“My administration has been closely monitoring the situation in Egypt, and I know that we will be learning more tomorrow when day breaks. As the situation continues to unfold, our first concern is preventing injury or loss of life. So I want to be very clear in calling upon the Egyptian authorities to refrain from any violence against peaceful protestors.
The people of Egypt have rights that are universal. That includes the right to peaceful assembly and association, the right to free speech, and the ability to determine their own destiny. These are human rights. And the United States will stand up for them everywhere.”
– U.S. President Barack Obama, January 28, 2011 (official statement here).
The events in Ferguson, Missouri went from what could have been just another all too common and tragic incident in which an unarmed black man is killed by an overly aggressive and unprofessional police force, to what may be a historically significant event in American history. So how did this transformation occur and what does it mean going forward? Those are the two questions I intend to address in this post.
There are two primary factors that have collided to create the current out of control situation in a suburb roughly 15 miles northwest of St. Louis, which before this past weekend, almost no one had ever heard of. The first factor is the underlying tension in American society that I have been writing about for several years now. Nowhere is this tension more apparent than in the minority majority inner cities or their outskirts. Being a privileged person, I have thankfully never experienced the dehumanization and oppression felt by so many in these disenfranchised communities, but I can still understand the fact that these neighborhoods are ground zero in the civil unrest that is likely to continue into the foreseeable future.
The second factor is the entirely inappropriate and dangerous militarization of police forces throughout these United States. While extreme tension between impoverished communities and the police has been well documented for decades and expressed through music and movies (I grew up with NWA’s Fuck Tha Police and Colors), the cops were generally speaking merely men and women driving around in patrol cars with guns and batons. Not to dismiss the violence that can and has been inflicted through those means, but the police in recent years have taken things to a whole new frightening level: Total Militarization.
I consider this trend to be such an existential threat to freedom and civil liberties that I have expended a considerable deal of time and energy over the past several years highlighting it. I have covered the topic too many times to list here (I will provide a compilation at the end of this post), but there is one in particular I want to mention. The post was published two months ago and was titled: The Militarization of Police Continues…Machine Guns, Grenade Launchers, Silencers and More. In it I quoted the following from a New York Times article:
During the Obama administration, according to Pentagon data, police departments have received tens of thousands of machine guns; nearly 200,000 ammunition magazines; thousands of pieces of camouflage and night-vision equipment; and hundreds of silencers, armored cars and aircraft.
The equipment has been added to the armories of police departments that already look and act like military units. Police SWAT teams are now deployed tens of thousands of times each year, increasingly for routine jobs. Masked, heavily armed police officers in Louisiana raided a nightclub in 2006 as part of a liquor inspection. In Florida in 2010, officers in SWAT gear and with guns drawn carried out raids on barbershops that mostly led only to charges of “barbering without a license.”
I then concluded the post with the following observation:
Of all the bad ideas currently being implemented in these United States, turning the police into soldiers is certainly near the top of the list.
Indeed, and we are now reaping some of the rewards from this absurd and fascist policy. One that must be reversed immediately. If you think I or others may be exaggerating the threat here, think again. Social media and the internet generally is filled with veterans reacting in horror at what they are seeing unfold domestically. Here are two of the most powerful tweets I came across:
I leveled my weapon twice overseas. Leveled. Not fired. I had legit threats and went through proper EOF. Stop fucking up, Ferguson PD.
— Broken Handmic (@13F2PL7) August 14, 2014
The gentleman on the left has more personal body armor and weaponry than I did while invading Iraq. pic.twitter.com/5u6TxyIbkk
— Brandon Friedman (@BFriedmanDC) August 14, 2014
At this point I’d like to remind everyone that crime in the U.S. has been dropping since the 1990’s. So why has domestic police force militarization been growing exponentially since then? Ostensibly, it is for the “war on terror” and to keep us safe. In reality, we know this is bullshit. Just like the NSA’s unconstitutional spying hasn’t stopped a single terrorist attack, turning local cops into a domestic army hasn’t done a single thing to make us safe.To the contrary, it is creating an environment where the general public harbors increased resentment and skepticism toward police, and the police view the citizenry as the “enemy.” This takes the societal tinderbox that already exists and makes it downright explosive. Ferguson is just the latest example of the tension bubbling to the surface, but there will likely be many more in the future.
While the above exposes the excuse for militarization for the lie it is, it doesn’t answer the question. As I have maintained for years now, I believe all police state activities, from NSA surveillance to the militarization of the police, is a entirely deliberate program being implemented by the status quo (oligarchs, Wall Street, politicians, intelligence agencies, etc) to put in place a police state ahead of the civil unrest and dissent they know is coming. How do they know it’s coming? Simple. They know better than anyone else the extent of their collective theft and lawlessness and they know full well domestic blowback is coming. They are just getting geared up ahead of time.
Tonight, the President and First Lady attended the birthday celebration for Mrs. Ann Jordan at an event at the Farm Neck Golf Club. There were approximately 150 guests in attendance.
Among the attendees seated with the Jordans and the President and First Lady were former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Valerie Jarrett and her mother Mrs. Barbara Bowman, Ursula Burns, Kenneth Chenault and his wife Kathy, along with other friends and family of Mrs. Jordan. President Obama honored Mrs. Jordan with a toast before dinner, as did Mr. Jordan and Secretary Clinton and others. The President and First Lady have known the Jordans for over twenty years, and were grateful to have been able to share this special evening with them.The President and First Lady also were happy to have the chance to spend time with Secretary Clinton and former President Clinton.A little color: in his toast for Mrs. Jordan, President quipped that he met Vernon and first, but liked Ann more. The menu consisted of surf and turf and pasta. The Obamas danced nearly every song. A good time was had by all.
Glad you had such a fun time as the death of American civil society was being broadcast to the world. I’m dying to know. How was the lobster?
More importantly, compare Obama’s apathy toward what is happening in Ferguson to his impassioned expression of support he officially voiced toward the protesters in Egypt. It’s quite telling to see how much more interested he is in the freedom of people halfway across the world than within his own nation. That’s all you really need to know.
However, my long-term fear is that unless the government and its puppet masters on Wall Street and elsewhere in big business change course, social upheaval will prove inevitable, whether the Bundy Ranch sparks it, or some other incident down the road. These are troubled times and they are likely going to get worse before they get better.
We are seeing some of what I feared back then play out in Missouri right now. I found the following tweet to be extremely powerful and poignant:
Dear liberals comparing protests to Bundy Ranch: are you saying protesters should have more guns, or are you regretting lack of Bundy blood? — Lucy Steigerwald (@LucyStag) August 14, 2014
The last point I want to address is the historical significance I think Ferguson will ultimately command. This could’ve simply been an incident such as the one recently in New York City in which a cop killed an unarmed black man with an illegal chokehold. A huge part of the reason it has escalated to the current level is because the local police force decided to come out dressed like soldiers wanting to play war with American citizens. However, even that in itself wouldn’t translate into the historical significance I believe this event will ultimately hold.
I believe Ferguson will be seen as a major turning point. The point in which many well-intentioned, but incredibly naive folks in white mainstream America woke up to what we have become. Many people, particularly those in the media, have been willfully ignorant about the destruction of freedom and civil liberties in America. The events in Ferguson have taken a gigantic mirror and successfully pointed it squarely at our civil society and the image it has reflected back is one of a horrific, militarized, authoritarian monster.
If it takes two reporters (one from the Washing Post and one from the Huffington Post) being unlawfully arrested to shake some sense into the privileged class in America, then so be it.
The only question now is, having been awakened from our blissful slumber to the sober nightmare that is reality, what are we going to do about it?
As promised, here are some of my many articles warning of police militarization over the years:
19-Month-Old Toddler in Critical Condition After Cops Throw Flash Bang Grenade into Playpen
An Iowa City with a Population of 7,000 Will Receive Armored Military Vehicle
There are Over 50,000 SWAT Team Raids Annually in America
Retired Marine Colonel to New Hampshire City Council: “We’re Building a Domestic Army”
Video of the Day – Thuggish Militarized Police Terrorize and SWAT Team Iowa Family
In Liberty as always,
Michael Krieger
Donate bitcoins: 35DBUbbAQHTqbDaAc5mAaN6BqwA2AxuE7G
Follow me on Twitter.
BFD. Your Republicans danced the night away for eight years while the entire economy burned.
The circus with Bundy and his convicted felon burglar son turned out to be nothing more than hyper-exaggerated Teabagger propaganda.
Who’s Republicans? My last vote was for Gary Johnson and I mistakenly voted for Barack Obama in 2008.
Do you make a habit of inventing things to write on other people’s websites in your spare time? Get your facts straight before you open your mouth and throw off verbal diarrhea.
Best,
Michael Krieger
As usual, brilliant.
Thank you, Michael, for your unique ability to put it all together and the uncommon bravery to actually do it.
Good thoughts however from my point of view just seeing the behavior of the police following the Boston bombing as the police were engaged in the manhunt or the political response and lying following the Snowden revelations should have told anyone paying even the slightest attention everything they needed to know. Unfortunately it continues to remain a mystery to me as to how much longer this goes on before people begin to realize this as the crisis for which it is. Furthermore, since power and authority do not necessarily get relinquished willingly, I’m not all that confident this ends peacefully. Keep in mind it was he Government who ‘stood down’ at the Brady ranch so fortunately a disaster was averted. What happens next time?
ignore the trolls kreigster. and don’t let them interfere with your good work.
secondarily, i think you take away the gravitas of what is going on now when you focus on the specific person in the seat of the executive branch. why? because this is beyond any president at this point. i’m not the biggest alex jones fan, but he is consistently on top of federal domestic military action and the blending of military within state/citi police ranks , let alone the top down control by domestic fbi/dhs forces.
in any case—–this is all very interesting what is happening in saint louis to the extent it prepares the greater body politic for what is to come.
and —-on a complete side note—-i wanted to address one of your favorite topics of net neturality. for the past 2 months i’ve been noticing an unprecendented internet advetising blitz, almost EVERYWHERE of the time warner comcast company putting black people and white people who are very upper middle classy supporting time warner comcast bringing you net neutrality.
these companies are lobbying heavily against net netrality and then blitzing the internet with politically correct multi-racial advertissements telling you the EXACT OPPOSITE . sometimes maybe the american public is that stupid. other times, maybe by lying to them that blatantly time warner helps them become that stupid, dumbing them down like sheep for slaughter so that they will accept less service and pay more for it from a government sanctioned telecom cartel bandwidth price rationing system.
i had to mention this to you, because i was pretyt disgusted when i saw it first a few months ago, but this advertisement has become nearly ubiquitous at ever major mass internet portal i use, especially youtube, which is a google owned supposedly ‘pro net neutrality’ company.
i would like you to make a post on that advertisement and how utterly decietful it is. it’s so deceitful it’s above and beyond. it’s like an advertisement for ethical treatment of animals by a company that tortures animals for profit. i mean how evil are these guys? or , how stupid are american audiences?
The level of trolls commenting on my site lately has exploded. It’s a very frustrating, but interesting development. Thanks for your insights and commentary as always.
Militarising police costs money. Who approved the allocation of funds to police for battlefield weaponry?
This is where a lot of the funding comes from. The 1033 program: http://www.newsweek.com/how-americas-police-became-army-1033-program-264537
Thank you Michael. Your insights on this subject are important and much appreciated.
new Edward Snowden interview
http://www.wired.com/2014/08/edward-snowden#ch-1
What the elite fail to acknowledge is that behind all that body armour and weaponry…the cops are regular folk…they don’t have gated communities or yachts to slink off to…they have more in common with the man on the street than the oligarchs…and at some point will point their “resources” the other way…it always happens eventually…unless those in power have the foresight not to let it go too far…unfortunately there seems to be be no modern equivalent of Lincoln or even FDR…
lincoln = protectionist industrialist
fdr same + pro banker + pro big state,
dear hemmings, you have a wrong view of history and perhaps of the present as well. cops are not regular folk. they can kill people and be defended by govenrment and courts. in a militarized world of class warfare, the cops are the prison guards….once they sign up , they don’t get to simply side on behalf of the prisoners…..without major consequences.
here’s some more idiocracy for you. giving tax payer money to people to vote.
http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-panel-prizes-voters-20140814-story.html
Excellent article, but the following is quite confusing: “NSA’s constitutional spying”
Don’t forget the horrible actions of the police in the G20 summit in Pittsburgh. No one covered it in the national media, too embarrassing for our President. The city was taken over. Obama and our mayor partied while my Dean’s list Pitt student was tear gassed and charged by cops on horseback walking from the library, that she was locked out of by the campus cops, to her apartment.
Please, I am begging my fellow Americans, we must move beyond the orchestrated Red VS Blue petty, culture war manipulations, and join together. I am so passed the fabricated Democrat and Republican parties. It should be obvious by now, that both parties are mere puppets of the cabal. But at least writing and calling my Representative has made me feel better.
Georgia Rep. Hank Johnson proposed legislation on Thursday aimed at demilitarizing domestic police forces, amid national criticism of heavily armed cops going after protesters in Ferguson, Mo.
“Our main streets should be a place for business, families, and relaxation, not tanks and M16s,” the Democratic congressman wrote in a “Dear Colleague” letter to members of Congress. “Unfortunately … our local police are quickly beginning to resemble paramilitary forces.”
The Stop Militarizing Law Enforcement Act would prevent the transfer of certain military-grade equipment from the Department of Defense to local law enforcement agencies. That includes some automatic weapons, armored vehicles, armored drones, silencers and flash-bang or stun grenades.
Here is the bill to be presented to the House of Representatives in September.http://hankjohnson.house.gov/sites/hankjohnson.house.gov/files/assets/Stop%20Militarizing%20Law%20Enforcement%20Act.pdf
Please call your Representative and request he/she support this bill!
How to find your Congressional Representative:
http://www.house.gov/representatives/find/
Not only is Obama out of touch, but the entire mainstream media. I don’t watch much of it – haven’t had cable in years – but people don’t realize they have their news read by millionaires.
Nothing else to do, but sit back and watch. Don’t think Missouri will be the spark – they’ll quell it somehow – but it brings us closer. The spark will come in conjunction with rising food and gas prices.
Sorry but The so called military soldiers are not issued ak-47 during combat service. The only extra body armor piece that the cop has is the one that protects his groin area. The picture looks to be taken in an armory not the field. What was the persons MOS while at the combat theater.
Unfortunately the photo comparison above does not make a good case/point. However, I agree that police officers in the U.S. are looking more militarized.
Obama will send in staff but will not go himself, no one is surprised.