Ferguson Isn’t 1776 – But There Are Some Common Themes.

“You can’t hold a man down without staying down with him.” ― Booker T. Washington

America celebrates its birth as a triumph of the oppressed over their oppressors. But when the oppressed in America revolt today, the establishment sniffs. I suppose that when you are the children of revolutionaries, you celebrate those revolutionaries. But when you are the establishment, you support the establishment. Besides, the revolutionaries in Ferguson don’t look like the establishment.

Michael Brown – he was off to college.

Some of those citizens have actively protested the killing of a black unarmed teenager by a white cop. Some of those protestors have rioted and perhaps even looted. The authorities have leapt all over that to paint the crowd as a criminal mob. Which plays into white America’s suspicion that blacks are closer to the jungle than other races – and therefore allows the self-righteous to elide over the very real discrimination which may have contributed to the death of Michael Brown.

In fairness, the establishment was also horrified by the shenanigans of the “Occupy Wall Street” movement, the protests against the WTO, and even the violent celebrations following major professional sports victories – generally much whiter affairs. But in these cases the miscreants could be dismissed as young, unwashed and liberal.

The establishment likes to contrast this active expression of frustration with the politesse of the Tea Party’s marches. Two thoughts. One, the Tea Party is old – how did these geezers act when young?  Two, talking about being young, did none of these old foggies ever burn a draft card or a bra. If not, what a wasted youth.

In our romantic view of the American Revolution much is made of the relative strength of the two sides. The overmatched colonists were up against the best equipped, best trained fighting force on the planet. The very fact that we were the underdog added legitimacy to our protest – “lack of might is right”, if you will.

This is not the army in the Middle East. It is the police force in Ferguson, Mo.

There is no comparison in toto between the Ferguson protesters and the revolutionaries of 1776. But there are some common themes. The protesters in Ferguson have molotov cocktails and reportedly shotguns. Facing them are a well equipped paramilitary force. The days of the cop on the beat swinging a billy-club are gone. Today’s police sit snug in armored vehicles – toting high-powered rifles, flash-bangs, tear-gas and a cornucopia of small arms and non-lethal weaponry.

They authorities behind this army have the same jaundiced view of the protesters as the English poobahs did of the American revolutionaries. But both sets of oppressed had real grievances. To be black in America is to be assumed guilty. Blacks smoke pot at the same rate as whites, but are arrested, convicted and jailed at a greater rate, Black drivers are more likely to be pulled over and ticketed. And unarmed black teenagers are more likely to be shot and killed.

White apologists harumph that there is more crime in black neighborhoods; that as a result it only makes sense to have more police presence. But it isn’t the quantity of policing that is the issue, it’s the quality. Any purse snatcher should be pursued and arrested, but no one should be detained on the suspicion they might be a purse snatcher.

The Constitution, and ethos of America, forbid a “Minority Report” world. But too often black youth are profiled – and treated – as criminals, before any evidence of crime is uncovered.

This lack of empathy by the authorities is exacerbated by the different make-up of the police and the community. Ferguson is 67% black. But its 53-person police force was reported to have only three black cops. That contention was scorned by the Ferguson police chief, who pointed out there were actually 5 black, 1 Hispanic, and 2 pacific-islander officers – in other words the police aren’t a dismal 6% minority, but a less than stellar 15%.

The pride of the chief’s contention shows his tone-deafness. As does his claim that he got along with neighborhood groups – while adding, “Unfortunately, an undertow (of racial unrest) has bubbled to the surface. Race relations is the top priority right now.” Too bad it wasn’t before.

Black Americans shouldn’t be given special treatment, but they should be treated the same as white Americans; given the same opportunities; and treated with the same respect.