Tuesday, November 18, 2014

Missouri Simmers

I have been watching and waiting to see what is going to happen in Ferguson, Missouri when the grand jury makes a decision whether to indict the police officer who shot down an unarmed teenager not long ago.  It is actually making me a bit anxious, wondering what in the world is taking them so long to make a decision.

I can't help thinking the grand jury members are afraid to make a decision.  They must have thought things would die down in time, but that hasn't happened.  If anything, things have gotten worse.  I don't blame them for dragging their feet.  Things could get really bad, really fast, if they don't make a decision they can back up with hard facts one way or another.

The media hasn't helped the situation, as usual.  They are obviously hoping for a conflagration. Even Missouri Governor Jay Nixon seems to be nervous, so he has declared a state of emergency.  Some think this may signal that he has some advance warning, or it could mean that he feels he has to do all he can to keep the peace.

I expect we will have a decision withing the next few days.  All we can do is hope that community leaders,both black and white  will be able to keep everyone calm. and hopefully, everyone in that part of the state can move forward, and have something to be thankful for on Thanksgiving day.

Fingers crossed.

Stay tuned.


5 comments:

Olga said...

i hope calmer heads will prevail, but I am not so optimistic. I think the human race is making darn slow progress in its moral development.

lucylocket said...

I can't imagine the pressure on those grand jury members. It must be frightening for them. No matter what the decision is there will be problems. They are in a no win situation. Being a good citizen is sometimes difficult.

savannah said...

It seems we'll all know tomorrow, sweet pea. I'm hoping for fairness and a peaceful response to whatever is decided. (i sometimes think my real name is pollyanna...) xoxoxox

Galla Creek said...

We are often quick to judge. I think "well, I was not there". If that boy had grabbed me from the window of my car, would I have just said. Sir, please let go of my shirt so I can drive away and let you walk down the middle of the road. There is a street in my town, where these young boys slaughter down the middle with their butts hanging out. I often had to wait when I was teaching to let them finally get to where they were going. I found in school these same ones were quick to say "don't touch me". We left them alone and let a lot of bad behavior slide. Where we give an inch do others take a mile? I don't know the answer but would like to say that having been where I have been on the receiving end of disrespect to the point that I was frightened I can understand the fear of the policeman.

I often told children in school--"if you will not abide by rules here, you will not abide by laws in society. Here you receive a little punishment, but in the real world, you will go to jail". They did not listen as I see many of their names in the newspaper arrest lists!

I will say again--I can not judge as I was not there and I too have made mistakes!

Dennis said...

Most states feel that the fists of a professional fighter are lethal weapons. I take exception to M. Brown being unarmed. He is a 300 lb fist flying out of control weapon of the worst kind and can or will kill you without hesitation if he so desired. No one in their right mind would stand and wait for the onslaught of a crazed animal in the attack mode. The officer did what anyone with the ability to stop this entitled street thug would have done... I know I would without hesitation.