To all my out of town friends and family: Its not that crazy in Saint Louis at the moment. Im sure its real ape shit in certain parts of North County, but here, its mostly, just kind of ominous. Its 70 degrees on an August night, and everyone is inside their homes. There are very few people driving or walking around. There are cops prowling like its NYE, and everyone from out of town keeps calling to ask if Im carrying a gun. Id like to point out that aside from Mike Brown, no one else has died or been reported as seriously injured in this whole fiasco. The looters and rioters have reportedly killed no one. Most of the protesters have behaved bravely and admirably in the face of a heavily militarized and aggressive police force and a mob of unruly pirates. It would also appear that only a few police have stepped out of line in response to the unrest. This is gonna cost some business owners some deductibles, and its gonna cost some insurance companies a shitload of money to replace material goods. Its gonna cost some awful, pointless (should be absorbed by the county), small time municipalities and police departments their credibility (or hopefully their existence). Its gonna cost the community of Ferguson in a myriad of ways. Otherwise, it would seem that (relatively) cooler heads have, so far, prevailed. The quality of the TV news coverage here is awful. If you could go to hell for doing your job poorly, these hairdos should be at the innermost ring. The looting is the action of a couple hundred people. It is being portrayed as widespread and as a political reaction to the shooting. Im sure whatever youre seeing is even more sensationalized and uninformative. I live 2 blocks from the looting that happened in South City last night, and I didnt hear a peep. There were no roving mobs. Im told it was mostly teenagers. I learned about it on FB. Outside of a small area in NOCO, it is relatively normal. That shoe store could get hit any night. I do think things could get worse. If there is an unsatisfactory outcome to this; if the results are inconclusive or there is any sign of a coverup, or if police from Saint Louis City or other municipalities inflict harm on unarmed protestors, this could go exponential in a matter of minutes. The worst looter in Saint Louis tonight is Reverend Al Sharpton. He is a charlatan and a shit disturber, and his presence could be deadly. I hope the family of Mike Brown and anyone else with any influence will ask him to leave. Ive heard a lot of racist things in the last few days, and Ive seen a few things that could reinforce some racial stereotypes. Ive also been struck by the resolve and desire from a lot of civilians who want to take back control of their streets from opportunist criminals and from police who are essentially an occupational force in their neighborhoods. I think that some good could still come of this if people will continue to not take things to a deadly level. Thank you for your concern.
Posted on: Wed, 13 Aug 2014 07:35:50 +0000
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