What complicit local media will not tell you... The HWY 70 shutdown did happen... Not only was the highway shut down, but Hanley as well... by various police municipalities whos heavy handed response to civil disobedience continues to show the world what is terribly wrong in the region, whether the City of St. Louis, St. Louis County or Ferguson. Before protesters even arrived, police closed the entrance and exit ramps and had police cars from every municipality lined up down the ramps. They even brought in DOC bus full of police, 90% white, so once again its an environment where white officers are exercising authority over and in many cases violating the rights of black citizens. Jim Crow at its finest. Let me repeat, the highway was shutdown... by police. One media outlet asked if the shutdown was a success and the overwhelming response was yes. It was indeed shut down.... by their presence. There wasnt traffic for a considerable period of time. No one had to step foot on the highway. Wasnt the police holding protesters accountable, it was citizens holding the police accountable for doing the very things they warned protesters they would be arrested for doing. If police blocked traffic, blocked the entry and exit ramps as well as several blocks on Hanley, how can they arrest protesters for impeding traffic when there was no traffic to impede? Every threat was met with civil disobedience... when police threatened people for blocking the exit ramp they already blocked, a woman holding her young son stood in front of the wall of police officers who were impeding traffic. Protesters called on police to stop blocking traffic and let cars through as they approached the intersection until the police finally wised up to the irony and completely shut not only that intersection down but a couple of blocks of Hanley as well. When the police lined up across Hanley blocking traffic protesters responded by sitting on the street. I posted up on the island in the middle of the street like many others taking photos and video. We werent in the street, we were capturing events as they happened. Letting the police know that their every move was being recorded... so much for reports of them wearing cameras. The police responded by threatening to arrest us. They threatened to arrest everybody, even media. I had an exchange with Robin Smith of KMOV and Elliot Davis of Fox 2 in which I asked both if they were ready to get arrested... they both kinda did a double take, like that was THEE MOMENT they realized it might come down to that... then charged on and did what they came to do. County Executive Charlie Dooley was there for a photo opp, he did not address the crowd or apologize to them for dropping the ball like he apologized at a business meeting to white businessmen. The standoff lasted several hours ending when rainstorms came rolling in. The protesters made their presence felt. They stood up in the face of oppression and DEMANDED the arrest of Darren Wilson... and vowed to keep protesting until justice is served.
Posted on: Thu, 11 Sep 2014 13:14:55 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015