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A War Broke Out In Ferguson, MO Last Night While The Rest Of The Country Quietly Put Their Kids To Bed
Ferguson police basically declared war on its city’s own citizens last night. They were shooting rubber bullets into crowds of people, launching tear gas down quiet neighborhood streets and into homes, and arresting journalists attempting to cover the disgrace as it was unfolding. They instituted a media blackout and no fly zone. This happened IN AMERICA. Do you even know about it?
After my toddler finally fell asleep last night, I sat down for the few minutes of rest finally having two kids asleep affords me. I turned on the television and flipped to CNN as I often do at the end of the day, to see what I’ve missed while I’ve been in the mom-bubble; dinner, story time and the inevitable fight to get my kids into bed.
To look at CNN last night at around 10:30 Eastern Time, you’d think there was no new news – just a constant loop of coverage of Robin Williams‘ death, with a smattering of the horrors in Iraq thrown in for good measure. Had I not taken to Twitter, I never would have known that there was a town engulfed in tear gas, instituting a media blackout and a no-fly zone – in our own country.
I knew tensions had risen in Ferguson, Missouri since the Michael Brown shooting – especially yesterday with the insane police presence that appeared after a peaceful protest erupted in rage. I just never expected that a city in America would take it upon itself to teach its own citizens a lesson. Ferguson sent a series of messages to it’s people last night, wrapped up in tear gas and rubber bullets. The messages were – don’t question. Be content with being racially profiled, humiliated, dehumanized and killed. Don’t expect us to treat you like human beings. We will gun down your children and we will not answer for it. And you will not express the rage that you have certainly earned – from years upon years upon years of mistreatment.
Ferguson Missouri was on fire last night – and it took hours for any major news outlets to take notice. Police were lobbing tear gas down quiet residential streets and into homes while the rest of the country watched Wednesday night TV and quietly put their kids to sleep – totally unaware.
If you don’t know the background of the shooting that spurred the protests of this week, last Saturday, police in Ferguson, Missouri shot and killed an 18-year-old unarmed man named Michael Brown. The police department has repeatedly refused to release the name of the officer who killed him. Residents are frustrated – as they very well should be – that once again there is the blood of an unarmed black man on the hands of a police officer.
