After reading innumerable articles, videos, comments and posts of "it's all the community's fault and they need to seriously address themselves." I am astonished at the double standard being applied to Ferguson and black communities in general. I decided to point it at myself and tell you what my reaction would be.
When violence, crime and or disorder in my city occurs, no one snaps at me, "What is the white community doing to solve this or what is being done to correct the violent tendencies of your community?" while crowing over statistics on whites that enforce the stereotype that whites are inherently violent. Should I be required to administer a stern warning to my community not to act violently every day to appease those who are certain via a few statistical charts we have this terrible monster living inside of us. How about a loud "no thank you" to "baiting" the expectation that all of us must overcome being unstable and potentially violent. In my reality, I would straight up tell him or her that violence, crime and or disorder in any city is reserved for law enforcement and courts. Statistics do not change that. However those same stats could also reveal law enforcement, like the War on Poverty touted as a complete failure because it didn't end poorness, is a failure at ending violent crime in, well, nearly every city in the nation.
I am not forgetting that communities can and have done amazing things to help combat violence and crime, but they need law enforcement and courts. Unless you're totally fine with letting rouge citizens arrest, charge and lock up violent criminals when law enforcement is unsuccessful at ending crime. Yes, I could arm myself to protect my life, family and property. I could have a shootout with the criminals in my city. How does this "correct my violent tendencies" and restore peace and order in my community in your eyes. Oh, I forgot, if I shot someone, I wouldn't be considered a violent thug if my Facebook profile showed me fondling a Sig Sauer P320 with my breasts partially exposed. My bad.
If I'm certain some of the police are the problem in my community, shockingly, I might just practice my Constitutional right to peacefully assemble to air my grievances about the bad ones beating and killing my fellow citizens. If rioting and looting occurs and someone dares to tell me, "There needs to be an honest conversation with your community without violence or excuses about past wrongdoings," I'd say the past transgressions are not excuses, they part of the real, unacceptable history I am attempting to correct for the future of my community's children. A past and present that demands I tell my children to avoid law enforcement. The violence and crimes during the protest are caused by criminals taking advantage of hostile situation that I must also frightfully endure while I make my point. I promise if I'm willing risk my life to do that, it's valid.
"What about all those white people killing each other over here or over there. Where's your protest over that?" What about that over copied and pasted list from the Internet of dead people you suddenly care about used to shame me for speaking out about injustices in my community. Really, if your house is on fire, would you be willing to fly to other states to pour water on random burning buildings or are you going to concentrate on getting your own fire extinguished. I have no control over whether another white person is going to get violent or not in another city or state nor do I have control of how the media will represent my community and whether you're going to use that media to wrongly to support your trite, nonexistent point.
Paint my violent city, like they would know how all our unique, personal canvases have been painted, with the high moral ground of shit brush splattering a derogatory social image of my white community. Believe me, I wouldn't put up with that. I would say, don't even start with me about whether we're married or not, how many children we have or whether we've "shirked our responsibilities" in one way or another as members of society. I do believe that this list of disparaging, unnecessary, moral nonsense does nothing to gain my respect of your view. Some smug monochrome image of the so called perfection of the 50s. What sweet time that was for some but, let's not forget, not all; I would have been forced to marry, breed and silently shut down any dreams that didn't fit a particular social order or face a good, old fashioned, 50s style shaming that some would like resurrected to shut me down today.
Spewing any of these inappropriately placed arguments at the people of Ferguson protesting against aggression by some of their law enforcement officers, now, not surprisingly, facing a more militarized version of the very agency they are protesting, is disrespectful and coarsely lacking personal, internal reflection of the situation. If this was my city and politicos within media reach speaking in support of my plight are condemned and shamed as baiters, hustlers and agitators and me as "a stony adversary, an inhuman wretch" within my community's criminal den of iniquity. I would ask why is the outrage targeted at me and my community's protest instead of the tyranny we say we're facing, a police force militarized, hostile and ready to fire upon us as we take action against abuses of power. If society as a whole does not take action against this double standard regarding black communities and would rather succumb to tarnishing them and their claims of injustice, it's obvious to me everyone is held back from being part of any real solutions to ensure equal justice for everyone.