dag
The current crop of so called "activists" are the antithesis of the civil rights movement of the late 1960s and have no sense of their own history. They are sadly lost
You have contrasted the St. Louis event with King's marches?
I think a more direct parallel from the past would be the reaction to the acquital of the officers who beat Rodney King.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1992_Los_Angeles_riotsKings marches might more be contrasted with everts that BLM organized like
In August 2014, BLM members organized their first in-person national protest in the form of a "Black Lives Matter Freedom Ride" to Ferguson, Missouri after the shooting of Michael Brown.[20] More than five hundred members descended upon Ferguson to participate in non-violent demonstrations. Of the many groups that descended on Ferguson, Black Lives Matter emerged from Ferguson as one of the best organized and most visible groups, becoming nationally recognized as symbolic of the emerging movement.[20]
Since then, Black Lives Matter has organized thousands of protests and demonstrations. Expanding beyond street protests, BLM has expanded to activism on American college campuses, such as the 2015–16 University of Missouri protests.[29]
wikipedia...
Black Lives Matter has been reasonably successful in raising the profile of their cause. Which is institutional racism in the justice system, especially at the enforcement level...
They aren't always as disciplined as the Freedom riders of the 50s and 60s. True. But then they also have to deal with a different public reaction to reported media. In the 60s television viewers saw the Selma march live, and in replay, as an unprecedented television event. The violent police reaction to the Selma marchers was usually the first time that the public at large had seen events of that kind. And many were sickened.
Today, the reportage of BLM events is often skewed by who does the reporting. It isn't simply a matter of point the camera and record the events. And there is a built in skepticism expressed by either side of a polarized populace as they watch from their own media silo.
I think your criticism of BLM is over the top. I don't think that the cumulative effect of systemic racism is understood well by those unaffected... And its the cumulative effect, with seemingly little progress in addressing the system, that causes the frustration that can sometimes generate violent reactions to real and perceived injustice.
It strikes me that victim in this matter behaved wrongly from the start. In video I have seen, he drives away from police when asked to stop, and nearly runs into one officer. I'd be predisposed as the judge to think he was acting like a guilty man from the first moment. And if he's willing to drive away in this fashion, perhaps he's reckless enough to have and attempt to use a firearm... At least it raises a doubt in my mind.
However, the standards for policing and procedures -- in this case the selective turning off of cameras and the chain of evidence - sure do leave a lot to be desired.
If the police had been wearing personal recording devices - perhaps indisputable evidence could have been presented.. There is a large doubt about where the hand gun attributed the victim came from. And in a well documented arrest, this wouldn't be the case. We shouldn't have to trust the statement of one police officer alone ... There should be something in evidence that corroborates him.
There doesn't seem to be, And when people don't trust the system, with good reason, this is going to be a problem.
To rebuild trust police need to have procedures that are unassailable.