Of course, they don’t actually mention that a good majority of urban areas around the country tend to vote Democrat, but they do attempt to turn the incident in Ferguson into a bigger issue. Here’s the Editorial Board, but, first, let me make it clear that I am in no way defending either the unnamed officer nor the police department. The officer should be afforded the notion of innocent till proven guilty, and we do need to find out exactly what happened before jumping the gun
The Death of Michael Brown
Racial History Behind the Ferguson ProtestsThe F.B.I. may be able to answer the many questions surrounding the death of Michael Brown, an 18-year-old black student from Ferguson, Mo., who was a few days from heading off to college when he was shot by a police officer on Saturday. The shooting of Mr. Brown, who was unarmed, led to three days of protest, some of it violent, and several tense confrontations between residents of the St. Louis suburban town of 21,000 and the police.
“Some of it violent”? “Tense confrontations”? Do the members of the Editorial Board read the news? There were riots, which included theft, violence, assault, vandalism, and arson. Violent crime in Ferguson tends to be slightly above the US average, and property crimes well above the US average.
But it doesn’t take a federal investigation to understand the history of racial segregation, economic inequality and overbearing law enforcement that produced so much of the tension now evident on the streets. St. Louis has long been one of the nation’s most segregated metropolitan areas, and there remains a high wall between black residents — who overwhelmingly have lower incomes — and the white power structure that dominates City Councils and police departments like the ones in Ferguson.
Hmm, that’s interesting, because, at least at the county level (St. Louis county), the area votes heavily Democrat, like most urban areas. The county went 56% for Obama, and I’m sure if we had city data, we’d see a much higher Democrat support level.
As black families moved into Ferguson, the whites fled. In 1980, the town was 85 percent white and 14 percent black; by 2010, it was 29 percent white and 69 percent black. But blacks did not gain political power as their numbers grew. The mayor and the police chief are white, as are five of the six City Council members. The school board consists of six white members and one Hispanic. As Mr. Gordon explains, many black residents, lacking the wealth to buy property, move from apartment to apartment and have not put down political roots.
This is amusing when it comes from the NYTEB, since they feature just one Black on the board. Is that racism? Does the Times intentionally block Blacks from being on the Board? Are whites in Ferguson intentionally blocking Blacks from serving in government? Or, is that simply the things shake out, for both the EB and the Ferguson city council? That there’s nothing intentionally about it?
BTW, perhaps the EB could have mentioned that Dwayne T. James, one of the council members, is Black. The Ferguson city council has better Black diversity than the NYTEB.
The disparity is most evident in the Ferguson Police Department, of which only three of 53 officers are black. The largely white force stops black residents far out of proportion to their population, according to statistics kept by the state attorney general. Blacks account for 86 percent of the traffic stops in the city, and 93 percent of the arrests after those stops. Similar problems exist around St. Louis County, where earlier this year the state chapter of the N.A.A.C.P. filed a federal civil rights complaint alleging widespread racial profiling by police departments.
As the EB pointed out, Blacks represent 69% of the population. Of course they are going to be stopped more. Strange, though, that there would be so much “racism” in a heavily Democrat area, wouldn’t you say?
What is not in dispute is the sense of permanent grievance held by many residents and shared in segregated urban areas around the country. Though nothing excuses violence and looting, it is clear that local governments have not dispensed justice equally. The death of Mr. Brown is “heartbreaking,†as President Obama said Tuesday, but it is also a reminder of a toxic racial legacy that still infects cities and suburbs across America.
Interesting. First off, they excuse the violence in Ferguson the past few days and nights as “permanent grievance” before saying “nothing excuses”. Again, in a heavily Democrat voting area. Second, this means that there is a “toxic racial legacy” in urban areas, which tend to vote overwhelmingly Democrat. Democrats, heal thyselves before preaching. Instead of throwing out accusations, the Times could offer solutions.
Crossed at Right Wing News.
Teach typed: “Blacks represent 69% of the population. Of course they are going to be stopped more.” — and they said blacks accounted for 86% of stops and 93% of arrests – almost all by white police officers.
“Strange, though, that there would be so much “racism†in a heavily Democrat (sic) area, wouldn’t you say?” — Do you know that the white police officers who are making the arrests vote Democratic? Of course you don’t. Urban areas vote Democratic because liberals don’t shoot young Black men – conservative white men do.
Maybe the solution is for all young black men to exercise their 2nd Amendment rights and defend themselves against white police officers intending them harm. If Mr. Brown had shot the unidentified white officer in self defense, I guarantee you that Mr. Brown would be in jail right now. The white officer is on a paid vacation. If Trayvon Martin had had a gun when the odious Zimmerman attacked him, Martin would be in jail right now. Maybe it’s time to mandate that all law officers conduct their interactions with the citizenry under video surveillance.
I guarantee you that if the Black men in Ferguson were pointing guns at the officers like the white conservatives did at the Bundy ranch riot that there would be several dead Black men and many arrests. Conservatives encourage the free-carry pussies at Bundy Ranch because of perceived govt overreach – the govt was trying to make the deadbeat Bundy pay what he owed. Yet you condemn Blacks for being pissed by the govt killing an unarmed young Black man.
“I contend that the cry of “black power” is, at bottom, a reaction to the reluctance of white power to make the kind of changes necessary to make justice a reality for the Negro. I think that we’ve got to see that a riot is the language of the unheard.” — The Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. 1966
And you are wrong about how St. Louis County citizens vote. Gerrymandering by the Republic Party (The American White People’s Party) members in the MO Congress consolidated most of the St. Louis area Black voters into a single US Congressional district (this includes much of the city of St. Louis and the northern suburbs), sliced a predominantly Dem district of south St. Louis and Jefferson County, putting a bit into each of two larger conservative districts. Most of St. Louis County is heavily conservative. They eliminated a solid Dem seat that way. Elections have consequences!
Now who’s jumping to conclusions? Besides, it seems these types of things tend to happen more often in Dem voting areas.
If Trayvon Martin had had a gun when the odious Zimmerman attacked him, Martin would be in jail right now
Probably so, because it was Grayson who attacked Zimmerman. Stop rewriting reality.
Gerrymandering, whine bitch moan.
Martin did attack ZImmerman.
Mr. Martin was standing his ground against a weird stalker who shot him through the heart.
Martin attacked Zimmerman.
This is why you cannot be taken seriously on anything.
Facts elude you.
And now this in Ferguson…
“Another man (this time armed) was reportedly shot by a St. Louis County police officer early Wednesday after police responded to reports of shots being fired.
The incident, which left the man critically wounded, took place near the area where protesters have rallied after a Ferguson police officer shot and killed 18-year-old Michael Brown.”
Where are the Teabaggers to protest these obvious violations of 2nd Amendment rights? Or does the 2nd Amendment only apply to white people?
Teach retyped: “Besides, it seems these types of things tend to happen more often in Dem voting areas.” — Even if this is true (you have no evidence), of course more young Black men get shot by white conservative police officers in Dem areas. Urban Democratic areas are a “target-rich environment” for trigger happy conservatives. Most Blacks support Dems because white Republics hate them and shoot them.
Just now reported and confirmed that the jack-booted govt thugs arrested reporters from WaPo and HuffPo. Have you seen the videos from Ferguson? Police atop armored vehicles with automatic weapons.
I can’t believe that the Teabaggers aren’t up in arms over this. Is this part of Obama’s police state conservatives fear?
re Zimmerman’s killing of Mr. Martin.
Two men can keep a secret when one of them is dead.
A frightened kid was being stalked by an armed creep at night. No one knows what happened, only what the killer, child molester and wifebeater told us.
Let me be clear on one thing, Jeff: I am in no way taking the side of the police. Personally, I am appealed by the militarization of the police across the country, along with the way so many overreact.
And, I’m not going to sit here rehashing a court case in which your facts do not fit the actual case, the evidence, nor the outcome.
Which is why the “frightened kid” went out of his way to double back and attack a person who was doing nothing illegal?
Yet you say that the kid was frightened and being stalked. Apparently you think you know what happened.
Teach is right, there is no point in arguing with you on something where the facts, the testimony and the outcome of the case are contrary to your statements.
As to what is happening in Ferguson, you clearly haven’t been listening to many conservatives who are against what happened in the town, the militarization of the police, the actions of the police last night, the lack of transparency in the investigation and a host of other things.
You only hear what you want to hear and tune out all of the facts that are against your views.