Ferguson mirrors American uncertainties
As a non-American, I cannot truly put a finger on what it is that came to the surface as a result of the Ferguson, Missouri incident. In that incident, a young black American by the name of Michael Brown was shot dead by a white police officer. Protests ensued and often descended into violence. To put things into perspective, Brown was unarmed when shot six times. But he also had just come from what police said was a "strong-arm" robbery of a convenience store.
So what was the protest about? Was it just about the shooting of an unarmed man (excessive use of force) or was it because he was black and that he was shot by a white police officer? It may be instructive to note that most of the protesters were black. It may also be similarly instructive to underscore the fact that most of the police that faced the protesters were white.
One other fact has crept into the incident aside from the main protagonists being either black or white. The police have been roundly criticized by protesters and by media alike for coming in military-like gear and equipment. It was like they were going to war, said a common complaint. It did not help that later disclosures show that the ranks of the protesters have been infiltrated by outsiders, provocateurs from outside Missouri.
So what is it that has just shown its ugly face? And I do not think I deserve a straighforward answer as much as America itself does. I think it is America that has to answer that question. It needs to find out the truth about itself. For America cannot go on solving the problems of others, at great expense in money and in the lives of its own young men in uniform.
America is there in almost every conflict in the world. And yet, as the Ferguson, Missouri incident has very clearly shown, American is rocked by its very own deep-seated and long-simmering conflict. But what makes this conflict even worse is that the racial tensions have the tendency to inflict very serious damage to its own institutions.
The anger that flared in Ferguson, Missouri was no longer directed at the particular white police officer who fired the shots that killed the black teenager. The anger has enveloped the entire presence of the police and what they wore or had as equipment. This needs to be emphasized because normally America as a military power and is no stranger nor is allergic to military uniforms and hardware, even if it is the police who happen to be wearing and using them.
America is living in a different world and time and Americans cannot pretend it is unaware of this. Even black Americans know that after 9/11 it has become almost incongruous for the police to be a picture of 1960s beat patrols with nothing on their hands but night sticks. As American intelligence reports later cited after Ferguson, Missouri erupted, and in light of present troubles in the Middle East -- there are already ISIS sleeper cells in America today, just biding their time.
In other words, America lives in a world and a time wherein the life of every man in uniform, be it a regular soldier or a policeman, could be in danger at any time. That being the case, it would be stupid for the police not to be fully prepared and fully equipped, call it military style if you will, for any eventuality, including domestic issues that can easily be exploited by those who wait in the shadows to destroy America.
And that is why I am asking what it is that black America wants. Do black Americans want their police to be sitting ducks against enemies who, right at this very moment, could just be pretending to be their friendly next door neighbors? Or does the resentment of black Americans against the police dressed as soldiers only the result of their anger over race issues?
However black Americans may want to answer that one, all Americans regardless of skin color must need to address this issue once and for all because America cannot go on solving the problems of the world if it cannot do so with its own. Unless America solves its own problems first, the time might come when, overextended as its is with so many foreign political commitments, its knees might simply buckle up and it will never know what hit it.
Only a day or two ago, a Chinese fighter jet menacingly drew close to an American Navy plane. And all America can do is to protest loudly. This is the latest in a growing number of Chinese provocations that America has been unable to address appropriately -- meaning in a manner that sends a clear and unambiguous message that there will be hell to pay if a repeat is committed.
Russia too has been thumbing its nose at America, perhaps inspired by unpunished Chinese provocations. In the Middle East, everything that America has tried to do is falling to pieces. What is happening to America is making a lot of countries that look up to it as the policeman of the world very scared. To these countries, it seems that America forgot its military uniform and has gone back to 1960s Ferguson, Missouri doing beat patrols armed only with a gentle voice and a night stick.
The police, as an institution, should be able to dress up and arm itself appropriately in keeping with the times. If it has to look like soldiers in order to do its job, that is a very small price to pay for success. If there are bad eggs in the police, as there always are in any group or organization, they can always be weeded out and punished or corrected.
But one bad incident involving one or two bad eggs in an institution must not be allowed to taint an entire organization. America is a target for destruction by its enemies. These enemies can strike anywhere, especially in places where attacks are least expected. If an attack were to happen in Ferguson, Missouri, wouldn't the people there be thankful if the police, as first responders, were to be dressed and equipped properly?
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