Lyle Jeremy Rubin has just posted an article at The Nation that I encourage everyone to read. (This diary is simply my attempt to broaden its reach.) The title is
A Former Marine Explains All the Weapons of War Being Used by Police in Ferguson
Go read it. It's illustrated. It's well done. It should be read by every American.
Here are a few quotes:
One small way to measure the police violence against black people in Ferguson is to attend to its details. It is in that spirit that I present this simple catalog.
What we’re seeing here is a gaggle of cops wearing more elite killing gear than your average squad leader leading a foot patrol through the most hostile sands or hills of Afghanistan.
The author concludes:
We are dealing with an arsenal of racial oppression. It’s time we look it in the face, in all its awful detail. It’s time we call it by its name.(Emphasis added.)
Anything I might add is simply to pretend that this is a real diary and not just my attempt to promote knowledge about Ferguson.