Why Ferguson? Why now?

• Author: Orient, Jane M.
• Position: WORDS & IMAGES

LOTS OF PEOPLE apparently are seeking their 15 minutes of fame by destroying the property and life's work of people unfortunate enough to live in Ferguson, Mo. They do not seem to be worried that their face on ever-present network news will be used as evidence to convict them of looting, arson, vandalism, or other crimes--and is anybody concerned about prison time for incitement to riot? Inflaming passions, stirring up grievances, and providing excuses about "seeking justice" all might get cloaked in the First Amendment with the help of clever lawyers and controlled media, but what really is going on? Does anybody believe that indicting a police officer who, according to a grand jury, was acting in self defense could be just--or helpful? So, why would anyone who suggests such an absurd idea get one minute of air time?

People engaged in mob violence are not thinking logically. It is a form of insanity, but assignment editors, commentators, and editorial boards have no excuse. They sit protected in climate-controlled offices, with access to the big picture. Riots, protests, and "die-ins" nationwide are not spontaneous events. They are planned, orchestrated, and scripted carefully.

"Hands up, don't shoot!" the marchers chant, is perpetuating a lie about the Ferguson incident. "It's petrifying to know that we're not safe," said a 17-year-old black female student body president who was quoted in The New York Times. She was talking about the police, not about convenience store robbers or violent mobs.

Police brutality occurs--but this is not what happened in Ferguson. I cannot recall an actual case of police brutality that received this kind of publicity, and it is hard to think of a less sympathetic victim than a powerfully-built young man who had just committed a strong-arm robbery and, evidently, was trying to kill a cop. Thousands of killings get no national mention, and no presidential speech. Who will hear of Zemir Begic, a legal immigrant from Bosnia, who was bludgeoned to death with hammers in St. Louis, Mo., on Nov. 30, 2014? His attackers, black and Hispanic teenagers, were not racially motivated, maintain the police.

So, why Ferguson, and why now, and what major stories does it displace? While people are screaming for the blood of Darren Wilson, who merely was a policeman responding to a call, the major media outlets tried to black out the story of Massachusetts Institiute of Technology economist Jonathan Gruber--who played a key role...