Words and Actions Make a Difference

We've all seen the footage on CNN and USAToday - violent protests in Ferguson after the reading of the Grand Jury decision last night. The headlines today read:

The latest from the Ferguson fallout (USAToday)
Missouri governor boosts National Guard presence (USAToday)Streets of Ferguson Smolder (CNN)

All of them centered on the violence in the streets of Ferguson. Not one of them talking about the 700 non-violent protesters that were also on the streets last night. 

Do you remember hearing about PumpkinFest in Keene, NH? It was in the headlines for a total of five hours. Here is a summary from Sally Kohn (When White People Riot), 

"In mid-October, during the annual Pumpkin Festival in the small New England town of Keene, New Hampshire, some white college kids apparently had too much to drink and turned violent. They were hurling broken glass and rocks at police (as well as, apparently, pumpkins). At least a dozen people were arrested and 30 injured, with 20 taken to area hospitals. The troublemakers seemed to revel in the chaos and damage they caused, with one telling a local newspaper, "It's just like a rush. You're revolting from the cops. It's a blast to do things that you're not supposed to do."" 

Do you remember hearing about Morgantown, WV? It didn't even make the headlines in any of the main news agencies. Here is a summary from the Mountaineer News Service (How WVU’s couch-burning tradition spawned riots):  

"In the hours after West Virginia University’s football team beat the University of Texas Oct. 6, more than 1,000 students filled the streets of Morgantown, toppling a light pole and setting fires to the pole and nearby cars. Approximately 40 fires blazed that night and when the firefighters and police arrived to quell them, students threw rocks and beer bottles at them. Police eventually had to use riot gear and pepper-spray to break up the mob."

So, what's the difference between the Ferguson riots and the other two riots? The effects of media scrutiny and over-reacting police force ..... and race. Ms. Kohn noted that the National Gaurd was not called to Morgantown, nor was there a state of emergency declared. The city is, "considering a law to ban upholstered furniture from outdoor areas, since the "tradition" of setting fire to couches apparently fueled the protests."  She goes on to say .... "Could you imagine a news story about a black community with a "tradition" of burning couches? The media would be pointing out how they're "destroying their own community" and the right would make assertions about black people not deserving public assistance." 

Instead of vilifying the protesters in Ferguson, maybe we, as a nation, need to start looking at the words and the actions we use to control others. Maybe the problem is deeper than a grand jury not indicting a police officer. 

But then, to admit that would mean we would have to change.