Ferguson and frustration

As with the event itself, the timing for everything connected with the killing of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo. has been incredibly bad.  For the prosecutor to keep a militant crowd waiting until after dark to deliver the predictable non indictment of the officer involved was begging for trouble.  The mood was a hair trigger from violence and the presence of hundreds of media representatives from around the world acted as a catalyst for the trouble which followed.  The authorities, from the governor down to the county prosecutor to the police chief were incredibly tone-deaf to the needs of the community.  As has been famously said, a prosecutor can get a ham sandwich indicted by a grand jury by presenting cherry picked evidence.  The people of Ferguson needed a trial to prove or disprove the culpability of the officer.  It seems everyone involved wanted business as usual to prevail.  Communities of color around the nation are increasingly frustrated by the profiling of young black and brown men for no other reason than their color.  Lily white departments in majority black areas are another big problem.   I don't think the people of St. Louis have heard the last of this case.  It will act as a goad for changes around the country.