It has been reported that the Ferguson Grand Jury has reached a decision. That will come out later, in a news conference, presumably the delay is to give everyone time to prepare. Nothing bad will likely happen in Ferguson tonight. We, collectively, see it coming. That’s the kind of stuff we deal with best. Think of the economic collapse that was supposed to happen because of Y2K; it was piffle, but that was also prophylactic steps taken. Then think about the economic collapse of 2008, the one we didnt prepare for even though we were warned. My thoughts on why it got as bad as it did, and why it got this bad in Ferguson, but not some other places. This is an anatomy of a tinder box. Anatomy of shit most of us don’t have to put up with, but the besieged people of Ferguson have to: The blacks in Ferguson have been the subject of police harassment for years. According to a report by the Missouri Attorney General, last year in Ferguson 86 percent of stops, 92 percent of searches and 93 percent of arrests were of black people — despite the fact that police officers were far less likely to find contraband on black drivers (22 percent versus 34 percent of whites). Police in Ferguson are not Peace Keepers, but a revenue generating enterprise. According to a study by ArchCity Defenders, despite Ferguson’s poverty, “fines and court fees comprise the second largest source of revenue for the city, a total of $2,635,400 [...] According to a court employee, the docket for an average court session may include as many as 1,500 cases. Assuming an 80% conviction rate, the average fine in a case resulting in a guilty verdict would be $275. In addition to such heavy legal prosecution, Ferguson and other municipal courts engage in a number of operational procedures that make it even more difficult for defendants to navigate the courts. For example, a Ferguson court employee reported that the bench routinely starts hearing cases 30 minutes before the appointed time and then locks the doors to the building as early as five minutes after the official hour, a practice that could easily lead a defendant arriving even slightly late to receive an additional charge for failure to appear.” Despite Ferguson’s crime rate being no worse than the rest of the state, “the Ferguson Municipal Court disposed 24,532 warrants and 12,018 cases, or about 3 warrants and 1.5 cases per household.” So that’s the fuse. And this is how it gets lit: A unarmed teen is shot by a cop. At least two reliable seeming witnesses says the teen was trying to surrender. The officer is allowed to leave the scene IN THE VEHICLE where the first part of the confrontation took place, which looks like deliberate corruption of the crime scene. The Police Chief makes false or incorrect statements regarding the circumstances of the stop (it was for jaywalking) which he has to retract the same day. Non-violent protesters find themselves in the cross-hairs of snipers night after night. I’m sure none of you wouldnt tolerate it either, so stop telling me how tired you are of hearing about their riots, because what your really saying is youre tired of hearing about their troubles.
Posted on: Mon, 24 Nov 2014 21:38:57 +0000