FERGUSON

Vista123

5-Year Member
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Aug 5, 2011
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1,179
Im so conflicted about these events. On one hand my army son is blessed to be at school in St Louis watching history unfold. It is especially powerful given he is a public policy/economics major who is also Army ROTC. On the other hand, I want him home in our nice midwaest suburb before the proverbial $h1T hits the fan. On one hand all evidenced indicates that the police officer followed protocol, on the other hand the real crime is the historical racism, neglect, and long term systemic discrimination endemic St. Louis. Positive thoughts and wishes for all beacuase things seem to be spiraling.

Anonymous Is Going To War With The KKK Over Ferguson Protests...men were arrested in connection with a plot to explode pipe bombs during protests.

Read more: http://www.kmov.com/news/editors-pi...-during-protests-283555651.html#ixzz3JpCus2dY



http://www.kmov.com/news/editors-pi...o-set-off-bomb-during-protests-283555651.html


http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/11/17/anonymous-kkk_n_6173332.html
 
My thoughts are with you and your son. Hope everything turns out well for you and for Ferguson.
 
G*d bless Ferguson and our country tonight!
 
This is already bigger than Fergerson (has been for awhile).
 
I feel pity for those directly involved, as so many other people have tried to jam their views, issues, and problems into this case.
 
This is already bigger than Fergerson (has been for awhile).

Ferguson incident is not the first time where unarmed civilian was killed by a cop. But why suddenly there is a national attention. My opinion the problem is not a white cop shooting a black man. The problem is a cop shooting a civilian. The problem is the society focusing whatever the media want us to focus and the media being manipulated by certain individuals. We can debate what the root couse of Ferguson is, but all goes back to having responsible citizens. No amount of money or social programs are going to fix the problems we face. They will mask or delay the inevitable outcome.
 
The problem is misinformation. The general population has been fed a story, some of it LIKED the story, and the reaction is what you expect. The foundation was set. And now we watch... and anyone who is surprised by the reaction.... should wake up.

When someone is attacking you, going for your weapon, deadly force is authorized, whether you're wearing a badge or your a civilian.

Reasoning and facts don't appear to rioters.
 
Ferguson incident is not the first time where unarmed civilian was killed by a cop. But why suddenly there is a national attention. My opinion the problem is not a white cop shooting a black man. The problem is a cop shooting a civilian. The problem is the society focusing whatever the media want us to focus and the media being manipulated by certain individuals. We can debate what the root couse of Ferguson is, but all goes back to having responsible citizens. No amount of money or social programs are going to fix the problems we face. They will mask or delay the inevitable outcome.

Perfect case in point. This shooting happened in a very small town in Colorado in early October of this year. http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_26967917/rocky-ford-officer-accused-murder-dues-court-faces

In this incident a white officer "allegedly" shot an unarmed Hispanic male in the back TWICE. IMPO this was an execution under the color of law. I would bet money most of you never heard of this shooting. Why??? The national media never covered it. Why no coverage? Was the race of the victim a factor?, Location of the shooting? Outside influences or lack thereof? I have to believe it was because there was no sensational video of the local residents burning the town to the ground. There was no gripping video of riots, show of force or other things that sell ads and hold our attention to their channel. Sorry if I am venting. Both of these incidents are tragic in that a young person was killed. For those of us who have never been in military combat it is difficult to fully understand what that is like, conversely those of you who have never been in law enforcement cannot fully understand the dynamics of the situation faced by law enforcement on a daily basis. Tonight is not going to be a good night to be a cop or NG in Ferguson
 
"not going to be a good night to be a cop or NG in Ferguson .":thumbdown:
 
Just recently were there was the tragic shooting of the 12-year-old boy with the fake gun that had the orange tip removed. That is not getting much attention because it does not fuel the fire of cable news. If violence had stemmed from that I'm sure we would be hearing more about it.

I do wonder what happened to "innocent until proven guilty". This officer was symbolically lynched a long time ago. No matter what "facts" come out now, their legitimacy is going to be disputed by those who refuse to acknowledge that maybe he acted in a way that he thought was necessary. But I really do feel that police need to be better trained and they need to be held more accountable for every time they pull out a weapon or a taser or use their fists and feet and sticks against civilians. Too many videos now a days are showing them acting with a so called mob mentality where they gang up on some person.
 
I do wonder what happened to "innocent until proven guilty".

What happened people's belief in our legal system? I am pretty sure there are many "guilty" that doesn't get indicted everyday. There is no protest. Most people accept when a public figure say something along the line of "I was cleared by the Grand Jury." So when 12 citizens make a decision after a long deliberate process, how does someone disagree -disagree based on emotion, not with facts.
 
Sad event in NYC

Just heard some disturbing news from a fellow WP mom of a Plebe (who was in the same Beast company as my DS). He went to a NYC airport last night in advance of an early morning flight today. He was in NYC with a fellow Plebe, but decided to visit a McDonald's for dinner. Protesters on 52nd St saw him and started throwing things at him because they mistook his uniform for a police officer (the kid is 18 and looks it; maybe it was the hat). What started as a crowd of 30 became 50-100 to 1000. Luckily some Firsties were nearby (I assume not in uniform), helped the Plebe remove his uniform and provided him with a civilian jacket, then ushered him to the safety of their hotel. The Plebe relayed to his mother that it was the most frightening thing he has ever experienced, and understandably has upset a lot of WP parents. The Plebe told his mother he was never so glad to see upperclassmen!

Wishing all cadets/midshipmen heading home for the holidays safe travels!
 
Last night was a tumultuous night for St. Louis again. The violence and destruction that occurred in the wake of the grand jury announcement was very disappointing. It seemed that there was more media than those committed to peacefully expressing themselves. My son's school was fortunate that his campus was not affected. Sadly, the same is not true for the business owners and those who live in areas where there has been violence and destruction. The challenges that area faces is real and tremendously difficult. This violence should instead be channeled into the pursuit of a constructive, peaceful path forward. This is a time when the community must make a meaningful difference and help bring about necessary change in the region.



over parents wkend there was an opportunity to go to a lecture on Ferguson. (the lecture hall was packed with 98% white parents trying to understand) It was NOT about Daren Wilson at all (no conversation about guilty/not guilty) but it was about the historical problems of St Louis (including redlining, restrictive covenants, large-lot zoning, intimidation and violence ). Now it is not just geographically segregated but is also segregated based on several social, economic, and health factors. One of the largest areas of segregation is education (not just referring to all black or all white schools but #s who graduate). With lower education you have job rates, it naturally follows that lower income and higher poverty affects the black population in St. Louis at a more substantial rate than the white population. And that difference has actually worsened over the past 30 years. however, other regions are more segregated (Milwaukee, Chicago, new york....so why ferguson?)

I think, in my opinion, the earlier poster saying we are getting played my the media (MSNBC AS WELL AS FOX!) is in part true.

I think there is more to it though.... To be able to withstand something bad happening (a police officer shooting a kid is bad---perhaps right and justified, but still sad and bad) there needs to be a preset system of communication. In Chicago for example, we have ongoing dialogues & black Americans in politics. In Ferguson all politicians are white. In Chicago 88% of police officers live in their city. NOT true of ferguson where only 11% of the force is white and there is no requirement to live in the city.

My point is this was all a perfect storm for a disaster to unfold.

Their wounds are deep and my heart goes out to them.
 
Just heard some disturbing news from a fellow WP mom of a Plebe (who was in the same Beast company as my DS). He went to a NYC airport last night in advance of an early morning flight today. He was in NYC with a fellow Plebe, but decided to visit a McDonald's for dinner. Protesters on 52nd St saw him and started throwing things at him because they mistook his uniform for a police officer (the kid is 18 and looks it; maybe it was the hat). What started as a crowd of 30 became 50-100 to 1000. Luckily some Firsties were nearby (I assume not in uniform), helped the Plebe remove his uniform and provided him with a civilian jacket, then ushered him to the safety of their hotel. The Plebe relayed to his mother that it was the most frightening thing he has ever experienced, and understandably has upset a lot of WP parents. The Plebe told his mother he was never so glad to see upperclassmen!

Wishing all cadets/midshipmen heading home for the holidays safe travels!


sons battalion had to switch to civilian clothes at all times a few wks ago.
 
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What always gets me is the looting and destruction.

I understand the anger, but burning down the city does exactly what, except higher unemployment come next week and maybe these companies like Auto Zone, McDonalds and used car businesses will never rebuild, along with the Mom and pop businesses. Unemplyment will rise.
~ Than what? They move to a new city for work and as the downward spin occurs, they will look like Cleveland.

The riots will also cost tax payer dollars to replace the cars they overturned....in turn the city is going to raise taxes.

I just want to scream, are you kidding me? It is your family or friends livelihood that you are destroying now!

Just out of curiosity, has anyone seen the show Sweetie Pies? It is on the OWN network. I believe one of her franchises is in Flourrisant, just don't know where. It will be interesting to see if her business boarded up too. The other is in Mangrove and somewhere near the hospital.
 
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sons battalion had to switch to civilian clothes at all times a few wks ago.

WP Plebes are required to travel in uniform. My guess is this Plebe didn't have any civilian clothes with him or thought he had to be in uniform in public. Upperclassman have different privileges.
 
Did you mean the reverse?

sorry yes i meant the opposite.


Chicago: In Chicago the police department is 50 percent white. The city itself has an equal number of Hispanic, black and white residents. 88% of the Chicago police force lives in the city.

Ferguson: There are three black officers and 50 white officers with a town that is 70% percent African-American. The police force of Ferguson does not live in their city.
 
WP Plebes are required to travel in uniform. My guess is this Plebe didn't have any civilian clothes with him or thought he had to be in uniform in public. Upperclassman have different privileges.


yes, I know my other son is traveling home from the academy today (in uniform).

my point was wks ago the battalion that covers St Louis were told to not where their uniforms.
 
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