Ferguson, MO

[GratiaDei]

I'm sure most of you by now have heard of the tragedy and following violence that has happened in Ferguson, MO. Because I live relatively close to the area, this topic is one that I am interested to hear everybody's thoughts on. How do you think the people of Ferguson, St. Louis, or even Missouri should have responded to this event? How should we, as Christians respond and bring God's light into a situation like this? What should be our reactions to future problems like this? I certainly don't have a lot of answers, if any at all, but I would like to hear your thoughts on this. Please keep your posts respectful and serious (I know you guys probably will, but I have heard a lot of thoughtless comments and jokes about this from normally kind people around me).

Also, if this post should be in the Debate Hall, just let me know.

[SirWhit]

Well, first off, I think we've condemned this officer way too quick. He's innocent until proven guilty. Second, this is no excuse to riot and loot the streets. Peaceful protest is one thing, but rioting is another.

[GratiaDei]

I agree about the rioting, and I also agree that we shouldn't condemn the officer too quickly, but I'm skeptical that he is completely innocent, especially considering that Mr. Brown was unarmed, had his hands up, and was running away from the police officer when he was killed, according to witnesses. At any rate, the shooting was just the straw that broke the camel's back in a city where there are generations of history of racial tension. This issue goes a lot deeper than just being a question of whether or not the officer was justified in shooting the teenager.

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/27/us/re ... 3A16%22%7D

[Eleventh Doctor]

Also, people need to stop bringing up the looting. There was minor unrelated looting the night of the shooting, that in no way excuses the actions of the police in subsequent nights. The protests have been peaceful and have been responded to with overwhelming force by the police. GratiaDei is correct though, this issue is systematic of an increasing police militarization, why do small town police need full body riot gear, assault rifles, and grenade launchers?

[TigerShadow]

At any rate, the shooting was just the straw that broke the camel's back in a city where there are generations of history of racial tension.

This. I remember one guy who was talking about some black officer shooting a white man and how "It's totally the Exact Same Thing!" It's really not, though. The thing is, Ferguson has a lot of issues on racial lines, having a lot to do with the impact of the white flight and the fact that most of the city leadership and police force in a majority-black town are white. This is just the catalyst.

[SirWhit]

Also, people need to stop bringing up the looting. There was minor unrelated looting the night of the shooting, that in no way excuses the actions of the police in subsequent nights. The protests have been peaceful and have been responded to with overwhelming force by the police.

Source? From what I've been hearing, the peaceful protesters haven't really been met with much resistance, at least from the state police.

GratiaDei is correct though, this issue is systematic of an increasing police militarization, why do small town police need full body riot gear, assault rifles, and grenade launchers?

That's a good question, and they don't. But they have them now.

[Eleventh Doctor]

You can watch raw footage of police choosing to fire tear gas on peaceful protestors. Then chasing journalist and fleeing protesters into neighborhoods, continuing to fire rubber bullets and tear gas grenades. Now maybe you're right about State Police, the police in this video appear to be local.

I'm glad we can agree they don't need those things.

[SirWhit]

The youtube is an https. Change it to http and it should work.

[Eleventh Doctor]

All fixed, what do you think of the video?

[SirWhit]

It's a completely unacceptable response by the police. The protest did not warrant that kind of force.