“What do we want?”
“Darren Wilson!”
“How do we want him?”
“Dead!”
That's a call-and-response chant of radical, bloodthirsty protesters outside the police department in Ferguson, Mo., on Thursday, Nov. 20, as reported by freelancer Justin Glawe, writing at the Daily Beast.
Kudos to Mr. Glawe for making his readers aware of the radical leftists whipping up a frenzy ahead of the announcement by the St. Louis County prosecutor's office as to whether Officer Darren Wilson is or not indicted on charges stemming from the fatal August shooting of Michael Brown (emphasis mine):
One African American officer smirked, possibly an attempt to laugh off the disturbing comments being launched in his direction. It was an unsettling and uncomfortable environment, one that is sure to have right-wing Darren Wilson supporters saying “I told you so” about protesters who are sometimes seen as nothing more than advantageous troublemakers.
For the left, whose far side was represented last night by at least one member of the Revolutionary Communist Party, the situation might be one worth dismissing as the mad rants of a few unruly members of the community.
Although one black photojournalist, a young man from the area who has been covering events here since the day Wilson shot and killed Michael Brown, was at a loss.
“I just don’t get it,” he said, shaking his head. “I don’t understand what the point of this is.”
It may be nothing other than anger and despair, at this point. With widespread speculation that Wilson won’t be charged, that could be a toxic combination, and one that might turn into the worst case scenario many are expecting: riots, looting, violence.
For months protesters have called the police the aggressors. And at points in August, they were absolutely right. I watched as cops shot tear gas toward a group who was helping an injured woman to her feet—they fashioned a splint to keep her ankle straight despite being fired upon. Police took people to the ground sometimes with impunity, wrenching arms behind backs and slapping cuffs on anyone who didn’t move quick enough. They did the same last night, after telling the protesters they would be arrested if they kept blocking traffic. Three were scooped up, including a 25-year-old man who is accused of pushing cops before being pepper-sprayed and taken away. “I ain’t afraid of cops,” he said, according to The Guardian.
That’s what many are afraid of. That no one will respect the grand jury’s decision—a mechanism of the law that, however wrong, unjust or unfair it’s perceived to be will likely mark the final legal event of note in the case of Darren Wilson. So, while the smirk that swept across the black cop’s face Thursday night might have been a slight betrayal of his attempt at stoicism, to the protesters who taunted him it was tantamount to a capital offense.
“You think this is funny?” they screamed. “You think racism is funny?”
He didn’t answer, obviously.
