What the author should be pointing out is that the mayor and several aldermen antagonized the situation through either really stupid or completely calculated remarks.
Thanks for the reply.
From the article:
“Alderman Khalif Rainey said the riots, looting, and destruction are a “warning cry” by those “tired of living under” the “oppression” of the city of Milwaukee. He described the city as “the worst place to live for African-Americans in the entire country” and indicated that more violence will follow unless the city amends its oppressive ways:
This entire community has sat back and witnessed how Milwaukee has become the worst place to live for African-Americans in the entire country. Now this is a warning cry. Where do we go from here? Where do we go as a community from here?
You're one day away. The black people of Milwaukee are tired. They're tired of living under this oppression. This is their existence. This is their life. This is the life of their children.
Now what has happened tonight may have not been right; I'm not justifying that. But no one can deny the fact that there's problems, racial problems, here in Milwaukee, that have to be closely, not examined, but rectified. Rectify this immediately. Because if you don't, this vision of downtown, all of that, you're one day away. You're one day away.”
The article talked about one alderman making the problem worse. Were there others?
The article said, "Milwaukee County Sheriff David Clarke called in the national guard. After speaking with Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker and Wisconsin National Guard Major General Donald Dunbar, Clarke made the decision to put the Guard on standby?"
It appears the article should have been more accurate about this point.
This is where the article sums up the narrative well:
“The reality, though, is that the blame for the death of Sylville Smith lays squarely at his own feet. If he had not responded to the repeated order to drop the gun by raising it to point it at the officer, he would not have created the situation where the officer had to choose between his own life and Smith’s. No one put that gun in his hand. No one forced him to run. No one compelled him to turn and try to take aim at the officer. And no one else is to blame.
Just don’t expect those clear facts to get in the way of a “good” narrative. That narrative is that “racist” white society is to blame.”