American Rage

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Protestors condemning the killing of black 18-year-old Michael Brown were confronted by armed police in riot and military gear last night in Ferguson, Missouri.

The Washington Post condemned the detention of its journalist, Wesley Lowery, as “illegal” and an “assault on the freedom of the press to cover the news”. The Huffington Post attacked the arrest of its reporter, Ryan J Reilly, as “militant aggression”. Reilly said that the “police resembled soldiers more than officers”.

Ferguson police arrest reporters amid rage over Michael Brown shooting (Guardian)

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63 thoughts on “American Rage”

  1. CousinJack

    Appears to be a distinct lack of african american police there.
    Crazy the militarisation of US police, another result of the ‘right’ to arms

          1. L'esprit de l'escalier

            crabs, lice, pontification on the value of a vegan diet physically, morally and spiritually.

      2. Sidewinder

        Bear in mind that dreads are a part of african american culture that was co-opted by crusties. She could be a leather wearing blood thirsty carnivore for all ye know.

  6. Am i still On this Island

    The looting and violence in the wake of this death is appalling, but The police response is disguising, try heavy handed treatment of protestors, the repression of the press, this is not what should be happening.

    1. Grouse

      The narrative that there is looting and violence happening is a powerful one deployed to sanctify, on some level, what the police are doing. Reports from the town suggest the protest is overwhelmingly peaceful and non-violent. Which is remarkable, in the face of naked military aggression.

      1. Am I Still on This Island

        The looting in the days after his death was extensive and widespread. Even then it does not justify the current response!

          1. Grouse

            I can find one reference to that petrol station being looted and burnt out on Sunday night (the one that featured in these pictures). Beyond that there are hundreds of people standing in peaceful protest every night. I know we’re in agreement about the severity of the response, but I also believe there’s a systematically racist response from certain branches of the media that focus, in the case of black protest, on looting and damage in a way that they never do when, e.g, white people are rioting after winning a football game. It’s a rigged system. There’ll always be a few assholes and they’ll always be used to justify the suppression of peaceful protest by the majority.

          2. Am i still On this Island

            There is a difference between rioting on the street and intentionally looting and stealing property, plenty of those riots have seen tear gas & riot police deployed.

            The looting has been extensively reported and acknowledged on local press

          3. Grouse

            That it’s being extensively reported and acknowledged doesn’t make the looting itself extensive. I think we’re going to have to agree to disagree on its relevance.

            (If anything I would say looting is the lesser evil, as rioting is intentional destruction without reason or application, whereas looting could conceivably be the desperate act of the poor and destitute.)

          4. Am I Still on This Island

            Looting is opportunistic theft normally it follows rioting or occurs at the same time! So saying it is a lesser crime than rioting is a nonsense. The local papers reporting on the looting are quite detailed in its scale and the stores being targeted, High value electronics and alcohol! The looting in the first 3/4 days after the shooting was extensive despite what you would like to think the reality is different.

          5. Grouse

            It’s not a nonsense. It’s totally pertinent. If I were looting I’d go for electronics too; they have the highest resell value. If I was a member of a totally disenfranchised and underrepresented social class whose community was being dismantled in response to peaceful protest to police murdering with impunity, I wouldn’t feel particularly invested in maintaining this particular moral code. I’m not saying it’s helpful, I’m saying it understandable. And, to reiterate, not really relevant to the quashing of peaceful protest.

            If you are interested in an example of how deeply entrenched the “looting” rhetoric is around black communities, here’s one about the reports of “looting” by earthquake stricken Haitians in 2010. When they’re black, it’s always looting, and reporting of the looting is given priority over any other concerns. The fact that your local sources are talking so extensively about the looting is not only proof of your argument, but also proof of mine.

            The looting is not important, relevant to the situation or worth reporting. I think we fundamentally disagree on this, so it’s probably not worthwhile continuing here.

          7. Grouse

            Not relevant to the question of why Michael Brown was killed. Not relevant to the question of why police in Ferguson are shutting down the town, shooting rubber bullets at protestors, arresting journalists, stealing journalist’s camera equipment and instigating media blackouts. Or, if we must call it relevant, it’s relevant in the sense that these things (the killing, the militarisation, and the reflexive focus on looting by media [to the exclusion of all other reporting]) are all symptoms of the same broad social prejudices.

            I think it’s illustrative of the gulf between our viewpoints that to me it is you who seem naïve; accepting at face value the myopic focus of news stories and seemingly incapable of perceiving the way they are used to deliberately misdirect attention away from the more serious questions about social and racial prejudice in American society. Not to mention justice for the victim. We’re not going to find a meeting point any time soon.

          8. Am i still On this Island

            Oh dear Grouse; the lootig is relevant to the force law enforcement agencies deploy, if the town had of responded with daily marches for example the law enforcement agencies would have no justification in deploying the assets they did in the strength they did.

            The looting and it’s scale is real and very relevant to the force deployed.

            The actions IMHO are still excessive but a few simple things, National Guard has not wen mobilised YET!, the media blackout may have a function, to stop inaccurate reporting a common issue in modern 24 hour media which may in turn stoke tensions on the ground.

            The racial divide in America is a very real thing, but nothing stops African Americans acceding education, joining the police or Army or rising to significant political office

          9. Grouse

            Ah, okay. I finally get where you’re coming from. Definitely no point in continuing this conversation.

    1. Paolo

      But the highest degree of freedom that you can achieve is to cower behind your triple bolted door with a twelve-gauge. Right?

    1. CousinJack

      Protest interferrs with the ‘American Dream’, of course in reality this dream is only for the 1%

  13. Mort

    Should they literally just let them “run riot”? Destroy their own communities? Cause millions in property damage? This is history repeating itself again and again and again…….

    2. Nigel

      They could learn how to police proper. Not shooting unarmed teenagers in the back would be a start.

      1. ahyeah

        + infinite number.

        Any armed mob can maintain order on the streets. Effective policing is a lot more than that – but a pretty rare thing.

  14. Franno

    Very good article earlier this year about the increased militarisation of the US police.

    http://www.theguardian.com/law/2014/jun/24/military-us-police-swat-teams-raids-aclu

    While gross generalisations are never good, some of the cops I’ve met in my travels in the United States are amongst the most arrogant, offensively stupid people I’ve ever had the displeasure of meeting (thankfully never in a professional capacity). There are of course some extremely diligent and honourable guys amongst the bad eggs but it’s terrifying to think of the hardware that some of these guys have access to in fraught and tense situations.

    1. me

      There was a comment under a piece about this on an American site where someone identifying as ex army said they had less armour then these cops on his tour in Iraq, madness.

      2. Sadface

        If these cops want to play army so badly.Maybe they should be dropped off in Northern Iraq to have a hop off ISIS? Im sure they’d have them running for the hills in no time….

  15. Tones

    Was having a pint outside the Stag’s Head the other night. Got chatting to an American tourist. He was literally spitting with rage with all the lawlessness going on (people standing around outside having a social pint) and couldn’t understand why something wasn’t being done about it. Of course he turned out to be a NY cop on holidays…

    1. Sidewinder

      Yeah best to focus on minor misdemeanours by otherwise law abiding people and let the homicide rate run riot.

  17. Planet of the Missing Biros

    The next phase of unrest and revolt in the world will be between the general populace and elitist politicians and their wealthy sponsors who are trying to re-introduce a form of slavery by devaluing labour and skills to the lowest pay and conditions possible to maintain manufacturing and services at high profit levels.

    This is the reason protest is increasingly being portrayed by complicit media as criminal and subversive (subverting what though?). Subverting the plans of big business which disrespect the needs of communities and the sick and weak.

    Some of the riot officers are probably National Guard (a quasi-army of Yeomanry who are at hand to oppress local dissent).

    Stop watching X-Factor, start voting again and get involved with your communities and stop being so isolated, individualistic and selfish. Educate yourself and read between the lines and don’t allow yourself to be swept along by a tide not of your making.

    1. Clampers Outside!

      You are in me hole, you’re just a big old mean moody cop on an over sized motorbike.

      On another note, I’m well impressed with the guy in the third last pic… he’s not spilt any of his crisps!

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