"...a society so paralyzed by FEAR that it cannot address real issues of race & poverty..."
We are what we believe ourselves to be, sometimes tragically. When our perceptions veer from reality our actions can dig us ever deeper into a maladaptive pit. We are doing that in America.
We cannot demilitarize the police because we believe we are surrounded by terrorists and dangerous illegal immigrants, and we ourselves are now armed with battlefield weapons. We cannot calm ourselves because politicians, television and radio commentators, and radical groups foment fear and fabricate conspiracies. We cannot discourage the media and politicians from fear mongering because it improves ratings and wins elections.
Ferguson is more than an indictment of profiling and bad policing. It is a glimpse into our national character, and it is truly, genuinely frightening. It is a clear picture of a society so paralyzed by fear that it cannot address the real issues of race and poverty that are killing our dreams and our people.
(from a few days ago, but still ringing in my ears...):
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/18/opinion/charles-m-blow-frustration-in-ferguson.html?smid=pl-share&_r=0
= new reply since forum marked as read
think of it - The American Cotton Revolution
and the only thing that gets hurt is our ridiculous sense of fashion....
peace to us all
kp