Ferguson, MO

[DrPhil]

I heard someone on NPR today say something to the effect of "Ferguson was shocking. It was a wake-up call that this is going on. Not just in Ferguson but across the nation."

Uh...I'm so tired of people having "shocking wake-up calls" for things that have existed for decades. This isn't everyone's "shocking wake-up call".

[ZetaPhi708.20]

Update: the Ferguson chief of police resigned today.

Peaceful assembly underway at the FPD. Police in riot gear have shown up.

https://twitter.com/AntonioFrench

[KDCat]

Two cops were shot in Ferguson last night. One from Webster Groves (a city on the other side of St. Louis) and one from St. Louis County. They were standing side-by-side, doing crowd control, and someone shot them.

http://rt.com/usa/239989-video-cops-shot-ferguson/

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/13/us...on-police.html

[Nanners52674]

Originally Posted by DrPhil

I heard someone on NPR today say something to the effect of "Ferguson was shocking. It was a wake-up call that this is going on. Not just in Ferguson but across the nation."

Uh...I'm so tired of people having "shocking wake-up calls" for things that have existed for decades. This isn't everyone's "shocking wake-up call".

I'd rather have ignorant people get a shocking wake-up call that gets them to see something they were previously blind to. If you're trying to raise awareness wake-up calls are a good thing. I don't get why someone would complain about this.

[DrPhil]

Originally Posted by Nanners52674

I don't get why someone would complain about this.

Because it makes some of us wonder where the hell the ignorant people (who tend to be of a particular race) have been and why the hell the ignorant people care now. This isn't a mainstream media trend or something for the cool majority kids to Instagram about while it's a hot topic until the next hot topic. This is real life stuff that has been going on for decades and people in minority communities have been fighting this fight.

[MysticCat]

Originally Posted by Nanners52674

I don't get why someone would complain about this.

For some it may be a "shocking wake-up call." But to simply say "It was a wake-up call that this is going on, not just in Ferguson but across the nation," suggests that it's the first time this has really come to national attention. There have been plenty of "wake-up calls." The complaint isn't there are wake-up calls. The complaint is that wake-up calls are still needed because too many people have been hitting the snooze button.

How many wake up calls do we need?

The answer is blowing in the wind.

{Sorry, I couldn't resist.}

[StealthMode]

Originally Posted by DrPhil

This is real life stuff that has been going on for decades and people in minority communities have been fighting this fight.

Originally Posted by MysticCat

The complaint isn't there are wake-up calls. The complaint is that wake-up calls are still needed because too many people have been hitting the snooze button.

I started to respond but these both said what I was thinking.

A friend at the protest posted about the officers who were shot just minutes after it happened. I was so incredibly sad to see that but glad that they both survived. Reports say the shots weren't even fired from the group of protesters. I hope that person is caught.