War Zone

So I turn on the news a few nights ago and as usual military police in riot gear are arresting reporters and protestors in what appears to be some Middle Eastern conflict. After watching for a couple of minutes I realized it wasn’t the Middle East it was Ferguson, Missouri and the protestors were African-Americans objecting to the shooting death of yet another unarmed African-American male. It’s interesting to note that of the dozens of peaceful protestors the first 5 minutes of coverage I watched on CNN were focused on the fraction of knucklehead looters. The African-American male, Michael Brown was shot by a police officer several times. According to news reports, he had been stopped because of jaywalking and according to eye witnesses had offered no resistance and had his hands up attempting to surrender when he was shot repeatedly and then left to die on the sidewalk.

Several things came to mind including the ongoing profiling of African-American males and the continuing devaluation of their lives by American society but what stood out immediately was the militarization of the local police, armed with riot gear including body armor and camouflage, tear gas, assault rifles and tanks like they were defending the Alamo. It resembled a scene right out of the civil rights era, the only thing missing were the vicious attack dogs and the water hoses to wash them down. So instead of reaching out to calm the community peacefully, the local police opted to fan the flames and go the intimidation route, which only fueled the anger and cynicism of the demonstrators who ironically were there protesting their distrust of the police. Again, what the media described as a riot was essentially on the first night of the protests when a bunch of idiots used the event as an excuse to ransack and burn their own community…dumb asses. Much more disturbing and what should have been the focus of the reporting was that peaceful protesters and those attempting to report on events were being harassed and arrested.
 

I gotta say the disparity in the reaction of law enforcement to African-American protesters vs. Whites is amazing. Case in point, the Cliven Bundy stand-off. These protesters showed up at the Bundy ranch in Nevada to “air out their discontent”, demanding that cows be allowed to graze on the tax payers’ dime. Armed with sniper rifles aimed at police they were not threatened with tear gas and faced no one sporting camouflage and there were no tanks. Instead law enforcement backed down and the Bundy cows continued to graze. So protesters gather with assault rifles, point them at police to protest the seizure of cattle from a rancher grazing them on federal land free of charge for years and they are deemed “patriots”.  Unarmed protesters gather to protest the street execution of a teenager and are met with tear gas, rubber bullets, nightsticks, and arrests and they are "thugs." Just imagine what would have happened had the Ferguson protestors showed up armed exercising right to carry laws.    

After delaying and stalling for almost a week and refusing to release the name of the officer involved, today the police chief in Ferguson released the name of the officer along with video which appears to implicate Michael Brown as a suspect in the robbery of a box of cigars at a convenience store minutes before he was shot but it doesn’t justify his killing and does not necessarily vindicate the officer involved. There remain unanswered questions involving his death. Was the officer who stopped Michael Brown even aware that he was a suspect in a robbery? Why did it take so long to interview the eyewitness who was accompanying Michael Brown and why hasn’t he been arrested as a suspect in the robbery? Is there evidence of excessive force by the officer and why hasn’t his account of the shooting been released? An autopsy was performed and released to the police, so was he shot in the back as witnesses indicated and how many times was he shot?

Finally, I realize that not all law enforcement officers are corrupt but I have absolutely no respect for those who are deputized to serve and protect and then become bullies based on assumptions of color. I don’t claim to know what happened when Michael Brown was killed I wasn’t there. I don’t know if the eyewitnesses or the police are telling the truth but I can relate to the frustration felt by the community of protestors and I understand their distrust and disgust.  I also know that adversarial aggressive tactics such as those exhibited against the protestors and reporters in Ferguson as well as the lack of constructive interaction with the community do nothing towards promoting goodwill  As long as these methods are allowed, condoned and encouraged the distrust and skepticism of police in the African-American community will unfortunately continue.