What is happening in Ferguson, Mo.? What we know is during an arrest of an 18-year-old there was an apparent struggle and the young man was shot and killed. The police officer who is alleged to have done the shooting was himself hospitalized for his injuries. We are also being told the 18-year-old was unarmed. What we don’t know is anything else about the incident. There is an ongoing investigation by among others the FBI. Soon a report will be issued and then and only then will the facts be known. Until that investigation is concluded, all we have is speculation.
It appears many in that community have already made up their minds as to what happened and have decided, without any facts, to exact their own retribution in the form of looting legitimate businesses and burning down their town. They would appear to be unmoved by facts. They do not seem to care. There have been death threats against the police officer and against all police officers in that community. They have apparently decided lynch mobs are OK as long as they are the ones doing the lynching. The situation is further exacerbated by people like Al Sharpton, who arrive just in time to stir up an already angry mob.
The only benefit served by the arrival of people like Sharpton is the benefit to Sharpton himself at the expense of the community he visits. He is a self-serving, political animal who seems to think only of himself. He’s come a long way since his days as a drug dealer who turned into an FBI informant to escape punishment for his own crimes.
Wouldn’t communities like Ferguson be better served by people coming to their aid not with fire-breathing, mob-stirring, rhetoric, but with constructive information? Teaching things like getting an education, respect for law and law-enforcement officers and responsibility for reproductive choices? Towns like Ferguson are the way they are because of their choices. If they are being held down or held back it’s because they are holding themselves back.
Police officers are not paid to be abused. They are not paid to keep their hands to their sides while a criminal attempts to take their weapon and use it against them. Their job is to make sure laws are upheld. Failure on the part of anyone to obey lawful instructions from an officer is a crime. Lying to police is a crime. Attacking any police officer is tantamount to asking for the maximum punishment. Besides all that, it’s just stupid.
Like you, I don’t know all the facts regarding the incident in Ferguson. I believe we all will know when the investigation is concluded. If any police officer exceeded his authority, he should face whatever punishment the law allows. If it turns out he was completely justified in his actions, then the entire community should apologize for their actions. Rioting and looting by mobs is the action of uncivilized feral thugs. It wouldn’t surprise me if all the retailers packed up and moved out leaving Ferguson without essential services or grocery stores.
Residents of all communities benefit by the presence of police officers. I wonder how the citizens would feel if they were left with no police protection. If the officer involved in this incident is sacrificed to the masses for political expediency, then every police officer should resign in protest and leave the entire state without any police protection.
Residents of Ferguson, go home and wait for the official investigation. Try to act civilized. Justice will be served whether you like that justice or not.
