I have a friend living close by. Apparently it sucks there and is basically still segregated.

They tried to say the kid stole something that's why the cop approached him but it later came out the cop stopped him for j walking.

In black and pregnant with a son. And like my mom taught my brother I will probably teach my son if a cop approaches you show your hands and no sudden movements even if u have done nothing wrong cuz they will shoot ur ass. Fact.

myself personally... I think its crap.

They can spend 10+ days "protesting" looting, committing arson and KILLING each other.

But damn... that cop who was bum rushed, struck and wrestling a 6'4" "KID" (Draco... is that your skid... I mean he is tall!)who was attempting to steal his gun... yeah he isn't allowed to defend himself/do his job.

Utter shit.
Not to mention... how the HELL are these people managing to afford to LIVE while spending two weeks protesting/loitering/looting/destroying a town?

Oh yeah... government benefits.
Or maybe they pawned the big flat screen they looted.

People there are mad because this isn't an isolated incident. It happens there and a lot of other poor places a lot. Thus is just the first time it's made national news.

However to me, It shouldn't be about being black. It's more about appearing poor and like your up to something. Unfortunately being black makes that easier. If he had on a suit and briefcase I doubt he would be dead.

I don't have an answer here, and I don't know ALL the facts, so caveat.

But, I dated a cop for a while and they do not just pull their guns on people for fun. They take the fact that they are armed very seriously. That being said, if they DO pull their guns it is because they feel threatened and they are trained to neutralize the threat. That means shooting to kill, generally.

Yes they will shoot you if you make sudden moves refuse or resist.

Doesn't matter what color you are.

I think it's bullshit all this looting and whatnot.

I also believe there are outside agitators who take advantage of situations like this to pour gas on the fire.

I would not even put it past our own government to send people in to egg on the chaos and give them an excuse to take more rights from us or even enact martial law.

Racism will never die unfortunately. There are too many people making too much money from the exploitation and promotion of racial division.

Sad but true.

Really, in the scheme of things, Ferguson is small potatoes considering the wholesale torture and slaughter of folks around the world who aren't the "correct" religion and the possible global threat of ebola.

I pray, shake my head and pray this whole world doesn't go completely down the drain.

Cops are just like blacks are just like whites are just like Hispanics are just like BMs are just like EVERY OTHER HUMAN IN THE WORLD.

There are good ones and bad ones. Period. Race should have NOTHING to do with it. However, I do think that situations like this tend to make one or the other race LOOK bad. But the simple fact is, no matter what adjectives you use to describe yourself, there are good people and bad people.

All the focus on race just serves to distract and divide us when we desperately need to work together to solve the nation/world issues!

They want US divided.

It makes us easier to manipulate and control.

On a very small scale this happens in stepfamilies when disordered parents promote division to maintain the upper hand over everyone else in the family.

Another valid point if the protests were peaceful I think we would all he thinking "there's gotta be more to this" instead of "all these idiots are criminals. "

Sometimes I wish people weren't so stupid.

I don't know what to think other than thoughts of sympathy for the family of the deceased. I didn't know he tried to take the cop's gun.

I also agree with others that these protests got out of hand. Violence on top of violence will not solve anything.

"I don't want to sound racist..." Stop. Because anything that follows will be a racist comment that no one else wants to hear.

There are decades of racism and segregation in this city that build a tense context around this incident. We know the cop stopped him for a minor infraction unrelated to the robbery. We know that the Ferguson police (who were no longer leading the investigation) released the information about the robbery the same day as the officer's name was released. We know that the protestors are assembling in the evenings or at night instead of during the day while most people are at work.

It is not a sin to be poor, folks. It is not wrong to be in need. The school district in Ferguson lost its accreditation long ago. The schools have been closed all week because of the hostile tension and violence. These kids have very little opportunity to begin with. So when a cop from their mostly white police force guns down a kid, and all their questions are given non-answers, you bet they will be angry! And yes, some people have taken their anger to violent extremes. And others have used this as an opportunity to steal. But frankly, the people of Ferguson have a right to be pissed because this conflict has been building for decades as the lawmakers have been ignoring them, and their opportunities have been lessening.

In the three countries I have lived in: France, UK and now USA, I have seen this exact scenario play out. Black boy/young man gets shot and killed by the police. The friends/family question why that happened because the circumstances didn't seem to justify the boy being killed. Friends,family and other locals start a peaceful protest for answers. The protest grows and starts to become about racial profiling by the police in general. Some people use the protests to decide to move from a peaceful protest to action and start rioting. Some people enjoy rioting and protesting pretty much any anti-establishment cause and those will join in with the riots. Others see all of this and join in wanting to take advantage of the situation and start looting. It lasts a couple of weeks and sometimes spreads to other cities. It then dies down after intervention from the police/military/community leaders. Later inquests are held and it is found that there were some questionable details to the killing, but no real improvements or outcomes come from it. Sometimes an increased awareness from the media around the subject does open up conversations that are not normally discussed in the main stream, but rarely does this seem to lead to any answers. Same problems in each country.

I feel that the original protesters have a valid reason for protesting, even when it is expanded to include more general protests around racial profiling. I can understand the feelings of helplessness and powerlessness that may drive some people to think that peaceful protests don't work and to resort to rioting. I don't agree with it but I can see where the frustrations grow from. In my opinion the looters are the ones who I can't sympathize with, they are the opportunists out to gain from the situation.

Members of the police force should have to wear a go-pro at all times on duty. Would solve alot of problems.

I'm coming into this REALLY late, but just a couple things that bug me:

Why isn't everyone all up in arms about the almost 30 people who were shot during the same time period in Chicago? You have black on black crime that goes untouched and swept under the rug, but white on black? Whew.

Some people showing up there need to be sent home. And I"m talking about people like Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton. Two of the biggest race shit-stirrers I've ever seen. And... if "justice" and "peace" are such a big deal, why aren't they taking care of my #1 point and protesting down Michigan Ave in Chicago?

WHY oh WHY did US Attorney General Holder have to show up and make a speech about how he's afraid of the police too, and make a huge point of saying he's black? Isn't he supposed to be impartial as THE ATTORNEY GENERAL? He met with families/friends of the victim, but not of the accused? I find it difficult to stomach that although he's supposed to be impartial (because you know darn well the AG will investigate this), he's creating "emotional attachments" with those close to the victim. Actually, why is he even there? Again, see point #1.

I totally agree with people's right to protest. I'm totally in agreement with letting the facts stand for themselves on this whole incident. It is unfortunate that in this country, race is still such a huge issue. But honestly I think we ALL have a little responsibility for that. Shoot, I grew up in what we jokingly call "white bread and mayo country" - our "differences" were not defined by the color of our skin (we were all white where I grew up) - by whether you were a farmer or a blue collar worker. Oh, or if you were Amish.

The more shit-stirrers keep going in Ferguson and have the avenue of national media in which to spew to, the worse it's going to get. They're not being constructive because if they were, I'd have no issue.