So unless those cops are ready to stay for the long haul, this little show of force will only demonstrate what little they can do.

and cops will not get what they want, which is a good ole Colliseum bread and circus event.

But they will last for months. That way the need for change will be more evident. The contrast of police in riot gear and peaceful protests could speak volumes.

the way to go. The nation and world are with them right now. Peaceful protesting will keep them.

People will be more concerned about Taylor Swift's wardrobe .

an excuse to act badly giving those police a reason to act poorly.

But the majority will be peaceful protestors.

I doubt there will be any/more than a few gatherings to protest anywhere outside of Ferguson.

here in Central California. If there's no indictment I imagine the turnout will swell. No violence but definitely protests.

It is just the time to get extremely pissed..and to react with great anger...no matter how much you love peace. This is one of those times.

... and generally peaceful protests. Not the fireworks the media is hoping for.

that they are giving other law enforcement agencies time to prepare for unrest. I hope that's not the case, but nothing from Ferguson officials seems aboveboard.

a nation-wide broadcast similar to the way all other nation-wide broadcasts get coordinated.

That is the late end of any normal national broadcast.

There was a change in announcement time for a reason -- or two -- and the media runs 24 hours nowadays...

I don't think this announcement will come as a big surprise to anyone.

Probably more of the same, protests in Ferguson & St. Louis, but this will all blow over soon enough, and the media will wait for the next shooting to cover. Should only be a few days or hours to wait for that.

Your friend,

The Media

there will likely be peaceful protests and law enforcement will be hyper-reactive to the very few that act out and the media will focus on this, rather than, the peaceful protests.

Outside of Ferguson ... crickets ... except for internet rants, typed from the comfort of America's living rooms ... during the commercial breaks.

In Communities of Color ... this will serve as a re-affirmation that justice evades us.

I read - did not post to - cities across Ameeica are bracing for the worst.



What a monumental waste of money and resources.

Great stuff but key point starts at 6:32

Cops will not be held accountable for murdering black people.

Ferguson will not go away. The police dept there has ruined the reputation of the place. Remember the Watts riots??!!
Remember Rodney King??!! This stuff does not go away.

If there is no indictment, it will act as a flash point and proof of a corrupt, racist system. If there is no indictment, this will NOT be going away.

Followed by pictures/video proving there IS violence followed by blaming the (which may be the case) cops. Recipe that has been done over and over and over and over. Not hard to predict.

If there are violent protests, it doesn't help the cause at all.

People in Ferguson will lose it and hopefully light a fire so big it can be seen by the International Space Station.

I assume you don't live there.

People that have suffered loss of life in their families want peace and justice. Like H2O man. He's lost several family members to violence and has not called for Armageddon yet. That is what I think the people of Ferguson don't want to have happen, as they will just be hurt more than they already are.

But that was not the original question.

When large groups of people get together, the collective IQ tends to be cut in half.

Why do folks riot and destroy their own neighborhoods? Because they are collectively stupid.

Does your stupidity theory count for the large groups of police getting together, as well? Or just the stupid crowds?

Yes, the rioters trashing their own neighborhoods are stupid. If they were smart they would be trashing someone else's neighborhood, preferably the neighborhood of the folks they are supposedly rioting against.

The advantage the cops have is a strong chain of command that slows down the flow of stupidity. Unfortunately for the rest of us, that does not stop the flow of stupidity, just slows the flow.

but about getting justice which will elude them again if there is no indictment. I see what you're saying in a clinical sense, but for the cops in this case, it's now a full-scale CYA operation which takes away their credibility.

Hopefully there won't be rioting anyway. I was thinking there might be some unrest with the main theme being justice denied, not trashing someone else's neighborhood just for spite. I see what you're saying about crowds in general, though, but the police in this case mishandled just about everything, which is an understatement at this point.

We deserve what we sow.

There might be some small gatherings here and there but in general there will be no reaction at all.

"Muricans loves them some football.

and except for a few incidents and some sporadic protests, maybe through the weekend, but probably ending by Thanksgiving, the press will move onto another shiny object by next Monday.

The only way the story continues in any meaningful way into December is if there is significant violence. If so, the story will be about violent protesters, not racial disparities in the criminal justice system, and the protests will have the opposite effect than intended, and without popular support.

We have very short attention spans.

Sorry to say, but I think that will be it.

It's why we call them pigs.

Last edited Mon Nov 24, 2014, 09:47 PM - Edit history (2)

Yeah, we'll bitch, complain, blog, and voice our discontent, the talking heads on the cable news will kick the story back and forth until Wednesday, when it will get swept off the front pages by Turkey Day, the Cowboys, the 49ers and Black Friday...Wilson will do his media rounds and then vanish without a trace to live out his life in comfortable (and likely paranoid) solitude ala Zimmerman...

Then everyone will be talking about Christmas shopping/travel, the College Bowl games, the new congress being sworn in and the public will by-and-large forget about the whole thing and it will be forgotten about until the next one of us gets gunned down by a cop or neighborhood vigilante, and the whole cycle will begin anew...

time it will be forgotten until as you say, "the whole cycle will begin anew..." There are just too many other diversions going on.

but the Zimmerman case (and the thousands of arguments I had on DU over it) pushed my cynicism into another universe...

Maybe even kill another unarmed black kid or two.

but on the news you will see the three looters over and over and over...

If people thought he would be indicted, they wouldn't be protesting. They're protesting because they know there will be no justice.

The few people who get out of hand will get all the press. The many who continue to peacefully protest will be mistreated by law enforcement. I hope they stay safe.