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What is the deal with these riots?
 At a glance, as an outsider, looks like one side of America has a victim complex probably fuelled by a steady stream of low level police harassmentBut that in turn is fed by the higher propensity for crime by young makes from that aforementioned group. Looks like a difficult problem. Don't know how you can bridge the divide. The Telegraph, UK has an interesting piece here: Michael Brown: What the Ferguson riots tell us about race in America today Another shooting, more riots -- and again, the US is torn apart on racial lines. Rob Crilly reports from Ferguson.  They came to demand justice as the sun set over the Missouri suburb of Ferguson. Dawn and Chuck were white, like many of the other marchers parading up and down the town's main strip, past looted, burnt-out shops and dozens of police officers. What set them apart was their banner. "Justice for police officer Darren Wilson," it read. They had come to demand justice not for Michael Brown, the unarmed black teenager, but for the white cop who shot him dead. They barely escaped. Within minutes of their arrival, a crowd had formed, shouting abuse. They were gone in seconds, bundled away to safety by police. "What is the police doing," one woman screamed. "They aren't arresting them. They're helping them. Protecting their own." The brief episode on Wednesday night was a stark reminder of America's trouble with race. Brown's death two weeks ago has led to demonstrations by day and riots at night. It has highlighted the gulf between a community on the edge of St Louis and the men and women who police it. Across the country, it has polarised opinion between those who see a nation where white cops kill black men, and those who have donated 100,000 to a fund for Officer Wilson, or lit their porches blue to show support for the police. More than 50 years after Martin Luther King's "I have a dream" speech, and with an African-American president well into his second term, the violence demonstrates just how sensitive the issue remains. Markese Mull, who described himself as a friend of Brown, believes the killing was about one thing. "It's about race, much as we don't want it to be," he said, standing near the memorial of flowers, candles and balloons where the teenager died. "It is about a figure patrolling an area that he just didn't understand." as i understand it the man had thieved a shop and was running away. Death is too high a price to pay for theft - but because everyone in the US potentially owns a gun, the coppers would be more likely to shoot first ask later Witnesses differ on exactly what happened at midday on Saturday August 9. CCTV footage shows Brown and his friend in the Ferguson Market and Liquor Store. Brown grabs a box of cheap cigars. A member of staff tries to prevent him leaving, but is shoved into a display of crisps. so he is a no good individual from the start The fatal confrontation came minutes later as the pair walked down Canfield Drive. Officer Wilson ordered them out of the street on to the pavement so his car could pass. so walking in the middle of traffic ... Could be he was on drugs? That isn't normal A struggle followed. The police say Brown tried to grab the officer's handgun. hearsay at this stage A shot went off inside the car. that is serious.... Must be he was on drugs One witness said Wilson was enraged when Brown slipped his grasp. He gave chase and opened fire. version 2 In contrast, Josie, a friend of the police officer, described how the 6ft 4in teenager punched Wilson in the face. As Brown fled, she said, Wilson ordered him to freeze, whereupon the 18-year-old turned and "bum-rushed" him, running full-speed into him and forcing him to shoot six times in self-defence. All the later accounts cast doubt on the original story that Brown died trying to surrender, arms in the air. hope someone photographed in the minutes after so if his face was punched there is a contemporaneous record Whatever the sequence, the outcome is clear: 10 days of tear gas and rubber bullets. this is where everyone goes crazy as black people believe the system is rigged against them, from here the facts of the case don't actually matter any more. This is grudge settling. This wouldn't happen if people had faith in their police. Now this is a problem. The police probably are targeting that community - and that is because the crime rates are probably higher. They have to do their jobs. people may have an urban sub-culture that glorifies violence and breaking the law - which in turn is encouraged by them feeling that is a rebellion against a power system they aren't a part of. What to do? Geez it a big issue, i don't rightly know. Posted by: Anon1 2014-08-26 |
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