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What's up? Not me...
Sunday, 24 August 2014 10:05 pmI was asked what's been going on around here lately, and that's a tough question, because my schedule went cross-eyed and crazy for a bit, and it was impossible to keep up with news out of my kitchen, much less the region. Also, my disclaimer is worth repeating: I don't claim to be speaking with authority, and am only gathering info and recording events for my own remembering. I try to provide sources for folks who want to read up on their own (and if any of this helps other folks sort out and contextualize what they're hearing, that's grand), but at the moment I'm drowning in notes and will have to edit some links and whatnot back in as time/big-ass editing jobs permit.
That said, here's my understanding of how things stand right now:
- Around Monday, folks were talking about a feeling that it was over. Some of the dedicated nightly protesters were exhausted and/or demoralized, a lot of folks were frustrated at the ratio of protesters to media, the police seemed to be better at jumping in and grabbing specific troublemakers (or 'troublemakers', depending on your POV) from the crowd, and according to some, they had tactics specifically to keep the crowd off its game and pondering (stand still, keep moving, stay in your zone, no that zone over there, and so on).
- That's also around the time autopsy reports were shared, and there was momentum on convening a grand jury, and the politicians all got down to politicking, the National Guard was pulled back out, etc. It looks like some tension has eased specifically because there's visible official movement, and less fear this will be swept under the rug and forgotten. (Call Sharpton what you want, but his comment on people wanting justice vs. people wanting quiet was a well-aimed jab.) Protests have continued, demonstrations have continued, but with more emphasis on day-time events and calling out politicians in the daylight rather than the nightly face-offs with police.
- Oh, and there's the fact that our unusually cool summer weather came to an abrupt end, and August decided that it needed to prove itself with a little extra effort. Right now, at 10pm, it's 89F (32C), but the humidity makes it feel like a very muggy 98F (37C). During the day, temperatures are hovering around 100F (38C) with a head index of 112F (44C). I don't blame anyone for calling it a day in this heat.
- Also, a lot more emphasis on helping Ferguson get back to daily life and get back on its feet, which is also grand.
- Tuesday, there was a shooting in the City proper. City politicians immediately jumped up to promise transparency and talk about respecting the community and so on. I saw a bit of cynical eyerolling*, but it did seem to calm things down, and looking at the difference in official responses and results, you have to wonder how different Ferguson could have gone if the black community hadn't felt actively disrespected. I saw some suggestion that folks were less riled specifically because it was the City ("Everybody knows that St. Louis city police are more chill than St. Louis County police"), and multiple accounts of City police cheering on protesters, which may have to do with City/County tensions, or City/County regional/representational make-ups, or City police just being more chill than County police...
(It might also make a difference that the man shot in the City was an adult and not a teenager, was armed instead of unarmed, was behaving erratically according to bystanders instead of just walking down the street, that the police department has released a resident's video of the shooting instead of clamming up, that folks in the shops up close said it looked necessary as opposed to the multiple eyewitnesses in Ferguson saying it was an execution, etc. I personally question why two officers with tasers couldn't take down a man with a knife non-lethally, but as we've established, I'm a hippie and that's my job.)
- A lot of 'pro-Wilson' supporters have suddenly started pouring out of the woodwork, too. I scare-quote that because, PR-wise, their support looks to be as helpful as the looters were to Brown's supporters. There's racism galore amongst the protesters and commenters, overt and covert, which is making even the determinedly neutral uncomfortable, and the fundraising aspect is problematic as hell. On the other side of the street, fundraising helps Brown's family cover funeral and legal costs, and helps the neighbors of that community suffering under the inconvenience of prolonged protests. Wilson is on paid leave, though, and doesn't the police department cover his legal defense? So then what is the fundraising but a 'bonus' for killing a person? Tacky as fuck.
And c'mon now: you kind of have to cringe at tone-deaf white folks talking about 'waiting for the facts to come out' and 'innocent till proven guilty' in the same breath as 'Brown was a thug', and, shit thee not, "It was a good shooting, you know."
- There's a lot more talk about re-unifying the City and County now. I wonder if this will be what finally gets that accomplished.
* Before anybody passing through jumps on this: I'm not trying to call anybody out or get passive aggressive here. (What's the LJ equivalent of subtweeting or vaguebooking? Besides 'livejournalling'?) Just acknowledging that the reaction is out there.
That said, here's my understanding of how things stand right now:
- Around Monday, folks were talking about a feeling that it was over. Some of the dedicated nightly protesters were exhausted and/or demoralized, a lot of folks were frustrated at the ratio of protesters to media, the police seemed to be better at jumping in and grabbing specific troublemakers (or 'troublemakers', depending on your POV) from the crowd, and according to some, they had tactics specifically to keep the crowd off its game and pondering (stand still, keep moving, stay in your zone, no that zone over there, and so on).
- That's also around the time autopsy reports were shared, and there was momentum on convening a grand jury, and the politicians all got down to politicking, the National Guard was pulled back out, etc. It looks like some tension has eased specifically because there's visible official movement, and less fear this will be swept under the rug and forgotten. (Call Sharpton what you want, but his comment on people wanting justice vs. people wanting quiet was a well-aimed jab.) Protests have continued, demonstrations have continued, but with more emphasis on day-time events and calling out politicians in the daylight rather than the nightly face-offs with police.
- Oh, and there's the fact that our unusually cool summer weather came to an abrupt end, and August decided that it needed to prove itself with a little extra effort. Right now, at 10pm, it's 89F (32C), but the humidity makes it feel like a very muggy 98F (37C). During the day, temperatures are hovering around 100F (38C) with a head index of 112F (44C). I don't blame anyone for calling it a day in this heat.
- Also, a lot more emphasis on helping Ferguson get back to daily life and get back on its feet, which is also grand.
- Tuesday, there was a shooting in the City proper. City politicians immediately jumped up to promise transparency and talk about respecting the community and so on. I saw a bit of cynical eyerolling*, but it did seem to calm things down, and looking at the difference in official responses and results, you have to wonder how different Ferguson could have gone if the black community hadn't felt actively disrespected. I saw some suggestion that folks were less riled specifically because it was the City ("Everybody knows that St. Louis city police are more chill than St. Louis County police"), and multiple accounts of City police cheering on protesters, which may have to do with City/County tensions, or City/County regional/representational make-ups, or City police just being more chill than County police...
(It might also make a difference that the man shot in the City was an adult and not a teenager, was armed instead of unarmed, was behaving erratically according to bystanders instead of just walking down the street, that the police department has released a resident's video of the shooting instead of clamming up, that folks in the shops up close said it looked necessary as opposed to the multiple eyewitnesses in Ferguson saying it was an execution, etc. I personally question why two officers with tasers couldn't take down a man with a knife non-lethally, but as we've established, I'm a hippie and that's my job.)
- A lot of 'pro-Wilson' supporters have suddenly started pouring out of the woodwork, too. I scare-quote that because, PR-wise, their support looks to be as helpful as the looters were to Brown's supporters. There's racism galore amongst the protesters and commenters, overt and covert, which is making even the determinedly neutral uncomfortable, and the fundraising aspect is problematic as hell. On the other side of the street, fundraising helps Brown's family cover funeral and legal costs, and helps the neighbors of that community suffering under the inconvenience of prolonged protests. Wilson is on paid leave, though, and doesn't the police department cover his legal defense? So then what is the fundraising but a 'bonus' for killing a person? Tacky as fuck.
And c'mon now: you kind of have to cringe at tone-deaf white folks talking about 'waiting for the facts to come out' and 'innocent till proven guilty' in the same breath as 'Brown was a thug', and, shit thee not, "It was a good shooting, you know."
- There's a lot more talk about re-unifying the City and County now. I wonder if this will be what finally gets that accomplished.
* Before anybody passing through jumps on this: I'm not trying to call anybody out or get passive aggressive here. (What's the LJ equivalent of subtweeting or vaguebooking? Besides 'livejournalling'?) Just acknowledging that the reaction is out there.