With Highway Patrol, hugs and kisses replace tear gas in Ferguson

Washington Post ^

[bigdaddy45]

FERGUSON, Mo. — Suddenly, everything has changed.

The heavy riot armor, the SWAT trucks with sniper posts, the hostile glares: tonight in Ferguson they were gone.

A stunning change in tone radiated through the suburban streets where protests had turned violent each of the last four evenings following the police shooting of 18-year-old Michael Brown.

But Thursday night, when more than a thousand protesters descended on the remains of QuickTrip – which was burned during riots on Sunday – they had a new leader.

The man at the front of the march, was Missouri Highway Patrol Capt. Ronald S. Johnson, a Ferguson native.

[freeandfreezing]

Oh Laz that’s ridiculous. Would you support the poster that I responded to if he suggested police should use tanks to open fire on a bunch of people protesting, say the BLM attempt to seize Bundy’s ranch? Are they also “animals” in need of killing?

[freeandfreezing]

We all know that. But would you support shooting the people protesting Ferguson as the poster I responded to suggested? And would you call them "animals"?

I would hope not.

[Lazamataz]

Oh Laz that’s ridiculous. Would you support the poster that I responded to if he suggested police should use tanks to open fire on a bunch of people protesting, say the BLM attempt to seize Bundy’s ranch? Are they also “animals” in need of killing?

Yes, they would be animals in need of killing, too.....

.....provided, of course, that they were burning down stores and looting the contents therein.

You have information that the people in Bundy's ranch were burning down stores and looting them? Please, present it!

[John S Mosby]

Moral equivalence on Waco or Ruby Ridge? Oh no, FRiend, please don’t do that. These are not similar events or decisions. What is similar is the use of statist forces to achieve a statist goal, with the net result being the loss of businesses and livelihoods.

Cannot agree that “opening fire” with live rounds would have been more “effective” than the mere presence of the govt. mil surplus mraps, humvees and equipage. That is, the visible threat of firepower. Which was working, despite the guv’s taking over the role of local county police, who will have a lot to say about this crap. There is a clear state level (washington engineered) aspect to this— the county police/sheriff must be in the guvs/dem machine’s sights for removal from office. Watch the follow on reports from the commie/lib press. Because the county police are for the whole county, not just the hood involved. That means “white” conservatives, not the votes they need to keep office.

[fatnotlazy]

I didn't lose the argument. You, on the other hand, just didn't pay attention to what I was saying.

Have you ever lived in a rough neighborhood? Well, I have. These people don't understand hugs and kisses. Violent criminals only understand when you meet their violence with violence. Let them know you won't put up with their crapazola and they'll stop.

[John S Mosby]

So true, laz. The meaning of the word racist is lost. They surely wouldn’t use the right one, for which people have an equal right— that being- a bigot. People have a right to be either one, a racist or a bigot (or both) within the confines of our Constitution. That is, the US is a nation of laws, not men. Until now.

But this is not true in the nwo, the world gubmint of neo-socialism, where they bog the dumb masses down in semantics and emotion, which they help to create by fanning the flames.

[rktman]

I’m glad it is subsiding but fear that those that usually help promote it will be behind the scenes working the crowd up. Hopefully the MO state cops will be able to circumvent further escalation where the Ferguson cops only seemed to help fuel the problems. I agree there are those that would welcome more looting to “prove” their point.

[bigdaddy45]

All I know is, there was no looting and burning last night. The police tried a new tactic, and got a different result. And you seem upset by it.

[SZonian]

Maybe the thugs/savages were just plain tuckered out after 4-5 days of binge violence and rioting and the timing just happened to coincide with this kumbaya policing methodology....

[spel_grammer_an_punct_polise]

“Yeah, that would have helped. Thanks for your coherent and well thought out response.”

Maybe the both of you are too young to remember. After Kent State and Jackson State, the ‘rioting’ on college campuses effectively stopped. Fire should be fought with fire/firebreaks. That was my only point. ;-)

[trebb]

You’re clearly missing the point. The point is that instead of going in with tanks to quell the crowd, a low key approach worked infinitely better. The over-the-top response of the police over the past few days clearly made a bad situation worse than it needed to be.

And the side-band point is that when it's a bunch of animals of a protected species doing the damage, the cops react much more respectfully than they doi with the average Joe.

[ncpatriot]

I knew there was a flaw in my thinking and was hoping someone would tackle my post. Thx

[bigdaddy45]

Kent State was a bunch of college students. Ferguson is a hard core urban neighborhood. Make no mistake.... the rioters and looters were LOOKING for a fight. They were quite disappointed when the cops took the low key approach last night. It took away their so called “motivation” to riot.

Fighting some fights with fire only makes them worse. This is one example.

[bigdaddy45]

They don’t get “tuckered out”. They just bring in reinforcements.

[aumrl]

That depends on what the ‘protesting people’ were doing.
Oh, do you think they were acting like animals?

[SZonian]

So the average white guy can expect the same kumbaya policing methodology?

I’m sure the dozens, if not hundreds of dead citizens killed during their seemingly innocuous interactions with police wish they were the beneficiaries of such insight and compassion.

The only thing that happened here is a “reinforcement” of savage “values” not being met with civilized standards...

[rdcbn]

You’re clearly missing the point. The point is that instead of going in with tanks to quell the crowd, a low key approach worked infinitely better. The over-the-top response of the police over the past few days clearly made a bad situation worse than it needed to be.

---

The Police did not start the riots.

The riots were started by race baiting agitators, at least some of whom were fully aware that Brown assaulted several people before being shot, and who incited outsiders looking for any excuse to loot to start a riot to cover for their looting.

The Ferguson police were low key until after the riots broke out.

When a riot starts the police have only two choices. The first is go into the riot and stop it with overwhelming and brutal force. The second is to pull back , cordon off the area of the riot and let rioters run wild burning, looting , assaulting, raping and killing.

The second course of action is what the Gate's LA Police did in the Rodney King riots which got totally out of hand.

I was at ground zero at the start of the Rodney King riots and watched all hell break loose loose while cops stood and watched from their perimeter.

The Ferguson police did the first and saved a lot of lives and stopped the spread of the riots to the larger St Louis area.

They deserve a medal, not the scorn they are getting.

I'll bet a bunch of Korean and Vietnamese shopkeepers in LA agree with me 100%

[fatnotlazy]

Upset? Nah! Just puzzled that you think the kumbaya approach will work long term.

[bigdaddy45]

Worked for one day. Gotta start somewhere.

[freeandfreezing]

....provided, of course, that they were burning down stores and looting the contents therein.

So you think the people standing around in front of the police holding signs, or the news crews were burning down stores and looting, even though the looting and store burning happened the day before?