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| Ferguson looks like Iraq. Statements from politicians like me won't fix that | Ferguson looks like Iraq. Statements from politicians like me won't fix that |
| (14 days later) | |
| Something has gone badly awry when reporters are told to turn off their tape recording machines of their cameras. When someone like a journalist is arrested hours before an alderman suffers the same fate, it is clear that something is wrong in Ferguson, and it didn’t just start with the killing of Michael Brown. It took that killing to shine the light of inadequacy on that community’s leadership. | Something has gone badly awry when reporters are told to turn off their tape recording machines of their cameras. When someone like a journalist is arrested hours before an alderman suffers the same fate, it is clear that something is wrong in Ferguson, and it didn’t just start with the killing of Michael Brown. It took that killing to shine the light of inadequacy on that community’s leadership. |
| Wednesday night was perhaps the most frustrating night since Brown’s tragic death, because if there was any question about whether the city’s government has the capacity to handle the situation, it was answered Wednesday night, when the streets of Ferguson looked like the streets of Baghdad. | Wednesday night was perhaps the most frustrating night since Brown’s tragic death, because if there was any question about whether the city’s government has the capacity to handle the situation, it was answered Wednesday night, when the streets of Ferguson looked like the streets of Baghdad. |
| The answer is no. | The answer is no. |
| I am pleased that President Obama made a statement about the situation in Ferguson. We’ve come to expect that. But making statements, including statements from me and anybody else, will not resolve the issues facing the residents in Ferguson. We’ve got to make those public statements, but we’ve got to understand that those statements are for the rest of the country, for the rest of the state of Missouri. | I am pleased that President Obama made a statement about the situation in Ferguson. We’ve come to expect that. But making statements, including statements from me and anybody else, will not resolve the issues facing the residents in Ferguson. We’ve got to make those public statements, but we’ve got to understand that those statements are for the rest of the country, for the rest of the state of Missouri. |
| Because the people who are the trouble-makers in Ferguson don’t read press releases. They’re probably not watching the TV networks or reading the newspapers. Politicians are foolish if we convince ourselves into believing that issuing a press release is going to resolve this issue. That’s just not going to happen, and I’m always amazed that people assume one quotation is somehow going to fix something. | Because the people who are the trouble-makers in Ferguson don’t read press releases. They’re probably not watching the TV networks or reading the newspapers. Politicians are foolish if we convince ourselves into believing that issuing a press release is going to resolve this issue. That’s just not going to happen, and I’m always amazed that people assume one quotation is somehow going to fix something. |
| Now, I do think the churches in Ferguson are doing the right thing. I’ve spoken on the phone with three ministers, and they’re busy trying to take care of the kids who are not going to school – to make sure none of the kids in that community end up becoming victim number two.I think the president did the right thing, too, but you have to understand the thing that is still hanging out there that must be dealt with: the police.The police department in Ferguson is not trusted by the majority of the citizens of that small town. There is no community connection with the municipal government, and the people don’t believe that there will be a fair investigation. So I would hope that some of the city leaders understand that. Governor Nixon did the right thing, too, by bringing in the highway patrol instead of the county police. | Now, I do think the churches in Ferguson are doing the right thing. I’ve spoken on the phone with three ministers, and they’re busy trying to take care of the kids who are not going to school – to make sure none of the kids in that community end up becoming victim number two.I think the president did the right thing, too, but you have to understand the thing that is still hanging out there that must be dealt with: the police.The police department in Ferguson is not trusted by the majority of the citizens of that small town. There is no community connection with the municipal government, and the people don’t believe that there will be a fair investigation. So I would hope that some of the city leaders understand that. Governor Nixon did the right thing, too, by bringing in the highway patrol instead of the county police. |
| But you have to understand: when the Ferguson police bring out those armored vehicles with machine guns, with machine gunners sitting on top, they were guilty of inciting more trouble. | But you have to understand: when the Ferguson police bring out those armored vehicles with machine guns, with machine gunners sitting on top, they were guilty of inciting more trouble. |
| The police in Ferguson were using the kind of equipment used by Isis in Iraq. That’s leftover military equipment from the decade-old war in Iraq. And I think it is unconscionable that we would convert a city in middle America into a war zone. | The police in Ferguson were using the kind of equipment used by Isis in Iraq. That’s leftover military equipment from the decade-old war in Iraq. And I think it is unconscionable that we would convert a city in middle America into a war zone. |
| The chief says his officers haven’t even been trained on much of the equipment they’ve been rolling out in the streets of Ferguson. Can you imagine what people must be thinking if they’re able to watch TV in Cairo or Damascus? | The chief says his officers haven’t even been trained on much of the equipment they’ve been rolling out in the streets of Ferguson. Can you imagine what people must be thinking if they’re able to watch TV in Cairo or Damascus? |
| We don’t need this kind of thing in our country. This is the United States. We need to re-evaluate distributing this kind of war equipment to municipalities, and if we’re going to do it, we must at least have other requirements, including something as simple as training. If we’re going to do this, we ought to make sure the equipment goes to major American cities like New York and Chicago – cities that are actually top terrorist targets. | We don’t need this kind of thing in our country. This is the United States. We need to re-evaluate distributing this kind of war equipment to municipalities, and if we’re going to do it, we must at least have other requirements, including something as simple as training. If we’re going to do this, we ought to make sure the equipment goes to major American cities like New York and Chicago – cities that are actually top terrorist targets. |
| We don’t need to encourage the use of sophisticated military equipment against US citizens. Think about it: the same equipment we’ve used to fight in Iraq, we have now put on the streets of Ferguson, Missouri. That’s not just frightening – that’s shameful. | We don’t need to encourage the use of sophisticated military equipment against US citizens. Think about it: the same equipment we’ve used to fight in Iraq, we have now put on the streets of Ferguson, Missouri. That’s not just frightening – that’s shameful. |
| –As told to Jessica Glenza, Thursday 14 August | –As told to Jessica Glenza, Thursday 14 August |