Widespread Anger Following No Indictment of Ferguson Officer

Police and protestors clash

Shortly after 8 pm local time last night, St. Louis County Prosecutor Bob McCulloch announced that there would be no indictment of Darren Wilson in the August shooting death of Michael Brown. He did so in what might go down as one of the more bizarre press conferences in history, taking time to blame social media and cable news for the unrest in Ferguson before announcing the decision at the end of a painstaking fifteen-minute statement.

The announcement touched off demonstrations throughout Saint Louis, including some that led to violence. Saint Louis County police reported twenty-nine arrests, and tear gas was deployed in multiple locations. At least a dozen structural fires were also reported, and I watched two police cars burn just down the road from the Ferguson Police Station.

Aaron Malin

Nonetheless, the vast majority of protestors I encountered were peaceful. While there is clearly a subset of the protesters that have no faith in the system and embody a "burn it down" mentality, most protesters I talked to saw a fight for reform, not violence, as the best manifestation of the anger they are feeling.

Aaron Malin

In south-central St. Louis City, across town from Ferguson, a large group of protesters formed shortly after the decision was announced, marching through town and shutting down local roads and highways. When a group of protesters began breaking windows, others intervened in an attempt to stop the violence, and eventually split off to start a separate, peaceful march.

Aaron Malin

Protesters committed to nonviolence emphasized that they share the anger of those protesting in other ways, but condemn acts of violence. I spoke with Jenniqual Johnson, a U.S. army veteran who has been stationed in El Paso, Atlanta, Seattle, and elsewhere. She worked to redirect folks' anger toward peaceful protests following initial acts of vandalism in south-central Saint Louis city. Jenniqual emphasized that Saint Louis has a uniquely severe racial divide, one that is not comparable with other parts of the county she has lived in. Healing that divide, she says, is critical,  "It's time to bridge the trust between our community and our elected leaders and the police."

Comments

[Old Man With Candy]

Maybe this is a better thread for my observation about Ferguson being the Paris of the midwest.

[sasob]

Apt. Very apt.

[MSimon]

"Look, we understood we couldn't make it illegal to be young or poor or black in the United States, but we could criminalize their common pleasure. We understood that drugs were not the health problem we were making them out to be, but it was such a perfect issue...that we couldn't resist it." - John Ehrlichman, White House counsel to President Nixon on the rationale of the War on Drugs.

[Adans smith]

With all the laws and power government has now there is no way to bridge the gap.There is no excuse for the riots last night,but,just reading the examples of government abuse in these pages show there are two groups in this country.The rulers and the ruled.

[This Is My Last Post]

Agent provocateurs were there, I am sure, and credulous residents followed them, thus helping to justify an even more oppressive police state. Great job residents! You just helped to justify the presence of even more police in your neighborhoods! [Hand claps]

This is exactly what the agent provocateurs wanted. They are good at their jobs.

[Sanjuro Tsubaki]

Just how many agent provacateurs were out there last night?

[This Is My Last Post]

Al Sharpton certainly was - we may not know the exact number for some time.

[AD-RtR/OS!]

Angelo Codevilla wrote a book about it, where he delineated The Ruling Class, and The Country Class.

[This Is My Last Post]

I guess the police officer was not "too much of a pussy to shoot" the thief after all. The lesson here, after all is said and done, is that tobacco kills.

[mr lizard]

CNN foolishly opened the comments section on their top article. The comments are actually pretty funny. Plenty of jokes about an early thanksgiving sale on TVs and liquor, or Black Monday.

I'm still skeptical as hell about the Ferguson PD. I think they played this one perfectly, and sadly I find myself sort of agreeing with MSDNC...

[John]

The solution to police brutality against black people is apparently to loot and burn down innocent black people's businesses.

[This Is My Last Post]

Exactly, that is what the agent provocateurs will tell you. Violence will solve the problem of violence.

[John]

They are morons. This country is too well armed for their ever to be the kind of civil unrest here that there is in Europe. Looting and burning shit is all fun and games as long as the owners don't have weapons and it isn't a contact sport. In America rioting has always been a contact sport. And the few times when there have been big riots they haven't lasted long and resulted in a lot of people getting shot.

[This Is My Last Post]

This is one reason fascists try to disarm the population.

[MarkinLA]

I remember during the King riots they interviewed a few people who saved their stores with their guns. They asked one store owner if he had to shoot somebody. He just smiled but wouldn't answer.

[John]

There are dozens of cases every year in this country were people are minding their own business and the cops just roll in and shoot them. What was it last week when the guy in New York was standing in the hallway of his apartment building and the cops where there for some reason and panicked and shot him? There is so much legitimate outrage over the behavior of cops. Cops in this country are out of control.

Yet, the race hustlers have to pick this case. The case of a guy who had just robbed a store and got into a prolonged physical confrontation with the cops where at one point he told the cops "you are too big of a pussy to shoot me" and finally ended when he charged the cops like a bull elefant and they finally shot him. This is the case that these assholes are going to crank up the professional riot and protest machine over? Really?

I hate the race hustlers more than I hate the cops. Those assholes have actually managed to force me to defend the cops in this case.

[This Is My Last Post]

Police abuse does exist, certainly, but this I think is one where the police officer was not to blame. We should be carefull about cases like this or people will be less likely to listen when the cops ARE abusive. In this case, a thief was shot down after attacking a police officer. I do not blame the police officer in this case.

[John]

That is another reason to hate Sharpton and company. They are pissing away the credibility of everyone who is trying to do something about the cops.

I think they choose these cases because they are not clear cut. A clear cut case wouldn't get blacks and whites to divide on the issue. And the point is to sow racial division not do anything about police brutality. If they cared about police brutality they would say something about the really outrageous cases.

[This Is My Last Post]

"A clear cut case wouldn't get blacks and whites to divide on the issue."

Exactly. Notice there were no riots when thugs in Georgia disfigured a baby during a police raid. Those thugs should be in jail now but the costumed thugs got off.

[BardMetal]

If the race hustlers actually gave a shit about black people being shot by police then they wouldn't make it always about fucking race.

If they really cared then they would do everything in their power to try to convince the average white suburbanite soccer mom that the exactly same thing could happen to their special little snowflake too.

Just a few days ago a 12 year old kid with an airsoft gun was murdered by a police officer, and yet no protests. What could be a more sympathetic victim of police brutality then a 12 year old kid?

[John]

They don't give a shit about police brutality. They want to sow racial division. If you make a big deal about a 12 year old kid, everyone would agree and blacks and whites might realize they have a common enemy in the government. And that is the last thing those leftist bastards want to happen.

[WTF]

Because if they use a sympathetic victim, then white people will also be outraged and on the side of the victim and they won't be able to use it to promote the racial white v. black, America and the cops are racist theme which is what the race hustlers and the left depend on for profit and political power. The last thing they want is for it to become Cops v. Citizens rather than Black v. White.

[WTF]

Or what John said.

[BardMetal]

The race hustlers really are the face of evil. The amount pain they have caused throughout their lives, it's truly disgusting. The worst thing about it is that sense they are social justice warriors for a good cause, they'll never reform, they'll never feel bad, and never have a "finding Jesus" type moment. It's the type of evil that sleeps well at night knowing their cause is good and just.

A common street thug at least has no illusions that they're one of the good guys. There is way more hope for a robber, or mugger, or even a murderer then these pieces of shit.

[steedamike]

That damned gun looked real though!

[RG]

I can't agree more. These idiots always pick the wrong martyr and end up making bad cops look sympathetic and reasonable.

The recent Cleveland and NYC shootings were much worse, IMO. The conspiracy theorist in me thinks they pick these awful cases for a reasons.

[BardMetal]

I'm almost ready to jump on the conspiracy bandwagon too. It's always cases like this that get picked, and not 12 year old with the airsoft gun, or the black guy at Walmart holding a pellet gun in the aisle of Walmart where they fucking sell pellet guns.

It's always cases that aren't very clear cut, where the victim is a thug, where the cop is white, where it's already in a grey area, before the race hustlers, and the media move in to muddy the waters more.

Like it's tailor-made to break down into as much tribalism as possible.

[RG]

Occam's Razor?

And there is often a narrative that pops up and is pushed by the media and the protestors that is often completely false.

In this case, it appears to be the hands up gesture and the claim that Wilson didn't know Brown was a suspect.

[John]

No. There are only so many cases that can be brought to the public's attention. The race hustlers because of their ability to manipulate the media control which cases are publicized and which are not. So the reason why this case is national news and say the case in New York where they shot the guy in the hallway is completely because the race hustlers and their media enablers have decided it should be that way.

[Free Society]

Yet, the race hustlers have to pick this case.

It's remarkable. Trayvon Brown is the best the hustlers can do because they've run out of Rosa Parks and Emit Tills whose injustice they could make a living from.

[This Is My Last Post]

Unlike the civil rights movement of the past, these people do not actually WANT things to improve. If they did improve they would have to find a real job.

[Free Society]

Or merely concede that there aren't racists hiding in every bush.

[Bill Dalasio]

Honestly, I'm starting to think the Al Sharptons of the world specifically choose cases of the biggest thugs to trumpet. It's sort of a variation of what we discussed yesterday, where it is the biggest jerks who most need to have their rights defended (although I think our discussion presumed no violation of others' rights by the jerks). If you want to establish black people as having the right to act like thugs or, more likely, want to create an impression of victimization when you never get that right, you'd pick the cases of guys like Brown. A black guy just standing in the hall getting shot isn't really much use for a Sharpton. The actions of the police will be seen as offensive across racial lines and across the political spectrum. That makes the Reverend Al just one more voice saying what everyone is saying. You need a case where you can get everyone else to say that maybe your martyr wasn't so much of a saint to tie your audience to your cause.

[Brian Macker]

Plus it makes republicans look like racists to the black vote for rationally opposing the race baiting. It's a setup.

[poguemahoney]

Very good point...

[gaijin]

one of the more bizarre press conferences in history

You could just as easily say that the entire 'case' is bizarre in that it represents a story that completely outpaces the facts everyone promulgates.

[AlmightyJB]

So did the Prosecuter choose to announce the verdict at possibility the worst possible time so he could get more arrests to prosecute? Job security?

[John]

I think he was thinking he would anounce it late so everyone who could be would be home from work. Let all of the innocent people be off the streets and not stuck trying to get home from work.

[Idle Hands]

I think they should have announced it at 6 in the morning.

[This Is My Last Post]

I agree. Unless violence was their actual goal - which it may well have been. After all, now they can justify more police officer, more unconstitutional acts, and more cool toys from the Military-Industrial- Security complex.

[Rhino]

I actually thought, if Wilson wasn't going to be indicted, that they'd just let it go quietly until the protesters and the media moved on to avoid the riots. Guess i was wrong.

[Rhino]

I actually thought, if Wilson wasn't going to be indicted, that they'd just let it go quietly until the protesters and the media moved on to avoid the riots. Guess i was wrong.

[soflarider]

I think they should have waited until the middle of some type of polar vortex event. Their timing was impeccably poor.

[Sanjuro Tsubaki]

Maybe 7 or 8. That way, the McDonalds and IHOP could have done brisk business before they burnt it to the ground.

[AD-RtR/OS!]

The only people who should have been on the streets was the MO NG.
Jay Nixon screwed-the-pooch, big time.

[BardMetal]

Ever notice that the cases of police abuse that get the most headlines, almost seem tailor-made to breakdown along racial lines?

[Flaming Ballsack]

it couldnt possibly be that blacks are more likely than whites to be singled out for harassment by the cops. no, its because the nigras are whiny and uppity. thats it

[WTF]

No, it's because promoting questionable victims like Brown instead of fully sympathetic victims serves to foment and reinforce racial divisiveness which serves the purpose of race hustlers and certain politicians.

[John]

Are you retarded? Are you not able to understand the difference between this case and a case like the one in Detroit were the cops doing a no knock raid killed a four year old girl?

Seriously, your post is like a singularity of infinite stupid. You manage to miss the point of the post you were reponding to and throw in a bunch of irrelevent ratcial bullshit.

[Dweebston]

You manage to miss the point of the post you were reponding to and throw in a bunch of irrelevent rattail bullshit

Sounds like a reasonable approximation of what Sharpton does on a daily basis.

[Flaming Ballsack]

irrelavant my ass. unlike the case you mentioned the ferguson case revolves around conflicting narratives, and a history of racial discrimination by the ferguson pd. i was unaware that petty shoplifting teenage macho posing on facebook and jaywalking made someone a thug btw. the point is that this story is more complex than the uppity dangerous nigra idea that youve latched onto

[This Is My Last Post]

Theft is a real crime with a real victim. I oppose the war on drugs but would be all for a war on theft.

[Flaming Ballsack]

im not saying that brown is a saint im saying that hes not the hardend gangsta he needs to be to justify the indifference here on reason.

[This Is My Last Post]

If you taunt an armed man after stealing something you should not be surprised if the result is less than pleasant for you. It is sort of like feeding an alligator and then complaining after the alligator bites off your hand. He may not have been a "hardened criminal" but he was an idiot for taunting an armed police officer - then running after him - after committing an act of theft.

If you charge a bull do not be surprised if you get gored.

[Flaming Ballsack]

so cops are a special breed of man above the rest of us and might makes right. good to know what libertariansim is based on.

[This Is My Last Post]

No, far from it. I would be saying the same thing if it had been the store owner who had killed the thief. But then, probably the store owner would be in jail. Because, you see, deal Flaming Ballsack, it is the government that views "cops as a special breed of man above the rest of us".

[craiginmass]

"so cops are a special breed of man above the rest of us and might makes right. good to know what libertariansim is based on."

If you hire and train a guard dog to keep your property safe, you can't complain when he sinks his teeth into the violator.

[Free Society]

If you hire and train a guard dog to keep your property safe, you can't complain when he sinks his teeth into the violator.

No you should complain when he sinks his teeth into anyone he wants with impunity.

[craiginmass]

"so cops are a special breed of man above the rest of us and might makes right. good to know what libertariansim is based on."

We have armed them and paid for them to be our guard dogs. If at some point, they bite too hard, it's just part of the deal.

That may be wrong - but it's still true.

Still, this particular case doesn't even seem like an out of control cop. Putting your arm into a cop car and grabbing the dude is pretty much a death sentence.

[Free Society]

Still, this particular case doesn't even seem like an out of control cop. Putting your arm into a cop car and grabbing the dude is pretty much a death sentence.

I would agree. I'm probably one of the bigger cop haters in existence but I don't hate them without reason. And this case is not a reason.

[AD-RtR/OS!]

We hire them to enforce the rules that some find inconvenient, and provide them with the use of deadly-force to protect their lives, and the lives of others not breaking the law.
So, Yes, in some manner, they are a special breed.

[Bill Dalasio]

Whether he is a saint or not should, strictly, be beside the point. The only real question here is whether he initiated violence against Mr. Wilson. If he did, then it's kind of silly to paint him as the victim here.

[JPyrate]

Turd.Burglar.

[Flaming Ballsack]

given how full of shit libertarians are a turd burglar could make out pretty well on reason

[This Is My Last Post]

Mary Stack? Is that you?

[sasob]

Probably.

[JPyrate]

Flaming Ballsack. You posted on here in order to racebait. You were called out on your bullshit, even by other posters that are not libertarians.

You get an F-

Turd.Burglar.

[WTF]

That's probably not a coincidence.

[BardMetal]

No it's probably not a coincidence, I just wonder is it simply a cynical ploy by the race hustlers to stay relevant, by the DNC, and the media to try to get as many blacks voting democrat as possible.

Or is by naive do-gooders in the media who honestly believe that racism is a far greater crime, and problem in America then police brutality, and so try to highlight those cases as much as possible?

Maybe it's all of the above.

[Rhino]

I was just wondering, because there are plenty of legitimate cases of police abuse against black people, making such a fuss out of the Michael Brown shooting raises the question, "why this particular case?" It was never a clear cut case of police murdering someone. Especially when the video came out of him robbing a store. Same thing with the Trayvon Martin case. If you're going to hat on cases to protest racial violence, why pick ones where that doesn't seem to be the case, but rather, it seems to be the case of legitimate self defense or a police officer responding to a robbery and then doing what officers do when the robber fights them? Is it to provoke more response from white people who are just pointing out the facts and then crying "RAAAACIST?" Seems to me they're just flaming up racial tension where there wasn't really any.

[The artist known Dunphy]

Justice!!

Good to see reason in the comments here

There are plenty of cases of police brutality to get pissed off about

This is just a case of a justified self defense shooting

[This Is My Last Post]

I agree. Police are indeed becoming more and more violent in the post-9/11 era but this is NOT a case of police abuse. This is a case of a Not-So-Gentle giant stealing, then taunting and attacking a police officer.

I am not one to worship the police uniform but this officer was not to blame for killing a thief.

[Arthur45]

Yeah, why in the world would anyone blame the media? They only incited
a community about an insignificant shooting of a sleazy doped up obnoxious thief, portrayed by the media as an "innocent unarmed child."
I only hope someone collects all the baseless and incendiary media claims that can be shredded by the forensic and eyewitness testimony and produces a documentary that shows just how corrupt our media has become. We also hope that those who bore false witness will be proscuted.

[Free Society]

No the criminal accomplice in Mike Brown's strongarm robbery whose false testimony started all this, will be branded as a hero. Maybe if he ever figures out how to fasten his pants around his waist, he could be the next Al Sharpton.

[RAHeinlein]

CNN's Chris Cuomo segment this AM showed a simulated video which ended with Michael Brown turning toward Wilson, falling to his knees with his hands up, and Wilson shooting execution-style.

In Chris's defense, he was apparently tear-gassed last night (though police claimed smoke only). He must be a genetic mutant - most people aren't able to stand in a tear-gas cloud, hold a microphone and continue with commentary.

[Free Society]

CNN's Chris Cuomo segment this AM showed a simulated video which ended with Michael Brown turning toward Wilson, falling to his knees with his hands up, and Wilson shooting execution-style.

I'm surprised the forensic simulation didn't feature Wilson whispering 'die nigger' as he executed the black toddler.

[Sanjuro Tsubaki]

Reasonoids are angry angry angry like a room without a roof.... very insightful analysis.

[This Is My Last Post]

Please, provide your valuable insight to this issue. Enlighten us.

[Sanjuro Tsubaki]

I'm so angst ridden. Somethin happenin here. What it is ain't exactly clear. There's a pasty white man with a blog over there. Tellin' me I got to beware. I think its time we stop chillun whats that sound everybody look whats goin round.

[gaoxiaen]

?

[craiginmass]

This is certainly one of those issues that reasonable people can agree upon....that is, it's being pumped up by the race baiters and media and others who make a buck off tragedy.

The Grand Jury heard. They made a decision. I accept that. It seems within the normal scope of what should have happened.

The rioters are doing away with any positives (lessons) that may have come from the whole situation.

Bottom line, though....if the same thing happened again, I suspect the cop - black or white - would do the same thing. Cops want to go home at night.

[This Is My Last Post]

I do not envy the people on that Grand Jury - they may have targets on their backs.

[Coach Panto]

Cops are going to go home, and not come back.
The first lesson of Ferguson is that if you're a white cop working a black neighborhood, and you shoot an obvious thug off camera, you're gonna get smeared by the media and convicted and targeted no matter what, and lose your job. Cop unions will likely sue for policy changes that allow white cops to opt out of duty in the 'hood. Also, white cops will simply send their resume to a white city and get hired away.
The second lesson is that if you have a business without great insurance in the 'hood, you are a fuggin idiot. Get the fug out of there. Let black welfare cesspools rot like Detroit.

Until welfare is truly reformed to be limited and with work requirements, the 72% baby mama rate, generational parasitism, and tribal identity worship dipshittery will persist.

[Free Society]

As the panel's decision was unveiled at a press conference in Missouri at 8:30pm CT on Monday, Brown's mother collapsed in tears, while the victim's stepfather screamed 'Burn this b**** down'.

The same parents who were pleading for calm and nonviolence only days before. They have no control of their emotions as they are irrational.

[wwhorton]

I think I might have the least sympathy for the parents. Fuck them. They "raised" their son to be a violent thief and a bully, and now they're mad that he was shot for it?

[Coach Panto]

Don't forget that ex-con step-daddy and the momma strong-arm robbed another relative selling t-shirts...it's still "under investigation". Not reported by the MSM. Do you think if Darrin Wilson's mother and stepfather had rolled a t-shirt vendor selling their son's image, that the MSM would have reported it? Like 24-7 for a week they would have. ABC/NBC/CBS/CNN are just as culpable as the Fink prez and his agitator Atty Gen for the rioting. By their biased commentary and political posturing, and implication that Wilson was guilty, they might as well have said "Burn this bitch down".

[Butler T. Reynolds]

Something needs to be done with the police in this country, but damn, Michael Brown is the worst kind of stereotype to pick as a poster child for the cause.

BTW, the comments from the white progressives on Twitter are the most sickening.

[Rhino]

Agreed. If you're one who values ending police brutality and specifically racial tension, why would you pick cases like Trayvon Martin and Michael Brown? You'd think these folks would move on to greener pastures once the evidence started coming out that they either assaulted someone who was just following them (hoodlum behavior), or assaulted a police officer responding to the robbery they just committed (hoodlum behavior).

[Tony]

Body cams. That would be a positive outcome of this episode. Dead black boys don't get to tell their side of the story.

[Free Society]

Correct. Their accomplices in strongarm robberies will tell the story.

[Brian Macker]

LOL

[Sanjuro Tsubaki]

It is amazing how Wilson could have supposedly sustained a couple of punches from Brown (not to mention the possible fatal one) and yet they left no marks on his face.

[Sanjuro Tsubaki]

Well, no quite. Looks like one or two distinct bruises on the right hand side of his mouth. Wonder if Brown was left handed or Wilson's head was turned to his left when the punch was thrown.

[american socialist]

It just sickens me to watch a long-suppressed people burdened by a reactionary police start burning things. I wonder when liberals are going to start showing up saying things like "peaceful protest everyone." I say its time to move on to Frontenac. At the very least, the police will start to show up.

[Sanjuro Tsubaki]

Probably a few going by drudge headlines. Doesn't mean they grab the limelight. People expect fire and destruction.

[JPyrate]

" I say its time to move on to Frontenac."

...

So instead of burning down a police station, or a few cop cars, you would have the rioters burn down innocent peoples homes, and businesses that contribute to the community.

Turd.Burglar.

[Free Society]

It just sickens me to watch a long-suppressed people burdened by a reactionary police start burning things.

At some point a culture must address it's own failings. It's utterly ridiculous to posit that in 2014 they don't own their own familial dysfunction, poverty and cultural anachronisms.

[wwhorton]

I'm not saying that some people don't have it easier than other. I'm not even arguing against the notion of race-based privilege (I don't buy it, but I'm not fighting that battle here). I will say, however, that while bad decisions aren't the sole provenance of the poor, it sure does seem like a lot of the people who are part of cultures of entrenched poverty also happen to make a lot of poor choices. You can talk about how your community got where it is and why you might have social, cultural, or psychological burdens that others don't, but at the end of the day the choices you make are your own.

[Tatyanahamm]

Google pay 97$ per hour my last pay check was $8500 working 1o hours a week online. My younger brother friend has been averaging 12k for months now and he works about 22 hours a week. I cant believe how easy it was once I tried it out.
This is wha- I do...... ?????? http://www.jobsfish.com

[John Galt]

Damn my parents for bringing me into this world without the benefit of sufficient skin pigmentation. What could be a better release for anger and frustration than a little ultra-violent rioting? Unfortunately, I realize I'd be held responsible for my actions. There'd be no one making excuses for my behavior.

[Abe Froman]

I see cops who lose their way every day, and I don't like that,
because their ambivalence is contagious. They infect those around them. They're like maggots. Where you find one, you find a nest.
--- Robert De Niro in Cop Land (1997).

[AD-RtR/OS!]

Reform?
Since this part of MO is a plantation of the Democrat Party, does that mean some people are going to - Horrors! - vote for a Republican Maryor, a Republican County Executive, or a Republican District Attorney, or even a Republican Governor?
That would truly be reform.

[Ray_Cathode]

So, there are people protesting BEFORE they have read the transcripts and findings of the grand jury and the author finds himself sympathetic to that? They wish to protest BEFORE they have examined the evidence. How modern.

[MSimon]

"Look, we understood we couldn't make it illegal to be young or poor or black in the United States, but we could criminalize their common pleasure. We understood that drugs were not the health problem we were making them out to be, but it was such a perfect issue...that we couldn't resist it." - John Ehrlichman, White House counsel to President Nixon on the rationale of the War on Drugs.

[D. M. Michell]

How much rioting do think there would be if, all other things being the same, it had been a black cop who shot and killed a white teen-aged boy?