Ferguson, of course. What impressed me, as an old radical more inclined to follow events on TV (or the internet) than by rushing in person to the demonstrations, was that the demonstrations were so wide spread. Everywhere and all at once. And, Id add, everyone. A couple of folks from the Catholic Worker dropped by my place late that night to ask if I knew where the demonstration was. Last night when I stopped by the Muste office for a meeting (which, alas, turned out to be somewhere else), the planned Socialist Party holiday party was empty because folks were up in Union Square, and Sky, on the Muste staff, stopped by to ask me if I knew where the demonstration was. Everyone - and no one. That is, no central organization had called the actions. And people were serous, using peaceful actions to block roads. Yes, all the radical groups pitched in - but no single organizing force was a work. Yes,we are reminded that racism is alive and well but the problem is, I think, more fundamentally one of class. Blacks get a bad deal in the courts but primrily because they cant afford good lawyers. When a black can afford the best attorneys (think O. J; Simpson) they can walk.The justice system is heavily biased in favor of who has money and can afford a good defense. What I think Im seeing (I hope) is a serous challenge to the militarized police force which we saw in action in Ferguson immediately after the shooting of Michael Brown. I think the massive display of military hardware in August on the streets of Ferguson alarmed people. We need police - in any society we are likely to live in there will be a need for some kind of police to protect wives from abusive husbands, to track down serial killers, to enforce reasonable community laws. Even in societies as civilized as Sweden there is a problem of crime - as anyone knows who has watch the Swedish crime dramas. But the police must operate under some form of citizens review, and they must function within the law. The killing of Michael Brown is one more example of the tendency of police to shoot blacks at a much higher rate than they would shoot whites. The record on this is long, tragic, and must end. What I find hopeful is that many otherwise moderate legal voices agree that the failure to indict the officer in the Ferguson killing was, to put it mildly, highly unusual and demonstrated much greater concern to protect the police force of Ferguson than to arrive at a case that could be presented to a jury. Thank God for the youth - the energy we saw in the Occupy movement is clearly alive and well.
Posted on: Thu, 27 Nov 2014 04:47:31 +0000
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