A More Balanced View of Protests in St. Louis
I have grown tired of the characterization of some in the protest movement here in St. Louis that police actions alone or mostly are the cause of problems in the black community. Let’s look at the data. To date there have been 144 murders in St. Louis to date. Of these 135 of the victims, or 93.75% are African American and all the suspects are African American. Police might kill a handful of people a year, and most of those killings would be considered justified by an impartial party.
The focus of the protests have been on the police. Even if the police totally cleaned up their act and never killed anyone, there would be a big murder and crime problem in the black community. Through the years when I have worked with impoverished African American communities, when asked what they need, residents asked for more police. If the police were so terrible, why did they want more of them?
Finally I am concerned that the community expects a level of perfection from police that is not possible from them or anyone else. Sometimes they will say stupid things or act harshly. There is no question the police, too often act prejudicially and inappropriately with members of the black community. Protesters have done a real service in pointing out the injustices of the municipal court systems. But even the prejudicial behavior can be somewhat explained because usually what the police see is criminal behavior. We all need to be a little tolerant, understanding, and mindful of the facts. Written by Paul Dribin
The St Louis Contrarian 