Grand jury reaches decision in Ferguson case (Announcement Monday night)

[Person Man]

Tonight is just another instantiation of the Scorpion and the Frog.

[Person Man]

If you're going to riot and burn things, why would you do it to your own town?

It's not their own town. They don't actually own it. They don't own homes, they don't know businesses, many of them have to take public transportation. They don't pay property taxes. Ferguson, MO is just a place they happen to be stuck living in, not their own community.

That's why it's not that hard to imagine why people there would be so comfortable in destroying it.

They are destroying rented homes, rented businesses, and rioting on rented streets. No liability to them.

Its more than that...they still shop at these places, live around those streets, etc.

The same people destroying the walmart tonight are going to be mad that its not open for 2 weeks after this.

It's not really more than that. If anything, they are creating economic prosperity for themselves. Wal-Mart will now have to further increase holiday staffing to clean up the mess. Nobody has any reason to care about the cost of the damage.

Until they are given real stable opportunity to own businesses and homes of their own, nobody will ever care about the cost of the damage.

This narrative is actually very common throughout the world for all who are "The White Man's Burden".

[Person Man]

Tomorrow will be worse than today

I doubt that. Why do you think that?

I'm just speculating, but the Rodney King riots were worse the second day. I could see more people coming out when the sun comes out and it gets warmer.

How did they end then?

[Person Man]

I think there should be a separate thread about long term consequences and solutions of these states of affairs. Apparently there are those who think they are excluded from moral consideration from the community and there are those who feel that those who people who feel excluded are indeed included but have chosen to exclude themselves and yet refused the consequences of that choice. What is the end game? Is there anything that anyone can do about it?

[Person Man]

Unfortunately, it's very, very rare for a police officer to get indicted. I am not surprised he wasn't. Most laypeople look at law enforcement as good people who has no ill will towards anyone, and thus police brutality is goes largely unchecked.

The rioting and looting doesn't do much to help the plight of those affected either. It is merely reinforcing the stereotypes that many racists have about the black community. What does it accomplish?

The rioting and looting is an expression of inchoate rage at being powerless. I don't imagine that it's calculated to accomplish anything.

People do this because there is nothing left to do?