Ferguson and the Quest for Racial Justice

Ferguson reminds us that American society has a long way to go in healing old hatreds

There are Ferguson facts and Ferguson unknowns:

• Fact: the tragedy of the death of a 18 year old man. It doesn’t matter whether he was black or white. It’s a tragedy
• Fact: he was shot by a cop
• Unknown: The details of the shooting. We have to let this play out in the justice system

Opinions:

• There are many trying to score points with this: Al Sharpton & Jesse Jackson : “Round up the usual suspects”
• Why oh why does the President think his involvement is needed? The governor of Missouri is handling this just fine!
• The media amplifies this by being there en masse (but CNN needs a ratings boost!)

Questions:

• How does or how has rioting helped? What does burning out a convenience store (one of many) have to do with this?
• Why is burning often a knee jerk response? Why didn’t whites burn down a convenience store when OJ was acquitted?
• Could Officer Wilson get a fair trial in Ferguson?

It saddens me that Moore is using poor statistics to make his case. Raw arrest and conviction statistics do not demonstrate a bias against blacks. That would have to be proven by demonstrating that a large portion of blacks who have been arrested and convicted have been arrested and convicted wrongly, and for the good of all of us, we need to start telling people that raw conviction rates by race do not prove bias.

After all, if there is bias, then the problem does not lie within the black community, and thus they are not responsible for the solution. However, if we find that people are being rightly convicted for crimes, then the question is what can be done to deter the offenders from criminal acts, and what signals the community is giving that this sort of thing is OK. I’m thinking the riots are a clear sign that the community helped kill Michael Brown by telling him that it was OK to steal from a shop and pick fights with the shopkeeper and a police officer.

It seems to me that the above distinction is the clearest racial divide there is.

• Why oh why does the President think his involvement is needed? The governor of Missouri is handling this just fine!

Because the President doesn’t believe in the right of self governing. He believes it is the responsibility of a tyrannical Federal Government to be involved in every detail of people’s lives and to be the solution for all of their problems. It’s my opinion that this situation is a great opportunity to test out what martial law will look like under his power when/if he should implement it after refusing to relinquish the presidency in 2016. I hope I’m just cynical and not right.

[Bert Perry]

I’m thinking the riots are a clear sign that the community helped kill Michael Brown by telling him that it was OK to steal from a shop and pick fights with the shopkeeper and a police officer.

Quote of the day.

[WilliamD]

Because the President doesn’t believe in the right of self governing. He believes it is the responsibility of a tyrannical Federal Government to be involved in every detail of people’s lives and to be the solution for all of their problems.

Maybe you are cynical, but I think your observation is more right than not.

[WilliamD] It’s my opinion that this situation is a great opportunity to test out what martial law will look like under his power when/if he should implement it after refusing to relinquish the presidency in 2016.

You really think this is going to happen?

[T Howard]

WilliamD wrote:

It’s my opinion that this situation is a great opportunity to test out what martial law will look like under his power when/if he should implement it after refusing to relinquish the presidency in 2016.

You really think this is going to happen?

I hope not, but I wouldn’t be surprised. Obama has had no regard for the rule of law, the will of the people or the limits of his power. He has fired many generals and has put his own tools in their place. It would not surprise me one bit.

If this is true ….. game-changing facts:

• CNN: Caller says she has the officer’s side of the Ferguson shooting: “According to the version on KFTK, phoned in by a woman who identified herself as “Josie,” the altercation on August 9 began after Officer Darren Wilson rolled down his window to tell Brown and a friend to stop walking in the street. When Wilson tried to get out of his cruiser, Brown first tried to push the officer back into the car, then punched him in the face and grabbed for his gun before breaking free after the gun went off once, the caller said. Wilson pursued Brown and his friend, ordering them to freeze, according to the account. When they turned around, Brown began taunting Wilson, saying he would not arrest them, then ran at the officer at full speed, the caller said”
• Officer Darren Wilson Suffered “Orbital Blowout Fracture to Eye Socket” During Mike Brown Attack

Jim,

Thank you for your insightful and helpful comments. I have many police officers in my church who work in dangerous areas. They tell me that they often get treated like dirt. I noticed the Governor of Missouri said that he wanted justice for the Brown family and “vigorous prosecution” of the offending officer. Sounds like he has made up his mind. The situation reminds me of an old fashion lynch mob. It’s justice for all, not “just us”. The officer has rights as well. He should not be expected to die in order not to offend the community. Why anyone would want to be a police officer in this charged environment is beyond me. Maybe all the cops should just roll up their windows, turn on the AC, and ignore everything going on around them. Let the thugs block traffic, rob convenience stores, loot, burn down businesses, stop school from opening, and not try to get a job. Of course, what sane business owner right now would want to open on a business in Ferguson. It has taken Detroit over 50 years to begin to recover from its riots in the sixties. We are finally on the road to recovery. The glories of the race riots in Detroit were far outweighed by the economic destruction to follow for half a century. May the good citizens of Ferguson stand against the hoodlums who are ruining their city and way of life. May the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth come out in the Brown incident. Meanwhile, American journalists are being beheaded by our enemies while the President is taking his third summer vacation.

Yeah it’s like why don’t they just lynch officer Wilson and get it over with. My wife and I prayed for him and his family today.

Saw a picture of the officer, looks to be about 5’10” and maybe 180 lbs. I am doubting severely that the gentleman would have chosen to go mano a mano with the deceased for this reason.

Yes, pray that justice will be done—if indeed the officer picked the fight and and shot his way out of it, he needs to be in jail for that. That said, I’m thinking the bigger risk is that the DOJ will cherry pick the data to get a conviction, any conviction, without regard to truth, as they attempted with George Zimmerman. I’m guessing the police union lawyers are on the lookout for that one, though.

Still empty lots along Plymouth Ave:

Few merchants (eg no grocery stores)

http://coldfusion-guy.blogspot.com/2007/07/minneapolis-plymouth-riots-4…

http://www.mplsmirror.com/mpls/index.php?option=com_content&id=74%3Aply…

What’s lost:

• Places to shop
• Places where entrepreneurs invest money and create jobs
• Property values decline
• It’s lose lose lose for the black community. Can’t easily walk to shopping areas … can’t find jobs close to home … lose value if they own property

As Mike said why would anyone want to be a police officer now? My retired police friend pointed out that at one time the pendulum was on the side of the police but now it is on the side of the criminal. Frankly if I was a cop I would have a hard time convincing myself to make many arrests.