And so the grand jury has made its ruling. At a time like this--when some are doing their happy dance and others are piously wringing their hands and decrying the sporadic violence in Ferguson from the safety of their homes--my one thought is of Fredrick Douglass quote after the Dred Scott case was ruled upon by the Supreme Court: My hopes were never higher now, Douglass said in the wake of Chief Justice Taneys despicable ruling. I am not calling todays decision not to indict despicable or not despicable because I simply do not know what the evidence presented to the grand jury by the prosecutor. What I do know is that from the tension of these coming days, there is a real chance to attain considerable change--just as Douglass knew that a atrocious court opinion so galvanized a nation that it took up arms to answer once and for all the overriding question of the day. Change in St. Louis County, a county smaller in land area than Jefferson Parish, but one that has ninety municipalities (Jefferson has six), all of which rely on harassment of the poor for revenue. However, I hope that we move toward change in society in which a level (and blind) bar of justice is applied to everyone.
Posted on: Tue, 25 Nov 2014 06:05:30 +0000
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