Ferguson protesters and police clash before grand jury decision on shooting

[Bosonic]

Source: The Guardian

Police in riot gear clashed with a small group of protesters in a sub-freezing Ferguson, Missouri, on Wednesday night, as tensions grew over a coming announcement on whether a white officer will be charged for killing an unarmed black 18-year-old.

About 50 officers wearing riot helmets and carrying batons and shields repeatedly charged at demonstrators, who were gathered outside the Ferguson police headquarters to demand the indictment of officer Darren Wilson, who shot dead Michael Brown on 9 August.

In the most serious confrontation since a grand jury decision on Wilson became imminent in mid-November, protesters sounded sirens, shouted abuse at police and revived chants of “hands up – don’t shoot” from the nights of unrest in the St Louis suburb after Brown’s death.

“I will stand here because I have the right to stand here,” said Walter Rice, 75, who was banging a large metal bucket with a spoon in time to the chants. Several other stalwarts of the demonstrations in August were also among the crowd.

Read more: http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2014/nov/20/ferguson-protesters-police-clash-decision-shooting

[Feral Child]

1. K&R n/t

[JustAnotherGen]

2. Going to the link - I think Walter Rice is the man in the pic

That sweet little old man with his ear flap cap -

And they are gonna use batons and shields on him?


This is why I think folks are gonna need to do a sit in.

Those cops look just silly surrounding him!

kick/rec

[Amishman]

3. won't stop them

they will respond to a sit in by clearing the area of cameras and then assault the protesters... again

step 1 - send away the press

step 2 - illegally confiscate any phones or recording equipment they see

step 3 - attack protesters, beat them to a pulp, then arrest them for trumped up charges

rinse repeat until the populace is cowed into submission

This shit is completely out of control

[KingCharlemagne]

4. Step 2a - Jam wifi\DSL networks in the immediate vicinity so no signals can

get out.

[JustAnotherGen]

7. What bothers me about that

We couldn't even jam radio in Rwanda - it broke some b.s. rule from the UN.

To me - if they do that - then the next step is UN involvement . . . again. Now I don't expect to see light blue helmets on Belgian soldiers in Ferguson -

But it will REALLY make Ferguson look like the crusty ass crack of America if they do that.

And if it takes help from outside of America - then so be it. I never experienced in your face racial hatred as a child my first five years in West Germany. Those older Germans who were probably former Nazis oohed and ahhed over the cute little bi-racial kids.

It was their peer in America in a restaurant that taught me at 5 1/2 - that white Americans can be vindictive, sick and cruel. The rest of the world is finally catching onto that.

[KingCharlemagne]

10. President Obama should, at a minimum, federalize the MO National Guard and

do it RIGHT NOW to take its command and control away from people like Gov. Nixon who have very nefarious and devious agendas. I realize that's a pipe dream, but that would be my proposed 'next step' (which needs to be implemented today and not after the MO Weekend Warriors under Nixon's command have gone on a killing spree).

[JustAnotherGen]

11. I think you just hit on something big there

Nixon - his face isn't clean.

There's some payoff for him in all of this. We won't find out for many years what it was - but he 'gets' something out of this.

[KingCharlemagne]

13. Nixon is really bringing massive discredit upon the Democratic Party with responses like

Last edited Thu Nov 20, 2014, 04:22 PM - Edit history (1)

this:

https://soundcloud.com/jon-swaine/gov-jay-nixon-on-ferguson

If that don't send a chill down folks' spines while listening to it, America as we know it is over. Kaput!

[JustAnotherGen]

5. But we have to remain calm

And that visual to me? That's a VERY familiar one.

That's our aunts, our uncles, our parents, our grandparents 50/60 years ago. That guy is Emmett Till's contemporary.


Quiet, sit, quiet, calm -

Of COURSE they want blood shed. That's what THOSE people with the batons and shields are in Ferguson. That's what Governor Nixon is. That's what they ARE.

Now - quiet and calm - those things shatter the 'arguments' of those people - even here at DU - who believe it's justified to hurt/harm black people when you are the 'authoriTEH'.



I will not applaud anything other than a method that we learned from our elders - and that is absolute peaceful protest. When they unleash the dogs - THEY go down in history as monsters.

[KingCharlemagne]

12. I never saw this show up on DU, but here's the illustrious and vainglorious

Governor Nixon answering a HuffPost reporter's question about who is in charge:

https://soundcloud.com/jon-swaine/gov-jay-nixon-on-ferguson

The Nixon response is discussed in detail at this thread:

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/11/18/1345719/-Governor-Jay-Nixon-has-his-Miss-South-Carolina-moment-refuses-to-say-he-s-in-charge

***************

Once you listen to Nixon's non-answer answer, you'll understand why I advocate Obama federalize the MO National Guard immediately and not wait for the likely tragedy that will ensue otherwise.

[sofa king]

6. Somebody wants a "revolution."

"Revolution" in cynical finger quotes.

Remember that the Republicans can win mid-term elections due to indifference, but they can't win general elections without fear. So that's what they want, is an event that will polarize along racial and political lines, and then provide justification for opening hunting season on liberals and minorities.

You think I kid, but just you wait and see how fucked up the world is three years from now, with the wreckage of Mrs. Clinton's plane still being fished out of Lake Michigan and President Jeb issuing a blanket pardon to himself and everyone else with him....

[JustAnotherGen]

8. Exactly

Why give those people what they want?

[Supersedeas]

9. If there is no indictment, the "protests" will not be limited to Ferguson or Missouri

What are you willing to fight for?

[PDittie]

14. Just underscoring this

Coming to a city near you.

http://fergusonresponse.tumblr.com/

[JustAnotherGen]

15. Those don't look like some call for

bloody race riots.


But thank you for posting this. . . See - it's not this bloody bunch of negros who are going to go off the rails.

That's only what a few 'high levels' want folks to think . . .

[azmom]

19. Cool, my daughter's

College is on there.

[sofa king]

21. It turns out what I was willing to fight for....

... Was something I should have fought to the death for in November, 2000.

Now, instead, the America I knew is dead and the most effective strategy to get it back is to sit back and wait while Republican policy kills off Republican voters a decade earlier than anyone guessed.

Yes, I am very disgusted with myself for saying it, but damn if it ain't the truth.

[damnedifIknow]

16. If Wilson gets away with this then I'm done

No point in even trying to push the right thing to do. Why subject myself to bouts of blood pressure eruptions when seeing it will do no good? I'll stick my head in the sand and live the rest of my life as ignorant as I can possibly make myself. Should have done this after the Kelly Thomas murder and then the acquittal of his killers.

[JustAnotherGen]

17. He's not going to be indicted

*ohmmmm* We've already discussed that in the African American Group.

The only thing we can do is push for the least amount of harm for the people of Ferguson MO. And to let Nixon know . . . we are watching him.

[VA_Jill]

18. Were they

actually *doing* anything other than shouting? Because if that's all, it's still peaceful assembly.

[freshwest]

20. Thanks, I was just planning to post this. Here's the picture from the link:

From the link:

...After sharp criticism of the militarised response to the summer demonstrations, police chiefs had in recent days stressed that officers would reserve the right to put on riot gear when their safety was at risk. Yet the protest on Wednesday night posed no apparent threat and had even begun thinning out before the situation escalated after police put on a show of force.

They arrested five people including Bassem Masri, an activist-journalist who officers said had a series of outstanding warrants to his name. Others were grabbed by officers from the ground on South Florissant Road after refusing to retreat to the pavement underneath a “Season’s Greetings” banner in temperatures of -2C (28F)...

Governor Jay Nixon earlier this week declared a state of emergency and authorised the Missouri national guard to assist the policing of any protests. Francis Slay, the mayor of St Louis, said on Tuesday that he expected “widespread civil disobedience” following the announcement of the grand jury’s decision...

The police retreated into the station on and off. May the citizens be kept safe as they protest and may their voice finally be listened to nationally.

The chief was provocative with his announcement Wilson will be back on patrol. It seems that the PD keeps on wanting to stoke the anger of people. It may be a legal point, but why talk about it even before the decision comes down officially?

Even if he's not indicted, there most likely will not be an agreement with the people that he should be a police officer there.

Can there be forgiveness for Ferguson's PD when they continue 'making shows of force' there?

I don't know if the white and black communities are having meaningful discussions there. I can't tell from the media what the people of Ferguson really have to say, the media is just looking for a circus for ratings, not what the people really think.

While all this goes on in the media, their voices are drowned out, there is no sense of justice and the pain is not healed.