Last night, thousands of people were peaceful and a handful were not. The anger was great, but the truth is that there are ALWAYS a few people who take advantage of these situations to cause violence. I think most everyone agrees (regardless of their opinion on the indictment) that the fact that the police were centered on their own station and almost invisible in the rest of Ferguson was a serious problem. The promise of National Guard troops protecting businesses did not happen. Most everyone in St. Louis is frustrated with that. Again, local news and Aljazeera America are covering the whole of the story. National news continues with the sensationalism of the violence. It was heartening to waken after not enough sleep to images of Ferguson residents helping to clean up the city. There were peaceful protests at 7 a.m. and Noon. People continue to speak out for change. The Police Chief who in the night was blaming Ferguson for the violence by midday was admitting that this was a handful of criminals who were engaging in violent acts and many were not from Ferguson. It was a long day of frustration, sadness, disappointment, and more. On the way to the Ferguson conversation, I passed by dozens of boarded up buildings, two closed gas stations, and one smoldering building. Ferguson and Florissant smelled like burning building all day- still does. The church where the meeting took place is a few blocks from the Ferguson Police department. A hundred or so folks were already gathered. Most notably, the National Guard finally made an appearance. There were at least two times as many police/national guard out tonight than last night. Where were they last night? The conversation and games with the kids went well. We talked about how they were feeling and how their parents were feeling and how they felt about how their parents were feelings. They asked lots of great questions about why this was happening and what tear gas and rubber bullets are and why to use them. We talked about how scary and helpful helicopters can be. One of the teens who was at the riots last night talked about what it was like to see tear gas for the first time and how disappointed he was in the police. It all came from within them and they are some brave and aware children. On the way back from the conversation, the protesters had doubled and police had moved forward- all with shields. I was probably one of the last few cars that could pass down the street in front of the Police Station. I decided to park and join in for awhile. I put on my clergy collar and calmly witnessed. Folks were talking to each other. A couple of young black men struck up a conversation with me on the role of the clergy in all of this. I was interviewed by a journalist who was interested in the meeting I had attended. Overall, folks were angry, but chill. Folks just wanted to be in solidarity. There were a couple of moments of folks throwing things, but nothing severe. Perhaps most intimidating was noticing the National Guardsman on top of buildings on my way back to the car. Talk about creepy. On the way home, I noticed that more National Guard had been stationed. There were a few at the car lot that had all those cars burned. A day late and a dollar short, was all I could think. Im saddened by all that happened last night. It is worth noting that all of the businesses that were burned down were national chains of some kind. It makes one think that that was intentional- that someone had a specific goal in mind and not just random arson. So, as a city we move forward with the same message we have always had. Systemic racism needs to be addressed. We need to work on this, not just talk. We need to learn how to talk about it. Not one more unarmed black man (or person) should be killed by the police. All lives matter. So, we begin again...and again...and again.
Posted on: Wed, 26 Nov 2014 04:29:42 +0000
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