Law And Disorder

Don't you just love a good riot in the streets? Rolling police cars over and burning them. Stealing anything you can get your hands on, then torching someones store. What fun! Just in case you don't get things real well, that was sarcasm.

Actually, I think that people that behave like this are lower than and significantly less intelligent than pond scum. What causes these fine young people (more sarcasm) to go off the deep end and burn down the neighborhood in which they live. If a local team loses a national championship game. Or if a local team wins a notional championship game. Or if a person of color gets taken out by a white cop. (Circumstances are irrelevant.) 

What events do not cause this low life behavior. Anyone white being taken out by a black cop. Anyone black being taken out by a black cop. Any number of blacks being taken out by gang activity. Any number of people of any color being taken out by terrorist activity. 

If the riotous activity is caused by the success or failure of a sports team, it usually a one night stand. And as violent as it may be, it ends quickly as soon as the alcohol and recreational drugs burn off. The media coverage will generally be limited to some video to be shown on the news with voice over. No on camera interviews. No one cares what these idiots have to say.

Then we have the riots of which Ferguson is a prime example. Things move slower but with more force and intensity. There is time for the Jesse s and the Al s to arrive and stoke the fires. There is time for the professionals to have signs printed and mix with the locals. There is time to stand on street corners with a bull horn and fire up the crowd, to denigrate the police and the local administration. As night comes, it is time to go out and provoke the cops in hopes that they lose it and go all out of control in front of the media.

Oh, and the media. All the familiar faces from all the TV news sources. Broadcast and cable, they are all there. Every one of them looking for on camera interviews. Every camera man running toward the violence. This is for ratings and everyone wants to be top dog. So the insanity feeds the news and the news feeds the insanity. Until everyone gets tired and goes away.

One must ask, to what purpose? The residents have destroyed their own neighborhood. They have stolen from and possibly burned out their neighbor's businesses. The very businesses that have served them well through the years. The cops and the administration are bruised but not beaten. And the people that were caught on camera rioting, for all the world to see, cheering and smiling and stealing and looking proud of their anarchy have made themselves and their community look like someplace no decent person would live.

But at some time in the future something will happen when someone in that community really desperately needs the police. How quick are they going to be willing to respond?