I really like VDH, but often wonder whether he’s really so dense, or just writes that way to make a point.
The reason the reporters are so interested is:
1. Because the world is falling apart like 1939 and Ferguson provides a good distraction.
2. The situation is actually newsworthy because of the riots. If there weren’t any riots this story would have been quickly back-burnered. Regardless of the races involved.
According to a private security firm that lent bodyguard services during the ongoing “protests”, the whole scene’s reporting is overblown. To wit: “on direct observation seems media has made protestors out to be more bloodthirsty than they are”. From what I can gather, the entire event covered just a few blocks.
The problem is a whole lotta people WANT something big & violent & outrageous to happen. What happened sure wasn’t nothing, but it’s not the ‘60s’ civil rights marches redux.