I never promised I wouldn’t check my email while on this late August hiatus with my family.
I doubt it would surprise you that I received tons of hate mail of late. Hatred not so much directed at me, but at what I have had to say about the death of Michael Brown and the people’s response in Ferguson, Missouri.
It is a level of white racism and hatred – real racist language – that I do not allow to be posted here.
On the other hand there is the comments of Dan Mullin, a retired law enforcement officer from downstate Illinois.
Dan has posted comments on this blog before, mostly about pensions.
On the issue of pensions, Dan and I see pretty much eye to eye.
On the death of Michael Brown?
We do not agree at all.
“What do you want the police to do, Fred? Hold hands with them and sing while buildings are being burned and looted?”
Dan asked me this question after last Thursday night. That was when, without any warning, the Ferguson police behaved so violently and without provocation that the Governor of MIssouri removed them from all law enforcement responsibilities.
“I don’t want them shooting 18-year old Black kids In the back,” I wrote back.
“Fred, neither do I,” responded Dan. “And people should call for and wait for a rigid investigation before convicting or condemning anyone including the police. BTW the autopsy was released by the family today. While what they released is not conclusive of what happened, it does show no one was shot in the back. As a retired police administrator, I welcome the federal investigation into this matter. I just don’t think it is fair to point the finger towards anyone before the real facts come out. BTW….thank you for all your hard work on pension theft. i only wish the attorney general would investigate those conspiring to commit those thefts,” wrote Dan.
The results of the family autopsy are not quite as inconclusive as Dan suggests.
And the reality is that no forensic evidence will truthfully address the death of Michael Brown.
It is not really about whether or not he was shot in the back or front or about the number of bullet holes.
What autopsy or forensic investigation will address our country’s history of racism?
No investigation by the Justice Department will mention this: There are more Black men in the criminal justice system today – in prison or on probation, then there were Black men in slavery in 1850.
Will it mention our new Missouri Compromise?
If you remember your American history you know that the original Missouri Compromise allowed slavery to continue in the Southern states and was later amended to allow slavery in the new territories.
Today’s Missouri compromise wants to distribute blame equally to Michael Brown and Ferguson’s African-American community.
And, well yes. Some Ferguson officials acted badly.
The new Missouri Compromise wants us to hold off on what we know happened to Michael Brown.
But there are too many witnesses.
Hundreds of years of witnesses.
We can’t compromise on who is to blame for Ferguson.
Fred Klonsky 
I absolutely agree with your observations about racism Fred. I just think you choose your fights and it is too soon to say wether this is the rifght one. All people have a right to live and it shouldn’t matter if your skin is of color or if you wear a badge. There is much more to this case then either of us know. I am just waiting to form my opinion until all the facts are in. And thanks for quoting me accurately and as always expressing your feelings so well.
Thanks for this, you read it right.
It is interesting that many of those who supported the cattle rancher that didn’t pay his bills and supported and armed response by militias now think this much less violent counter reaction her is just terrible. The militia guys were aiming at federal law enforcement . This is a heavily armed military force aiming at mostly unarmed civilians In both cases we have overmilitarized forces triggering a dangerous counterreaction
“…shouldn’t matter if your skin is of color…” Unless there is skin of no color than the phrase should be “…no matter what skin color…” if you know what I mean.
I frequently forward your emails to my friends. I recently was forwarded an article by a retired social work educator who said she used the web site of southern poverty law center for teaching purposes. At http://www.splcenter.org there are numerous articles on the topic of racism and hatewatch blog etc. I too tried to withhold an opinion until the facts were available. Given the initial report that the officer intervened due to him walking in the middle of the road, I don’t understand how this situation could escalate so rapidly that the officer fired his weapon repeatedly toward an unarmed person, Michael Brown. This is just as difficult to comprehend as the incident in New York where an officer applied a choke hold that lead to the death of a black male who was allegedly selling cigarettes illegally. These incidents should never happen. The majority of law enforcement are professional. It’s unacceptable when one of the good guys is over zealous with their authority or quick to retaliate due to their own issues vs trying to de-escalate situations. There is much work to be done to improve race relations and acceptance of people from different cultures.
Fact: Alleged stealing of cigars and/or walking in the middle of the road is not punishable by death without a fair trial.
The first step in bringing justice is making sure Ferguson’s police department reflects the makeup of the community. Some of the scenes in Ferguson look like a throwback to Apartheid in South Africa. It’s ironic that Fox-News-Types of angry white men claim racism no longer exists and we no longer need the Civil Rights laws that people were willing to die for. What kind of discrimination is going on in the hiring of police officers in Ferguson?
Whatever is going on in Ferguson is much more than a simple reaction to the killing. A cop kills a defiant African-American teen. This happens shortly after the teen strong-arms a Quicky Mart, taking cigars. The cop didn’t know about the Quicky Mart incident, but fear of discovery might explain panicky behaviour on the part of the teen.
The demonstrators are reacting to a history of injustice. We don’t have to travel to St. Louis to learn about that history. It’s playing out right here in Chicago, on the west and south sides, yet somehow we are blind to it. We cannot see what is happening in plain sight.
violent crimes committed by white americans on black americans is at an all time high. this needs to end. I have three young black grandchildren who get panic attacks when they see white people. it is because every time they turn on the television, it seems the media is reporting on either a killing, robbery or sexual assault by a white person on an innocent African American. it is so very sad to see.