While half of the country worried about Ebola, entero viruses, and whether Monday was to be acknowledged as “Coumbus Day” or “Indigenous Peoples Day,” protesters in Ferguson planned a weekend of “Civil Disobedience” events designed to remind the world that they have no intention of fading into obscurity.
Protests this past weekend ran the gamut from banners in the nosebleed section at the Rams game to shutting down local businesses such as a Quik Trip in South City and a Wal-Mart in Florissant. They held signs that read “Black Lives Matter,” and challenged police both verbally and physically. They continued to demand justice for Mike Brown and Vonderrit Myers, and they again called for the indictment and conviction of Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson.
Over and over again, they informed anyone who would listen that they were not going away. Until “justice” was served, no one in St. Louis can expect their symphonies, sports events, or shopping trips to be uninterrupted or blissfully empty of rhyming chants.
So now we in St. Louis find ourselves at an impasse of sorts. We have protesters who want two things that may or may not be at odds with each other: justice for Mike Brown and Vonderrit Myers, and convictions of the police officers who shot them.
The problem is that the default position is the assumption that all police officers are corrupt and racist, and they always lie to protect their own. Based on that assumption, any outcome that depicts a police office as honest and devoid of prejudice cannot serve “justice.”
So what happens in St. Louis now? What happens if the grand jury fails to indict Darren Wilson? What happens if ballistics prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that Vonderrit Myers did, in fact, carry a stolen 9mm instead of a sandwich? What happens if the protesters are forced to acknowledge the fact that their agenda and justice are not necessarily compatible?
And if their goal is truly social change and an increased awareness of racial disparities, perhaps there is a more effective method: the ballot box, for example. In Ferguson, many protesters complain about the fact that most of the elected leadership is white while the population is mostly black. The solution seems simple, but even recent events have not spurred an increase in voter registration.
Social change at the end of a baseball bat is not social change: it’s fear. Demanding social change at the end of a baseball bat is not protest or resistance: it’s extortion and thuggery.
I’ve said it before, and I will say it again: we want St. Louis back before it is beyond saving.
