Ferguson 'Hysteria' Justified

[Rilbur]

Last night I read a little article that pissed me off royally.  I held my tongue and didn't post it here with a scathing review because I was too pissed off at his stupidity to do so fairly.

 

Instead, this morning, I think I shall instead post another news article in rebuttal.  I could pick any of dozens, but the CNN one works well enough I think.

[seabird]

Rilber,

 

We should feel sorry for the Brown Family and their loss, any of us would suffer to lose a child, a brother or even a friend, regardless of the circumstances. What I do not understand is the actions by people who are NOT family, NOT friends and did NOT even know the young man who died.  Those people are using the tragic death of a young man, a boy really, as an excuse to cause riot, mayhem and even murder! For them, it is a game that gives them license to steal, destroy and ruin other people's lives. Their actions turn most reasonable people, people who MIGHT have been sympathetic to their cause, against them and all of their race (in this case).

 

 

When the mess is finally cleaned up, innocent people will have lost their livelihood, property will have been irreplaceably destroyed and whole communities will suffer from lost utilities, businesses and job opportunities. The town of Ferguson is a lesser place this morning, a place where there are now fewer jobs, fewer places to purchase food, the electric power may be over a wide area, homes are destroyed and there is a horrible mess of rubble, trash, burned out buildings and destroyed automobiles that must be cleaned up at the expense of local taxpayers.

 

 

The rioters lost nothing, but those who lived there have lost a lot!

 

 

Charles Bird

SeaBird

[Anjobranco]

I agree whit Seabird.

We have the rigth to protest, but the problem is the people that do not whant to protest, and just whant an excuse to destroy robbe and kill using the mobs to stay anonimous.

[A.B]

and if there are no riots, no one protests, nothing is lost from the fortunes of the living, then nothing will change and the living will be lost.

[Kyle Aarons]

I for one, can't help but think that is is now two days before Thanksgiving and the looters and rioters have totally ruined the beginning of the holiday season for thousands because they could not accept the fact the cop very well may have been justified in shooting someone the vast majority of the rioters didn't know and would not have given the time of day to before this all started. Now, those looters have destroyed what should be a magical time for untold number of children, some of whom will now go hungry and may even be homeless, but the looters and rioters don't give a rat's ass.

[ken barber]

Strangely I agree wholeheartedly with Seabird and Kyle here. If you disagree with something the Criminal Justice system did you have every right to protest as a matter of fact you have a constitutional right to it. You do not have the right however to destroy the lives of innocent people, you do not have the right to riot. I am a pretty passive man in my older  age but watching that last night I wanted the 82nd to drop from the sky and retake that city by force.

[ken barber]

I also want to point out that I Think Rilbur's point here was the first article
https://www.bostonglobe.com/opinion/2014/11/24/hysteria-over-ferguson-grand-jury-indictment-america/FQdyRqAOdtfcRD8VHjg09J/story.html

Which Justifies The actions of the Rioters is what upset him so he posted a rebuttal article

http://www.cnn.com/2014/11/25/justice/ferguson-grand-jury-decision/index.html?hpt=hp_t1

[Rilbur]

It wasn't a matter of 'justifying' those rioters, though he tried to.  It's a matter of how completely and utterly WRONG it was.  It was filled with a bunch of mealy-mouthed, feel-good, self justifying crap that the 'real' problem wasn't the black violence (with the implication it wasn't going to happen), it's the police departments that are provoking it!

 

Hell, lets be completely UN-politically-correct and look at his comment about how psychologists have 'proven' that people feel more threatened by black men than white.  He then makes the completely unjustified assumption that that reaction is itself unjustified.  Mind you, I would agree with the conclusion that training is necessary to mitigate that, but the assumption that it's unjustified pisses me off.  You see, within about two minutes googling, I can come up with a fairly good justification:

 

Poverty rates show a clear cross-racial trend.  Whites tend to be more affluent than blacks.  (Ignoring for the purposes of this conversation other racial makeups.  The fact that whites in general tend to be more affluent is enough)  This fact by itself doesn't constitute justification for that.  What you have to add in is that poverty and crime are related.

 

Now it only takes me two minutes to google that because I already knew it.  But while someone can go through college without taking the courses that would lead them to understand that, someone who is clearly fairly literate on social issues should already known them anyway.

 

And it pisses me off when people whine and gripe like that without good, hard-cut logic behind it.  I might get irked with those who use a logic I don't agree with, but at least they aren't spouting feel-good, mealy-mouthed self-justifying crap that I wouldn't feed a pig on!

[Rilbur]

and if there are no riots, no one protests, nothing is lost from the fortunes of the living, then nothing will change and the living will be lost.

There's a huge difference between rioting and protesting.  Martin Luther King Jr. and his peaceful protests did more for the black race than these riots and their stupidity will ever do.

[D'Artagnon]

We humans are stupid, fickle, reactionary creatures.  We will be our own undoing.

 

I single no one out when I say this, but it is an irrefutable fact that people gathered in groups, motivated by the most basic and powerful of emotions, can easily be whipped into a mob, claiming righteous fury and great anger.  And in that moment, instead of being a collection of thinking individuals, feeling deeply and responding to great pains they feel they have suffered... and you get Ferguson.

 

Sometimes groups can accomplish great and wonderful things, especially when led by someone who has the gift of not only leadership, but foresight.

 

Sadly, the events in Ferguson prove once again that even among peaceful protestors, there will arise some who just want to watch things burn.

 

We will be our own undoing, if we let this continue.  The rioting is not the disease, however.  It is but a symptom.  The root cause must be found and fixed.  In a community that is vastly underrepressented in its electorate compared to its governance, more riots, more killings, more looting, more chaos will inevitably continue.  After all, our own national history began in just such a way.  When the King of England, and the Parliment of England choose to levy taxes deemed unfair, our Continental Congress forefathers rebelled.  Any hot headed Yankee or Virginian will proudly recite how we foemented anarchy, rebellion and sedition against England.  How we gathered arms secretly, enticed the French to help us, and how brave men, who only represented the wishes of a third of the future nation, took on an Empire, and somehow won.

 

For those who value the rule of law, the authority of the state and the gifts of peace, we should look to our own past.  We should look to our collective American spirit to be independant, and our willingness to stand against what we see as an injustice.  The people of Ferguson, despite the rioters and the outsiders who have put their foot in to stir the pot, the people who live i that town, work in that town, raise their families in that town, they have been crying out for a long time now for justice.  Not just about the Michael Brown shooting, but for many other percieved injustices.

 

And let's be honest.  Mike Brown was no saint.  Honestly, none of us are, but he was doing wrong that day.  Lots of wrong.  And he should probably be in jail for it.  Did he deserve death?  No, and I say that calmly, rationally.  Did he put up enough resistance, did he assault an officer to the point that the officer reacted poorly?  Quite possible.  We're all human and falible like that.  But should this have ever reached this point?

 

Clearly, we have much to do.

 

Sadly, I don't foresee things actually happening anytime soon to help fix this problem, heal this wound, and give the people of Ferguson the peace they so desperately crave.

 

We humans are stupid, fickle, reactionary creatures.  We will be our own undoing.  Unless we stop dividing ourselves and start thinking.

[Rilbur]

In a community that is vastly underrepressented in its electorate compared to its governance, more riots, more killings, more looting, more chaos will inevitably continue.  After all, our own national history began in just such a way.

That is an unfair comparison.  A simplified statement would be that the American Revolution began because the settlers were unable to get their votes heard, whereas the blacks in Ferguson have failed to vote.  The power structure in the town is predominantly white because black people don't run for office and don't vote.  I believe the number I saw as that their voter turnout at the last election was a low 6%.

[A.B]

There's a huge difference between rioting and protesting.  Martin Luther King Jr. and his peaceful protests did more for the black race than these riots and their stupidity will ever do.

 

hatred, anger, rage when festered for decades and justified by injustice bring this out and these people do not have the education to do or act like Luther did and they don't currently have a leader that does either.

[Rilbur]

hatred, anger, rage when festered for decades and justified by injustice bring this out and these people do not have the education to do or act like Luther did and they don't currently have a leader that does either.

Most of the 'injustice' here is self perpetuated.  There are tools and resources available for those who wish to improve themselves, these people just choose not to avail themselves of them.  They've locked themselves in poverty because it's 'too hard' to dig out of it, and anyone who tries is themselves automatically cast out and made a victim of violence for daring to try to improve themselves.

[Zach Caldwell]

I would like to remind folks to be mindful in how you say and present things here on the forum. Sometimes things are said and the person does not realize that what they said has racial overtones and might be offensive to others. I am not talking about being politically correct here. Just take a moment to carefully consider what you are about to say or want to say before you post it. Keep it respectful. Thank you and carry on.

[Rilbur]

Sometimes things are said and the person does not realize that what they said has racial overtones and might be offensive to others.

I'm well aware that my last statement had racial overtones.  Problem is, it's also the truth.

[Kyle Aarons]

part of the problem with this country is too much offends, even the truth. What about free speech and having a thicker skin? To hell with political correctness. I don't really give a shit if I hurt someone's feelings. The rioters sure don't care what is correct or not. They don't care what they are doing to their own community or the children's lives they are ruining.  So when I call them what they are, hate mongering, jackassess with a inferiority complex because they don't like the color of their own skin, I really don't care if they are offended or not.