Good news is great news.
Friday, 15 August 2014 06:42 amI have a collection of links, quotes, etc., from the past two days, but when I get too low on sleep, my ability to write coherently gets a little wonky. Later today or tomorrow, I promise.
But in the meantime: USA Today's timeline and Buzzfeed's timeline offer not just a chronological sense of events, but a perfect demonstration of the pro-police vs. pro-protester stances that crystallized during all this.
"But mokie, ___'s timeline isn't biased!" It's like accents, reader: you can't hear your own.
Also:
Basically, last night was a WTF tipping point for people and politicians alike. A lot of white folks said, "Holy shit, I can't just watch anymore - we have to help stop this," and a lot of politicians said, "Holy shit, I can't just watch anymore - we have to stop this or we'll never be electable again." The folks I know who headed to Ferguson today rallied to do so last night, before today's dramatic de-escalation, not because of it.
But still - yeah, we're totally late here. Mostly, I think, because it took that long to wrap our heads around what we were seeing. For those interested, here's the extremely truncated pro-protester white person in the St. Louis metro region but not Ferguson watching this shit unfold by Twitter and video timeline, as I lived and/or witnessed it:
- Saturday: This looks suspicious as hell. He shoots a kid who's running away? Multiple times? And they aren't even saying why he stopped him in the first place? I call bullshit. Somebody had better answer for this.
- Sunday: This looks suspicious as fuck. Why are cops putting on this riot gear fashion parade at a candlelight vigil? He was an unarmed teenager headed for college, not a Gambino enforcer. Somebody had better answer for this.
- Sunday night: WHAT THE FUCK?
- Monday: DID YOU SEE THAT? Is it going to happen again? Is it going to happen outside Ferguson? Somebody had better answer for this.
- Monday night: What the fuck is this shit? Why does the County have a fucking tank? Why are they firing tear gas at people who are just demonstrating? Oy, they're not looting, you assholes!
- Tuesday: DID YOU SEE THAT? Is that going to happen again? You can't shoot people when they're not rioting! Somebody had better answer for this.
- Tuesday night: What the fuck is this shit?! You can't order the media out! You can't suspend the First Amendment! You're suburban cops, not the goddamn army!
- Wednesday: DID YOU SEE THAT? That can't happen again! You can't do that shit to people! This is America! Somebody had better answer for this!
- Wednesday night: What the fuck is this shit?! You can't arrest reporters for reporting! You can't gas reporters! And still none of these people are looting, you assholes! You can't--OH, YOU CAN'T ARREST ANTONIO FRENCH YOU MOTHERFUCKERS! Fuck! Where's Nixon? Where's McCaskill? Where's the National Guard? Where are the people who are supposed to be answering for this shit? Call in sick, bitches, we're going to Ferguson!
- Thursday: Ah, there's Nixon. And McCaskill. And the St. Louis County (or was it Ferguson?) police chief wearing an "Oh shit" face. Looks like they made him answer for some shit. He's out, Highway Patrol's in! Aaaaaand now the police are hugging protesters. We're still going to Ferguson, right?
But in the meantime: USA Today's timeline and Buzzfeed's timeline offer not just a chronological sense of events, but a perfect demonstration of the pro-police vs. pro-protester stances that crystallized during all this.
"But mokie, ___'s timeline isn't biased!" It's like accents, reader: you can't hear your own.
Also:
It isn't lost on us that, once tanks, dogs, gas, rubber bullets&tripods/rifles would be gone the crowd turned multicultural,right? #FergusonOuch. Yes, but... Okay, excellent point. But... Goddamn, I'm going to be that white person for a minute here. Bear with and forgive me, please.
stacia l. brown (@slb79) August 15, 2014
Basically, last night was a WTF tipping point for people and politicians alike. A lot of white folks said, "Holy shit, I can't just watch anymore - we have to help stop this," and a lot of politicians said, "Holy shit, I can't just watch anymore - we have to stop this or we'll never be electable again." The folks I know who headed to Ferguson today rallied to do so last night, before today's dramatic de-escalation, not because of it.
But still - yeah, we're totally late here. Mostly, I think, because it took that long to wrap our heads around what we were seeing. For those interested, here's the extremely truncated pro-protester white person in the St. Louis metro region but not Ferguson watching this shit unfold by Twitter and video timeline, as I lived and/or witnessed it:
- Saturday: This looks suspicious as hell. He shoots a kid who's running away? Multiple times? And they aren't even saying why he stopped him in the first place? I call bullshit. Somebody had better answer for this.
- Sunday: This looks suspicious as fuck. Why are cops putting on this riot gear fashion parade at a candlelight vigil? He was an unarmed teenager headed for college, not a Gambino enforcer. Somebody had better answer for this.
- Sunday night: WHAT THE FUCK?
- Monday: DID YOU SEE THAT? Is it going to happen again? Is it going to happen outside Ferguson? Somebody had better answer for this.
- Monday night: What the fuck is this shit? Why does the County have a fucking tank? Why are they firing tear gas at people who are just demonstrating? Oy, they're not looting, you assholes!
- Tuesday: DID YOU SEE THAT? Is that going to happen again? You can't shoot people when they're not rioting! Somebody had better answer for this.
- Tuesday night: What the fuck is this shit?! You can't order the media out! You can't suspend the First Amendment! You're suburban cops, not the goddamn army!
- Wednesday: DID YOU SEE THAT? That can't happen again! You can't do that shit to people! This is America! Somebody had better answer for this!
- Wednesday night: What the fuck is this shit?! You can't arrest reporters for reporting! You can't gas reporters! And still none of these people are looting, you assholes! You can't--OH, YOU CAN'T ARREST ANTONIO FRENCH YOU MOTHERFUCKERS! Fuck! Where's Nixon? Where's McCaskill? Where's the National Guard? Where are the people who are supposed to be answering for this shit? Call in sick, bitches, we're going to Ferguson!
- Thursday: Ah, there's Nixon. And McCaskill. And the St. Louis County (or was it Ferguson?) police chief wearing an "Oh shit" face. Looks like they made him answer for some shit. He's out, Highway Patrol's in! Aaaaaand now the police are hugging protesters. We're still going to Ferguson, right?