Thursday, August 14, 2014

Urge, Overkill


[Photo by AP]

I try to keep things pop culture related and relatively light here most of the time. This is for fun, after all. But you cannot deny the culture part attached to the pop we so enjoy. I’ve watched with more and more appall as news has out of Ferguson, MO this week. The unwarranted tragedy of police shooting and killing an unarmed 18-year-old black teen named Mike Brown has been made exponentially worse by the absolutely bananas law enforcement response to protesters. Combat gear. Armored vehicles. Tear gas. Flash bombs. Assault rifles. FUCKING SNIPERS. All pointed at citizens of the United States of America exercising their First Amendment right of the people peaceably to assemble.

An alderman thrown in jail. A state senator tear-gassed. Two reporters arrested. And if they’ll do that to those folks, think what they do to everyone else? Yes, there has been some, isolated violence. Yes, I believe police have a responsibility to serve and protect. But this is not how you calm and control lawful citizens. So what if people are angry? They should be angry. This response is overkill. This response is unacceptable. Did anything look like this when Clive Bundy and his nutso armed-to-the teeth militia wouldn’t pay grazing fees he rightfully owed the government? Nope. And all these pictures were just from yesterday. Hell, this is the police response I’d expect for a hostile alien invasion, not people engaged in legal protest. There’s so much left to do. Thanks for letting me vent. May today be a better day in America, and the world.


[Photo by @ryanjreilly]

[Photo by AP]

[Photo by @PDPJ]

[Photo by @kodacohen]

5 comments:

Kristan said...

Well said.

Unknown said...

Remember what Commander Adama said: "There's a reason you separate military and the police. One fights the enemies of the state, the other serves and protects the people. When the military becomes both, then the enemies of the state tend to become the people."

Carmen SanDiego said...

Very well said.

Dennis/87 said...

What is real? Militarized police? Taking over the police. Are there here to promote safety and property? Military hardware. Me thinks too many machines and insensitive regards for human beings. Dennis

Anonymous said...

I live fifteen minutes away from Ferguson and I have journalist friends covering what's been going on. St. Louis as a whole is a racial powder-keg and it's heartbreaking to see what's been going on. At this point, I know much of America is watching but thank you for bringing more attention to it with this post. Perhaps with more eyes on this city, greater discourse and accountability might follow.