Police officers sign on to hazardous duty. Civilians who live in their communities do not.
As much good as the DOJ report on Ferguson has already done in forcing the resignation of several people, including police chief and the judge in the case, the police department and city council are still functioning when they should be disbanded. The mayor intends to stay.
There is no indication whether or when the victims of these racist extortion schemes will have their records expunged and money returned. Darren Wilson came from a disbanded PD. If Ferguson could function as it did for years, is it possible there are others? Is anyone investigating?
Shootings of police officers are being used against Black Lives Matter and Ferguson protesters to discredit them. Politicians, pundits and the press have been doing back flips to appease police forces after terrible losses. Yet, when it is a civilian who dies at the hands of the police, all we hear is silence or insinuations about the victims. Police officers sign on to hazardous duty. Civilians who live in their communities do not.
As much good as the DOJ report on Ferguson has already done in forcing the resignation of several people, including police chief and the judge in the case, the police department and city council are still functioning when they should be disbanded. The mayor intends to stay.
There is no indication whether or when the victims of these racist extortion schemes will have their records expunged and money returned. Darren Wilson came from a disbanded PD. If Ferguson could function as it did for years, is it possible there are others? Is anyone investigating?
115
Racial disparity in the St. Louis area isn't new. Rachel Maddow reported on it this summer, as did the St. Louis Post Dispatch.
http://www.rimaregas.com/2014/08/anger-in-ferguson-follows-record-of-rac...
Selma50: Black Lives Matter, Moral Monday, NAACP, unite!
"So, fifty years after the march on Selma, we still summon the winds of change. Fifty years later, we still worry about the lives of young men and women who, just based on the color of their skin, are at risk of being brutalized, killed, for things their fair-skinned compatriots would never even be given a second look for. Imperfection, a prior, has become justification for a kill, when at no time in our history since the end of the Wild West, have we ever conceded life and death to the split-second decision of a law enforcement officer."
http://www.rimaregas.com/2015/03/selma50-blacklivesmatter-moralmonday-na...
http://www.rimaregas.com/2014/08/anger-in-ferguson-follows-record-of-rac...
Selma50: Black Lives Matter, Moral Monday, NAACP, unite!
"So, fifty years after the march on Selma, we still summon the winds of change. Fifty years later, we still worry about the lives of young men and women who, just based on the color of their skin, are at risk of being brutalized, killed, for things their fair-skinned compatriots would never even be given a second look for. Imperfection, a prior, has become justification for a kill, when at no time in our history since the end of the Wild West, have we ever conceded life and death to the split-second decision of a law enforcement officer."
http://www.rimaregas.com/2015/03/selma50-blacklivesmatter-moralmonday-na...
13
Edward Ball has a remarkable op-ed in the Sunday edition. I urge everyone to read it.
Slavery’s Enduring Resonance
'But the poet Claudia Rankine describes memory like this, in her book “Citizen,” published last fall: “The world is wrong. You can’t put the past behind you. It’s buried in you; it’s turned your flesh into its own cupboard. Not everything remembered is useful, but it all comes from the world to be stored in you.” If by some method of time travel the former slaves and slaveholders of Limerick plantation could be brought face to face with us, they would not find our world entirely alien. In place of the rural incarceration of four million black people, we have the mass incarceration of one million black men. In place of laws that prohibited black literacy throughout the South, we have campaigns by Tea Party and anti-tax fanatics to defund public schools within certain ZIP codes. And we have stop-and-search policing, and frequently much worse, in place of the slave patrols."
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/15/opinion/sunday/slaverys-enduring-reson...
Slavery’s Enduring Resonance
'But the poet Claudia Rankine describes memory like this, in her book “Citizen,” published last fall: “The world is wrong. You can’t put the past behind you. It’s buried in you; it’s turned your flesh into its own cupboard. Not everything remembered is useful, but it all comes from the world to be stored in you.” If by some method of time travel the former slaves and slaveholders of Limerick plantation could be brought face to face with us, they would not find our world entirely alien. In place of the rural incarceration of four million black people, we have the mass incarceration of one million black men. In place of laws that prohibited black literacy throughout the South, we have campaigns by Tea Party and anti-tax fanatics to defund public schools within certain ZIP codes. And we have stop-and-search policing, and frequently much worse, in place of the slave patrols."
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/15/opinion/sunday/slaverys-enduring-reson...
64
The protestors know each other intimately, on a first and last name basis? Rima, you need a cold dose of reality. The shooter was indistinguishable for any OTHER protestor. They didn't know nor did they care.
Strength in numbers, right!
Strength in numbers, right!
14