General Discussion

GitRDun

(1,846 posts) Sun Nov 30, 2014, 12:55 AM Nov 2014

Institutional Racism Killed Michael Brown

I have been reading the many threads about both the case and the protests surrounding Michael Brown’s murder. I live in hope that the many protesters can begin an exercise that comes up with some constructive things to do next.

To that end, I would like to offer more of a ten thousand foot view on what I see happened here in Ferguson, MO.

Ferguson, MO is run by a few white people that balance their budget by accessing a fine revenue machine (the police and courts) pointed primarily at its black residents.

Revenue from fines are controllable, controlled by contractors to the city

From the 2014/2015 Ferguson, MO budget, “fines and public safety revenues which are more controllable (emphasis mine) are expected to rise significantly.” 2013/2014 forecasted fines and public safety revenues are $2.2 million. 2014/2015 budgeted fines and public safety revenues are $3.2 million. The increases are expected to come with the installation of red light cameras ($600,000) and “ancillary fines” related to the red light cameras.

The municipal court judge, the prosecutor and the assistant prosecutor are all contract employees, e.g, they do what they are told to do. Control fine revenues.

As I see it, Ferguson, MO looks an awful lot like a place where expectations are set for fine revenues. They need them, they are controllable.

The police point the fine machine at the city’s black residents

The well documented police racial profiling statistics are here:

http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/police-stops-in-ferguson-what-are-the-numbers/article_012cf751-9cec-5733-8025-09e03abb9d86.html

Ferguson police are much more likely to stop, search and arrest African-American drivers than white ones. Last year, blacks, who make up a little less than two-thirds of the driving-age population in the North County city, accounted for 86 percent of all stops. When stopped, they were almost twice as likely to be searched as whites and twice as likely to be arrested, though police were less likely to find contraband on them.

There are definite expectations of a level of fine revenue from the city, a nearly all white police force pointing that fine revenue expectation disproportionately at its black residence. That is institutional racism.

What kind of a person would one expect to work in that police department? More often than not, a white guy that doesn’t like black people too much.

Darren Wilson bit off more than he could chew with Mike Brown, and instead of backing off waiting for back-up he lost control and killed Mike Brown because he did not value Mike Brown’s life.

Mike Brown was going to happen in Ferguson sooner or later. If nothing is changed, it will happen again.