What is amazing about Ferguson is that

[avebury]

this town had not blown up before now. This town was a powder keg and the death of Michael Brown lit the fuse. The second biggest source of income has been from court costs/charges. Over 24,0000 arrest warrants issued on 2013. A prosecutor who has a history of backing the police on bad shoots. The more that comes out about this town the more you become horrified for what the people have been forced to live with.

[valerief]

1. And it's just one of probably many, many similar towns. nt

[arcane1]

3. I believe this, most of all, will be the real eye-opener of this story

How many obscure towns out there are bringing back Jim Crow and exploiting the poor in this manner? And with military equipment on top of it all!

I hope the residents of those towns are paying attention, and realize they can change the status quo!

[alcibiades_mystery]

2. That's thousands of towns across America

But you get a million and one sophistries and deflections and personal anecdotes and such sad pitiful harrumphing when you discuss white privilege.

[AverageJoe90]

17. To be truthful.....it's the terminology some use that's the problem.

Regardless of what some people may want to believe, there are many people who might otherwise be receptive to listening, hesitate to do so because of the impression that is very often given off, primarily because so many adopters of said term take it WAY too literally(And, btw, please do spare me the "but you DO have white privilege" line, okay? No intention to be harsh here, but it distracts badly from the conversation).

If we want to educate people so badly, just make it simple and straight to the point: "systemic disadvantage" would work just fine. And there's other descriptors that would work as well, just as good as, perhaps even better than, the example I've used here.

[AndyTiedye]

21. Not Being Shot on Sight by Police is a RIGHT, not a Privilege!

"White privilege" certainly exists, but it has to do with privileges.

Summary execution by cop is an egregious violation of RIGHTS.

The fact that minorities have their rights violated systematically is a far worse problem than "white privilege".

[uponit7771]

4. Only thing wrong with Ferguson is its KKK supported police department

[littlemissmartypants]

10. No dear. The Republicans and the KKK. eom

[Ineeda]

16. The 'why bother' mentality

(probably) that generated a 12% voter turn-out in 2012, according to Rev Al last night. So if this isn't the place for a vigorous GOTV campaign, I don't know where is. And that goes for other disenfranchised communities, as well.

[mysuzuki2]

5. I think it is absolutely necessary to completely disband the Ferguson PD.

Everyone, from the top dow, has to go. I'm sorry if this causes decent people to be fired but I see no choice. Hire a new chief, new officers everything.

[drray23]

14. i agree

Yes I called for the exact same thing in another thread. They need to start from scratch and put that police dept under monitoring from the civil rights division of the justice department for as long as necessary to rebuilt it.

[barbtries]

20. i think the people in charge there

should be brought up on obstruction of justice charges.

i think of Philadelphia, MS.
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/slain-civil-rights-workers-found

in this town the white people were so dominant they just murdered three people with total impunity and no regrets. none of them spent over 6 years in prison following the first trial. The judge said, "They killed one nigger, one Jew, and a white man. I gave them what I thought they deserved."

it's a mindset and somehow Ferguson MO really reminds me of this. the police don't get that they are wrong - or they don't want to get it. they are so fucking comfortable with their racist ways. they are so far removed from acknowledging that black people are people (think about the cop yelling "bring it you fucking animals&quot .

they need to go. there must be consequences for this type of criminality. at some point there must be Justice.

[ThoughtCriminal]

6. What is sadly not amazing

Ferguson is everywhere.

[malaise]

7. I want to know how many other small apartheid-like towns like Ferguson

exist across America.

[MohRokTah]

8. Here

http://maps.google.com

Start looking at every little town near big cities and count your way across the country.

[malaise]

13. Huh?

That's a map of Kingston, Jamaica

[MohRokTah]

15. Sorry, I forgot that google maps defaults to your current location...

based upon IP.



Type United States into the search bar and follow my directions from there.

[tavalon]

18. Um, Seattle

No, not a small town but quite like Ferguson in its racial profiling and dangerous thug roid raging police.

[jtuck004]

19. Coast to coast. And they don't have to be little. b/t

[badtoworse]

9. Have there been any police shootings in Ferguson before?

[avebury]

12. I thought I heard someone talk about

a story of 2 black men, unarmed, sitting in a car. Police supposedly shot them 20 times and the Prosecutor called it a good shoot and refused to indict. I didn't hear much beyond that. This happened a few years ago.

Here is more info I found. Different town by Prosecutor McCullogh:

http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/metro/st-louis-prosecutor-has-faced-controversy-for-decades/article_cdd4c104-6086-506e-9ee8-aa957a31fee5.html

In 2001, two undercover drug officers from Dellwood shot and killed two men on the parking lot of a Jack in the Box in north St. Louis County. The officers said the suspects, who had prior felony convictions for drug and assault offenses, tried to escape arrest and then drove toward the officers.

A subsequent federal investigation showed that the men were unarmed and that their car had not moved forward when the officers fired 21 shots and killed the suspects, Earl Murray and Ronald Beasley. The probe, however, also concluded that because the officers feared for their safety, the shootings were justified.

McCulloch didn’t prosecute the officers. He specifically drew the ire of defense lawyers and protesters, who had been holding demonstrations and threatened to block Highway 40,when he said of Murray and Beasley, “These guys were bums.”

[Dustlawyer]

11. The Prosecutor has a big conflict of interest!

He works with the cops on all of his prosecutions so he can't very well go after a local cop, they would HATE him forever for doing his job. I believe the local DA's should never be in charge of prosecuting local law enforcement.