Why Would Ferguson Protesters Burn Down Their Own Church?

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You have to wonder about those who drew the proverbial line in the sand in Ferguson, Missouri, and all over the country, only to cross that line and destroy the livelihoods of their own friends and neighbors.  More than a dozen buildings were set ablaze in Ferguson on Monday. Among those that burned: Flood Christian Church. NBC News reports that’s the church where Michael Brown’s father was baptized on Sunday.

Inside of Ferguson church, destroyed by protesters during November 24 demonstration.  Pic courtesy of NBCnews.com.
Inside of Ferguson church, destroyed by protesters during November 24 demonstration. Pic courtesy of NBCnews.com.

Caterwauling demonstrators screeching about: No Justice-No Peace, only to then set fire to their own neighborhoods. How can anyone respect such behavior?  How does white America, watching their televisions, feel about those sweating black faces smashing plate glass windows only to loot and run?  I doubt there would be much sympathy for these outlaws, and unfortunately for those peaceful protesters dedicated to social change they are likely painted with that same broad brush.

During the first round of protests, those following the August 9th shooting of a man, Michael Brown, who had just committed a strongarm robbery and attacked an armed police officer, law enforcement came under heavy criticism for doing their jobs, by trying to protect the community and those businesses targeted by the thugs who came from as far away as Los Angeles.  It seems the police were damned if they did and would soon be damned if they didn’t.

Following the announcement that the Grand Jury found no probable cause to believe that Ferguson Officer Darren Wilson, had used excessive force during his confrontation with Michael Brown, the protests started peacefully enough, until they didn’t, and once again the street thugs went after their own neighbors with a vengeance, burning down businesses, and the church.  This time the police didn’t interfere, protecting lives while avoiding the property crime taking place all around them.  This time they were criticized for not doing enough.

No one wins; not the people, not the police, and certainly not those pleading for social justice.  In order to bring about change one has to make friends, not enemies, and as long as African-Americans are seen as lawless thugs they will make few friends and lots of enemies.

About Post Author

Professor Mike

Professor Mike is a left-leaning, dog loving, political junkie. He has written dozens of articles for Substack, Medium, Simily, and Tribel. Professor Mike has been published at Smerconish.com, among others. He is a strong proponent of the environment, and a passionate protector of animals. In addition he is a fierce anti-Trumper. Take a moment and share his work.
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Stormin' Norm
9 years ago

Mob mentality never has a moral template. Mob mentality believes they are right and everyone else is wrong therefore everything they do is right and anyone who disagrees is wrong. It’s starting to sound like Liverpool in the UK.

Paul Gallagher
9 years ago

Mike these people have no moral template. None. You shouldnt be surprised.

Joe Hagstrom
9 years ago

How do you reason with a man with no health insurance but is against national health insurance?
How do you reason with someone who would burn down his own neighborhood?

You can’t. These people are idiots.

There. A simple republican explanation that in this case is the correct one.

9 years ago

Mike
You’re smarter than this. You even recognize that the “thugs” were not local. So why frame your case this way?

Why not ask what is motivating the thugs who travel far to wreak havoc and discredit peaceful protesters?

Why not question, as I do, who these thugs are and whether or not they might be mercenaries organized and delivered to discredit those with legitimate grievances? Why not ask if they are opportunists who may simply be coming to make some cash and as an outlet for their sociopathic tendencies? But, above all, why blame the citizens of Ferguson for the actions of these imported (or migrating) thugs?

There is no logic to your case or defense for it. You are unquestionably a melding two disparate facts and portraying them as if they are one fact.

What is increasingly clear is that the methods for social advocacy must evolve as the entrenched forces evolve to thwart the tactics of the past. Strategies and tactics from the Ghandi and MLK days are known to entrenched forces, and they have developed methods to undermine those strategies and tactics (including murder of movement leaders). So, what is the possibility that – simply to illustrate – Koch money is behind an effort to ensure that the thugs arrive quickly and inflict the most possible damage in the shortest amount of time? Why aren’t you asking THESE questions, Mike?

Why, Mike, with your world view so obvious elsewhere, are you blind to the possibilities in communities where young black men are routinely treated as if they are criminals simply for walking down the street…as Michael Brown was in Ferguson?

I’m sorry, Mike, but your history as a police officer has clouded your objectivity. You may sincerely feel that this cop’s behavior was justified. I’ll grant you that. But I can’t ignore your bias…and that this post not only confirms that bias, but it also shows you are willing to condemn the good with the bad even though you already know the distinction between the two.

You made both of these statements in one commentary, and they are irreconcilable:
1. “…trying to protect the community and those businesses targeted by the thugs who came from as far away as Los Angeles.”
2. “Caterwauling demonstrators screeching about: No Justice-No Peace, only to then set fire to their own neighborhoods.”
Obviously, you know better, and yet you (deliberately?) obfuscate.

There is far more insight into this phenomenon in Sublime’s “April 26th, 1992”. http://www.metrolyrics.com/april-26th-1992-lyrics-sublime.html

Timmy Mahoney
Reply to  Jim Moore
9 years ago

Dude you’re telling Mike how he should write what he thinks? That’s a little fucked up man. It’s his opinion he’s framing, not yours, and I doubt he is looking to make everyone happy. It’s what he thinks and I agree with what he thinks, at least in this case. Simply walking down the street? Man you haven’t read the evidence. Brown and his buddy were walking down the MIDDLE OF THE FUCKING street. That’s puts them at risk as well as those driving on the street. It’s called jaywalking. Not surprisingly you ignore the fact that the innocent black man had just robbed a fucking store, tossed around a tiny old clerk, and tried to disarm a police officer. WTF? Routinely treated as criminals? This is one case where that treatment was well founded. Man you are the one showing bias. No biggie though. We all have them. Peace out.

Jack Peach
Reply to  Jim Moore
9 years ago

Mr Moore you are right, Mr Scott is clearlt a racist pig like all the pigs and you can tell that just like you did. Fuck all the pigs, they are the real criinimals here. Thankyou for seeing this and calling out the pig.

Anonymous
9 years ago

These people don’t give a shit about their neighbors. They are looking for loot and they don’t a shit who they hate or hurt to find it. I’ll bet most of them have no clue about Michael Brown much less give a shit about him dying, beyond it giving them an excuse for lawlessness.

Lyndon Probus
9 years ago

It’s about a lack of self-esteem. Living in a poverty ridden community brings people down and fills them with a lazy despair, making them insensitive to the social mores of society. Good article Mike. Right on point.

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