Only Ferguson Can Fix Ferguson

Back in April, conservatives who were tired of federal government encroachment on property rights rushed to the defense of a rancher named Bundy.  They were prepared to use violence if necessary to defend Mr. Bundy’s right to his land.

Unfortunately for those conservatives the facts got in the way.  The Bundy situation had some uncomfortable specifics that made it a less than ideal situation for them to make an otherwise valid point.

The protestors in the case of Michael Brown versus Officer Wilson face a similar problem.  The facts of the case are not as clear cut as they would have wished.  He was not exactly the completely innocent gentle giant that he was portrayed as initially.  The video of him robbing a convenience store, along with details like his blood being on the inside of the police car and no gunshot wounds to his back changed the reality of this specific case.

This situation is really unfortunate.  There are problems in Ferguson and north St. Louis County.  There are multiple small municipalities trying to make money with their police force.  There is a high crime rate and failing schools and high unemployment and yes, there is racism.

Yesterday morning I was watching CNN and Don Lemon interviewed a lady of color who was a local pastor.  She had been appointed to a task force to try and remedy some of these issues going forward.  Lemon asked her a number of typical questions and she gave good answers.  As the interview concluded, he noted that he could sense how troubled she was and he asked her to tell him what she was feeling. 

She broke down.  She said she was so sad for all of the young people of color who had worked so hard to organize peaceful and meaningful protests whose voices had been drowned out by images of violent looters and thugs.  It was a touching moment for me and for Lemon, who hugged her as they went to commercial.

And therein lies most everything we need to know.  The problem here lies with these violent, opportunistic thugs and looters.  Not just this week.  Not just in August.  Not just in Ferguson.

Everyone, including the right wing conservatives that supported Mr. Bundy, wants better conditions for the people of North St. Louis County.  We feel for people like this pastor who are working hard to create positive change.  We feel for the lady who just wanted to make cakes for people and had her cake store in Ferguson looted.  We care for the owner of the Ferguson Market, who was robbed by Mike Brown and then had the thugs break into his store and run away with his merchandise.

All of us who were watching the events unfold this week saw it start with organized and mostly peaceful protests and then deteriorate into gunfire and arson.  When the violence began, the peaceful protestors went home.  Because they are not stupid.  They are not there to support looting or violence, and further they are afraid for their personal safety.

The violent idiots are running the show, because everything is put on hold until the looters and arsonists and battery- and bottle-throwers can be dealt with.  These thugs are the problem this week, and these same thugs have been the problem for decades.

My liberal friends are all joining the chorus and denouncing the “racism” that is supposedly at the root of all of these problems.  Let’s be clear – racism is wrong, period.  By racism I mean judging all members of another race simply by their color.  I too am sick of racism.  And yes, it does exist.  As I travel around the Midwest I interact with a lot of different customers and we talk about current events, including Ferguson.  I hear open racism from some people, although that is rare.

As I listen, I realize that these misguided folks are looking at pictures of young black opportunistic thugs robbing the Ferguson Market and assuming all the black folks in Ferguson are the same.  That is clearly not true.  It is an unfortunate misconception and de facto racism.  It is not just unfortunate; it is inappropriate and wrong.

On the other hand, it is also wrong to paint all white people as racist.  It is wrong to paint all law enforcement officers as being the same.  We are all individuals and we need to start seeing each other that way if we are to ever overcome these issues.

We are all aware that there is a certain culture that exists in Ferguson and other places like the south side of Chicago that is violent, anti-law enforcement, anti-education, and let’s be honest, anti-white.  Not everyone who lives in those places is part of that culture, but it would be ignoring reality to deny that it exists. 

The cops in Ferguson have a much more difficult task than the cops in Chesterfield.  That is not because of the color of the residents, but because of this culture.  There are people of color in Chesterfield and Lake St. Louis, but they are not generally speaking committing strong-arm robberies of convenience stores.

Michael Brown robbed a convenience store.  That is not disputed.  He had a physical altercation with a police officer inside a police car.  That is also not disputed.  He wrote rap songs with lyrics that celebrated violence and degraded women.  Sadly, this young man had embraced the same culture that is at the root of the problem in Ferguson and other areas.  That is no reason for him to be shot - his death is a tragedy – but like Bundy he is not the right poster boy for this cause.

I support fully the efforts of many good people in North St. Louis to improve conditions in their community.  I feel for and support the lady pastor I saw on CNN.  I support those Ferguson businesses that have been unfairly targeted.  I am willing to work to improve education and positive opportunities for the young people of Ferguson.  We need to change the environment that these young people grow up in.

I also support changes to the way law enforcement does its business and the way the municipal court system functions.  Too often good people get screwed and find themselves in a hole they cannot get out of.  And I will work to change perceptions of the community and fight to end racism.

The problem with all of that is not “people of color”.  It is the idiots we all saw setting fire to cars and stealing from local businesses.  Those people are idiots and not deserving of anyone’s support.  That is not racism.  It is rejection of a culture that devalues human life. 

And so the difficulty in “ending racism” is in teaching people that although all of the people they see looting stores and setting fires in Ferguson are black, not all of the black people in Ferguson are looters, arsonists, and thugs.  This week has set the fight to end racism back a long way.  Those images and perceptions will not be easily erased.  If you look like the people they saw doing heinous acts, then they will be likely to assume you are like them until you prove otherwise.

As we have seen this week in Missouri, when law enforcement backs off and lets people have the freedom to protest peacefully, the violent thugs take that opportunity to step in and burn things and loot.  When they take a more heavy-handed approach, the thugs back off somewhat.  I suspect law enforcement has already learned this lesson over the years, and so their methods in this community are generally heavy-handed.

The solution lies with the people of Ferguson.  In the end they will end up with the community that they themselves create.  If they do not tolerate lawlessness and violence, if they go to the polls and vote, if they become cops and police their own streets, they can turn their city around.  If they continue to accept thugs and morons as normal and acceptable, they will end up with what they have.

It really does not much matter what white folks in the suburbs who never go to Ferguson think about the residents.  That doesn’t excuse racism, but a redneck white guy from three counties away is not causing the problem and cannot fix it.  His racism does not directly affect the conditions in north St. Louis County.  You can riot and protest and loot and burn and all that will happen is the reinforcement of the racist’s opinion that you are all a bunch of animals.

As Stuart Smalley said, “only you can help you”.  Only Ferguson can fix Ferguson.