What the hell is going on in Missouri right now?
Honestly, it feels to me like the logical extension of the direction this country has been headed from the jump. When ABC News runs a piece titled "Ferguson Police's Show of Force Highlights Militarization of America's Cops", we are officially through the looking glass.
The Department of Defense claims that the uniforms and vehicles being used in Ferguson did not come from it's "1033 program" that supplies state and local authorities with surplus military-grade equipment. Here is a list of what the DoD did send:
six .45-caliber pistols, 12 rifles, two sight reflexes, one explosive ordnance disposal robot, one helicopter, seven utility trucks, three trailers, one motorized cart, one pair of elbow pads, one pair of knee pads, one industrial strength face shield, two night-vision viewers, and computers
That's not enough to supply an occupation BUT it is just enough to fuel a desire for more of that kind of equipment. Just a taste to get you hooked.
And here's the thing. The paramilitary response in Ferguson has been massively out of proportion. Even military veterans are saying so. Vets have pointed out that the police response has been wrong from the get-go. The response has been provocative instead of calming. Police have approached this situation as an occupation and that is antithetical to the "protect and serve" purpose of the police.
“You see the police are standing online with bulletproof vests and rifles pointed at peoples chests. That’s not controlling the crowd, that’s intimidating them.”
“We went through some pretty bad areas of Afghanistan, but we didn’t wear that much gear."
“I can’t think of a [protest] situation where the use of M4 [rifles] are merited. I don’t see it as a viable tactic in any scenario.”
Perhaps the most damning point comes from 10-year veteran of the U.S. Air Force’s law enforcement component and SWAT officer Scriven King:
“I would hate to call the Ferguson response a military one because it isn’t, it’s an aberration.”
And that's the thing. These responses aren't military, they are militia. The police response more resembles the groups that congregated around Cliven Bundy. They are fueled by what they think the military does. They are sorely mistaken. In fact, they more likely resemble the characters in
Red Dawn or
First Blood than they do anything from an actual tactical approach.