Posted on 08/15/2014 5:59:59 AM PDT by Kaslin
Call me crazy, but police in riot gear seem a thoroughly appropriate response to actual rioting.
But even that basic logic is being shattered in Ferguson, Missouri, along with various store windows, as lawless opportunists take every advantage of a police shooting that deserves sober, objective review.
If the opportunism of vicious vandals is not enough, add the kerosene of race-baiting showboats arriving on the scene to aggrandize themselves against the basic interests of the community.
So what does that community need? Best to begin with what it does not need.
It does not need the President of the United States once again making clear which side he is on. One portion of Thursday’s Obama statement was measured and appropriate: “There is never an excuse for violence against police, or for those who would use this tragedy as a cover for vandalism or looting. There is also no excuse for police to use excessive force against peaceful protests or to throw protesters in jail for lawfully exercising their first amendment rights.”
Completely correct. But he just could not let it go at that. “We lost a young man, Michael Brown, in heartbreaking and tragic circumstances,” he continued. “He was 18-years-old. His family will never hold Michael in their arms again. And when something like this happens, the local authorities need to be open and transparent about how they're investigating this kind of a situation.”
The only thing missing was “If I had a son, he’d look like Michael.” Now the President is indeed correct that Michael’s family has suffered a painful loss. But he appears blind to the possibility that Michael may have invited his fate by attacking a policeman. Until we know what happened, no good purpose is served by showing favor to either side.
We have surely been inundated in the imagery of a cop snapping a twig and blasting away at Michael as he raised his arms in apparent surrender. This version plays into the hands of anyone looking for a reason to disparage the police or berate America as a cauldron of 1950s-style racism. If this is what happened, it is an outrage that requires the full force of judicial punishment. But a proper investigation, which may lead to a proper trial, is the method which leads to worthy conclusions— not the antics of Al Sharpton or the snap judgments of locals who may have various axes to grind.
Conversely, no one should leap to conclude that the unnamed officer acted correctly. (And thank God he has remained unnamed so far. People who will set fire to buildings cannot be trusted to handle such information responsibly. At some point we will all have the right to know his name and badge number, whether charges are filed or not. This is not a good week.)
I am inclined to trust and believe police officers. I must remain open, however, to the possibility that this is one of those tragic cases of law enforcement gone horribly wrong.
But I have a feeling I will spend the next few days pushing back against voices cleaving to conclusions that forward favored agendas. That will mean finding fault with people who have walked many honorable miles in pursuit of racial justice.
Congressman John Lewis of Georgia knows what 1950s-style racial strife looks like. He fought against it through the sixties as part of the heroic civil rights struggle of the modern era. But he sometimes seems unaware of the decades that have passed since, and the victories they contained.
“President Obama should use the authority of his office to declare martial law. Federalize the Missouri National Guard to protect people as they protest. And people should come together. If we fail to act, the fires of frustration and discontent will continue to burn, not only in Ferguson, Missouri, but all across America.”
Not helpful. Anyone looking for people to “come together” should restrain themselves from invoking Bull Connor-era urgency.
That said, the Ferguson police have taken some wrong turns that are not helping those looking for reasons to believe in them. They seem unaware that the public has every right to record interactions with police. They also seemed to think it was a good idea to arrest two reporters with cell phone cameras and twitter accounts. Their heavy-handedness was the stuff of legend within minutes.
But to return to one thing that is a good idea, whether it’s the Ferguson police, the Missouri State Troopers or the National Guard in charge— riot gear. Have I mentioned that we had actual rioting?
The last few days of reacting (and overreacting) have contained more than few references to the unseemliness of local police outfitted like troops in Afghanistan, as if it is a bad idea to dissuade violent lawlessness with the prospect of consequences.
Rand Paul, in his continuing campaign to attract college sophomores while alienating real conservatives, crafted an op-ed recoiling at the “militarization” of the police. Well, here’s a deal: When violent criminals stop their occasional habit of destroying neighborhoods, police forces can mothball the riot control equipment.
So presuming the street-level tensions will not last forever, what is a path forward toward healing and clarity in Ferguson?
First, it is worth noting that various sides have worthy points to make.
While they have dwindled to great rarity, there are still examples of racially-based law enforcement misbehavior. It is an appropriate exercise to discover whether it has happened again.
There is also a solid foundation for everyone using this as a moment to highlight cultural decline and the sad tendency of some to resort to violence when the opportunity arises.
Civil libertarians are correct to criticize police interference with journalists and citizens exercising their rights. In case anyone needs reminding, any citizen, journalist or not, has the right to record police interactions and behavior if it does not impede any law enforcement function.
And speaking of cameras, maybe this is the ultimate lesson of Ferguson: we need to shell out the millions necessary to put a camera on every cop. As we venture into the wilderness of competing testimony— did Michael Brown attack the officer or did the officer baselessly overreact?— footage from a standard-issue GoPro might have settled the matter to the satisfaction of all.
As it is, we may have a long wait for the answers to this challenging case. We should encourage every step toward a responsible investigation, and discourage anyone seeking to tilt the scales for cheap political gain.
A lot of Freepers appear blind to this possibility also.
Author, you know nothing of Americans, riot gear didn’t work in the 60s and is way less likely to work now. Americans don’t like getting pushed around, will get irate and there will be pushback. Maybe those tactics work somewhere, but not here.
Americans when pushed too far (and it doesn’t take much) will push back. So lose the militarization garbage and address the issue. Telling Americans to sit down and shut up won’t work.
This is an anti-government riot...
This is an anti-government riot... it’s the real deal. Maybe Homeland was right when they said there would be more anti-government riots. \
I doubt they had the wit to see that it would be blacks doing it... but it’s the reality - and the truth.
Until the true facts are known the guilt or innocence of all parties is only speculation.
However, the police chief stated equivocally that there is a gunshot hole in the roof of the police car.
And there are reports that the policeman had facial injuries.
Those details fly in the face of the claims of the race pimps who say Brown was a poor innocent who was shot in the back with no provocation.
But now that the racist Eric Holder is involved in a federal investigation I expect the real truth will be hard to come by.
I agree with the emergency and calling up the NG. The first thing that should be done immediately is to restore law and order when there is little to none. This let Al Sharpton and the Black Panthers come to town crap never ends well.
No, it is a race riot. The modern KKK wear black and rob convenience stores. They dont wear hoods because they don’t need them, the media will carefully guard the guilty.
No -- a lot of Freepers know that cops lie but crime scenes don't.
The interesting thing about the Ferguson riots is they’re anti-government riots. Really anti-government.
When conservatives band together - Tea Party conservatives - we have pro-government rallies. We stand there together saying, “YOU MUST OBEY THE CONSTITUTION”... because THE CONSTITUTION IS THE LAW OF THE LAND”.
Lawless crowds in Ferguson are saying the opposite. Violent anti-government blacks are saying, “WE CAN BURN DOWN BUILDINGS AND DESTROY PROPERTY BECAUSE WE’RE ABOVE THE LAW”. That’s the REAL anti-government message.
Homeland Security, FBI and the vile Southern Poverty Law Center need to take a look at this and see it for what it is... and the New York Times, LA Times, and Washington Post need to open their damn eyes too.
What evidence do you have?
I'll save time and say to your non-response, yeah, that's what I thought.
The people are tired of police who look like military, shoot kids, dogs and, yes, even aggressive but unarmed punks and are never held accountable. Where I live the Sheriffs investigates city police shootings and the city police investigate shootings by the sheriff; for some odd reason no wrongdoing is ever found.
Once an incident like this, or Andy Lopez (here in Santa Rosa; kid had an airsoft rifle with orange tip removed, cop shot him dead within two seconds of the cruiser stopping; I used to play with BB guns in the same field when I was 14) happens the only thing that is going to defuse trouble is punishment of the shooter, and in a timeframe measured in hours, not days. Saying “we need weeks to investigate” is B.S, maybe calling for a lengthy and careful multi month investigation cut it back in the last century, but any PD now has ONE news cycle to figure out what happened, fire the officer *OR* provide clear and unambiguous video footage to exonerate them.
Aftermath.
Yes THAT will give evidence of the what happened prior to all this.
LOL!
One of the dumber responses I’ve received in awhile.
Rioting is something to do. It beats hanging around unemployed, no future. Get fired up and raise some Cain!
So you can’t read a crime scene — what else is new???
My take, until evidence proves otherwise -
Brown attacked the police officer, who overreacted and executed him.
They also seem blind to the fact they are an unwitting part of the most cynical of political calculations.
A good article.
What amazes me is the failure of the “no justice no peace” people to realize that they create an environment that makes it difficult for either to prevail. Let’s call it what it is: a threat. If the mob does not get “justice” - whatever that may be - then they will create disorder. So what would that “justice” be? A chief complaint is that the name of the officer has been withheld. Should the officer be delivered to the mob for “justice”? Another complaint is that “another black kid was executed”. That inflammatory rhetoric serves no purpose except to inflame. Until an investigation has been completed we don’t know what occurred. Was race a factor? Did the officer act improperly? Was the officer assaulted? We don’t know. But many, including some here at FR, can’t wait for an investigation. They want the name of that cop now. In their mind he is guilty of unprovoked, and probably racially motivated, murder.
The mob has made good on their “no peace” threat. They have looted tires, rims, electronics, shoes, athletic-wear, and snacks, smokes, and beer. They’ve destroyed storefronts, burned down buildings, thrown Molotovs at police and shot at police helicopters. They’ve called for “days of rage” and scrawled on walls “kill the police” and “burn the city down”.
It’s difficult for justice to prevail while lynch mobs pillage.
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