The shooting that just happened outside #ferguson involved two officers being called to an alleged shoplifting and confronting a 23 yo man with a knife, who police say charged and dared them to kill him. And they did. The number of shots unknown. A crowd quickly assembled. They are angry. The cops were white and the deceased was black. It matters here, especially now. Unlike with #michaelbrown the body was removed quickly and the store owner sprayed down the scene but the stains are already formed in the minds of the 200 or so assembled, many young and black and male. Emotions are mixed: anger, fear. Many saying/thinking they could be next. Moms yelling quit killing our kids. The idea of a request for quiet tonight dismissed in the moment. Locals say the deceased had mental problems but they dont know why the police saw shooting him as the only option. Why didnt they taze him? Why not a shot in the leg? The corner of McLaren and Riverview where the Six Stars market is located, the scene of the shooting, is a street of nice homes with manicured lawns. Front stoops and porches are filled with 2 and 3 generations of mostly blacks talking about what is different about this generation, but more urgently about what has stayed the same. Distrust of police is more than a meme and a moment here. A night of quiet may not be the fix. Where are the leaders? Black men and women of prominence together here channeling the emotion into a resolve for something better? There had been one here and there...Jesse Jackson, Nelly (a celebrity more than a known leader, but at least he came). The AG, Eric Holder, is coming and doing his own investigation of the Brown shooting...that is rare and should resonate. The president has spoken out as well. But more is needed. There are many communities that harbor the same concerns. While this may be just one shooting an then another but it shouldnt take a screen filled with riot action to grab your attention. It is in the more quiet moments when there can be conversation and some hope for making these stories less common.
Posted on: Tue, 19 Aug 2014 20:10:30 +0000
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