Opportunity, Wasted

Protesters in St. Louis have begun burning American flags to bring attention to their cause.  They seek to disrupt life as usual in St. Louis in order to bring attention to their message.  The problem is they have no coherent message.

To be sure we are all aware of the chants of “No Justice, No peace”.  We know that they want justice for Mike Brown and they feel justice will not be served until Officer Wilson is charged with murder.  Presumably they will not be happy until Officer Wilson is convicted and sent to prison.

A Grand Jury is reviewing the evidence in the Mike Brown case.  The Grand Jury was selected before Mike Brown was ever shot.  They are in the process of reviewing every bit of evidence that the prosecution has to determine if charges are warranted against Officer Wilson.  The defense does not get to present any evidence to the Grand Jury.

This is Justice.  This is the process we have in place to try to ensure we get it right.  No process is ever perfect, but these rules have been developed over many centuries and we rely on them to get things right. The prosecutor has discretion to bring charges without the Grand Jury, based on the evidence and his judgment as a prosecutor.  He has chosen to let a Grand Jury decide. 

The protesters want the County Prosecutor and Mayor and others “replaced”.  Both men were elected through the democratic process.  Less than 15% of voters in North St. Louis County voted in the last election.  The time to replace elected officials is at the ballot box.  If you want change, you have to vote.

The protesters have vandalized and looted and confronted police and tried to shut down I-70 and disrupt Rams games and Cardinals games.  They have threatened massive violence if they don’t get the result they want.  And now they are burning American flags.  All of these things are designed to get people’s attention and to get out their message.  But what message they want us to hear is unclear.

When you try to engage these folks on social media they cannot articulate a coherent message.  They are angry that Mike Brown was shot by Officer Wilson and they want him charged with murder.  Ok, but Grand Juries listen to evidence, not mob rule.  Are they suggesting that we change the rules of Justice going forward?  No, or at least I have not heard any proposals.

There is plenty of legitimate injustice that needs to be addressed in North County.  Schools need to be improved.  Law enforcement and municipal courts need to transform the way they do things.  I have written about these problems before and we do need to make changes.  The protesters in Ferguson are not advocating those changes.

If you are going to try to draw attention to a problem then you need to have a message once you get people’s attention.  They have my attention but there is no message that any of us can act on.  I do not want mob rule influencing Grand Juries.  I do not appreciate seeing you burn American flags or draw negative attention to my hometown.  If you see problems with our system of Justice then provide a list of suggestions for reform.  Instead, all we hear are claims of racism and demonstrations of anger.

When the American colonists protested the King they had specific demands.  When Martin Luther protested the Catholic Church he posted his written theses on the door of the church.  When the Egyptian people took to the streets they were demanding a change in their government, equality and democracy.   Martin Luther King and Susan B. Anthony marched to change society; for equal rights for all people.

The Islamic extremists who flew planes into buildings and who post videos of beheadings are just trying to do harm.  They are not advocating freedom or equality or social change.  They want to instill fear and anger and force submission.  Many of the marches and protests in the 1960’s were peaceful and had a valid message.  Other times people simply burned down their own neighborhoods.

Folks at home watching the beheadings or burning of American flags in Ferguson or the Middle East may be tempted to take the bait.  I keep hearing that if “THEY” do this, then “WE” should do that.  It is sometimes really difficult to remember that not every Muslim or black or white person or resident of Ferguson or Iraq feels the same way.  We really must be careful with those group pronouns. 

The mistake made by many protesters is to assume that all cops or men or white people or Christians or Republicans are the same.  Likewise, not all blacks or Democrats or women or Muslims or even protesters are the same.  We are individuals. 

There is no Open Carry or Anti-Muslim Rally planned in Ferguson (that I am aware of); and there should not be.  I am angry that people are burning American flags in St. Louis, but I will not take the bait and bring myself down to their level.  Nor will I abandon my support of necessary reform of things that are legitimately wrong in St. Louis.  I will condemn ISIS without hating all Muslims.  I will not allow myself to be drawn into a black-white racist back-and-forth that demeans both sides.

There are lots of good people from North County who are standing between violent protesters and police.  There are good people advocating for peaceful and respectful protest and against pointless inflammatory disruption of society.  We have to stand with those good people.  We must debate and discuss ideas and not engage in angry group-think.

If you are one of the protesters in St. Louis who is trying desperately to grab my attention please do me a favor.  Take the time to figure out what you want to change and be prepared to articulate your message before pulling that lighter out of your pocket.