Scenes of an intifada: Ferguson as Gaza or Afghanistan/Iraq under occupation
The world has watched both stunned and renouncing police violence against protesters in Ferguson, Missouri in the United States. Now that protesters' anger have been further inflamed by Ferguson police releasing a week old security camera footage of Michael Brown as suspect in a robbery, the local police has placed Ferguson on a five hour curfew that began at 12AM Sunday August 17th. The footage showed Brown known to his friends as Big Mike for his 6ft 5 inch frame, stuffing a box of cigarillos into a plastic bag at a local convenience store, shoving the store owner and calmly walking out despite his friend telling him not to take the bag. The footage is a week late to be release to the public no doubt serving as Ferguson police's justification for shooting Brown. Michael Brown's parents and family have condemned the image of their late son as a character assassination.
Appeals for calm
The police officer responsible for shooting Brown dead has finally had his name released. Darren Wilson who lives 25 miles away from Ferguson in a quiet neighborhood on the other side of St. Louis Metropolitan area remains in hiding for his safety and has been spared from a possible vengeance attack by the Ferguson police. Wilson who commutes to work in Ferguson is described as quiet and gentle guy in short a human being in the eyes of the media. Wilson insists he didn't know Brown was a suspect in the robbery of a pack of cigarillos. Patrol Captain Ron Johnson of the Missouri highway patrol has also appealed for calm in Ferguson, walking with protesters and saying, "We are in this together." His call for calm that was broadcast across the U.S. President Barack Obama also address the country saying blatantly that the "police should not be arresting journalists," a comment that is usually saved for Egyptian military government who still detains several Al Jazeera journalists, Ukraine and other repressive regimes. While the family continues to mourn the death of their college bound son who wanted to major in engineering, the residents of Ferguson continue to protest peacefully despite looters attempting to use the opportunity to loot a few local businesses and tarnish the name of the peaceful, youth, neighborhood and family oriented protesters. Many of the protesters have gone out of their way to guard the businesses and stores from looters. Most of the week long protesters have gone home to avoid further confrontation in the form of tear gas by Ferguson police, highway patrol and even the St. Louis Metropolitan police have joined the curfew enforcement. Americans are protesting across the country against long standing police brutality and the terrifying police militarization with backing from Pentagon's surplus of military fatigue uniforms, weapons and vehicles. A few protesters braved the curfew and were arrested by police. There is talk of a march on Sunday in Ferguson's main street.
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