Police advocates: Ambush shooting in Ferguson part of disturbing trend

I agree. It's a terrible thing & certainly not okay, but I think it's impossible to seperate this from the root cause which is something that has been going on, promoted & tolerated in law enforcement circles for FAR too long.

REFORM & ACCOUNTABILITY are needed.
 
The problem for me is now Ferguson is becoming some kind of media sensation. I mean we all saw the findings from the Police Department and listened to what Obama has to say about it and now it's vigilantes shooting cops for no reason and..I just don't know. With how sensationalized this town has become, it feels more to me like really bad gatekeeping decisions made by the news outlets. All of this kind of attention in my opinion isn't helping the situation at all. It was one thing when the nation felt there was a legitimate racial discrimination problem by the police force, but now the nation doesn't want to seem to let this story die or allow the people of the town to come to a resolution. Plus the news cycle knows that if it keeps bringing up headlines of "Trouble in Ferguson" people will tune in, go online, etc. It feels like the media is using this town as a cash cow and it's hurting the citizens in the worst way possible. I'm not a fan of much of the police force, I will admit that..but this kind of wanton demonstration is NOT the solution. Violence begets violence. That's just it.
 
Ferguson in many ways is emblematic of the many issues that plague our society when it comes to race relations and the police.

1) Overwhelmingly white officer force policing minority neighborhoods.
2) Daily indignities based on both lack of cultural understanding and plain ole racism.
3) Lack of hope in too many of these communities.
4) Distrust of the police force.
5) Lack of reform due to unflinching support of the badge from city officials, who often are also white.
6) Fear of minorities.

When you can check off THAT many issues in one place, it is unsurprising that the killing of Michael Brown has started this long-term media sensation. And in a away I am glad that there is the focus because I think it helps keep any reform process more honest. There is no reason to trust in reforms from a city government that essentially saw the Black people it was supposed to serve as cash cows waiting to be milked by the police force and local judicial system.
 
I think I was a little misunderstood so I will try and state my feelings a little better. I don't think the amount of racism or police misconduct is sensationalized, I think when there are that many outlets in Ferguson, it opens the doors for certain stories (on ALL sides in this cas, people fighting against police misconduct and people supporting the police, etc.) to be blown out of proportion. A simple peaceful protest can turn into full blown violence because of sloppy reporting and having cameras there all the time just INCREASES tensions for all parties involved which can lead to devastating things that everybody in the town is going to have to live with. I think I was just simply saying that while I feel just reporting is important about this, I do feel like the amount of coverage this town is getting can sort of tilt things in a way that wouldn't have happened had the world not been watching and news outlets WAITING...for ANYBODY to misstep.
 
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