It’s pleasantly amazing, isn’t it, to see an intense, dangerous situation defused when common sense and de-escalation are brought to bear?
Overnight, literally, the situation in Ferguson, MO, went from clouds of tear gas and street clashes between police officers and protesters to the new security chief walking with protesters and holding the hand of at least one resident while listening to her express her thoughts.
And who can we thank for this turnaround?
Mainly President Barack Obama, Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon and U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill.
All three took key steps and made key statements Thursday that had the ultimate effect of letting the air out of the balloon that had been getting increasingly taut ever since 18-year-old Michael Brown was gunned down by a Ferguson police officer last week.
Wednesday’s key developments:
:: Obama decried attacks on the police and on protesters and asked for “peace and calm on the streets of Ferguson.” The New York Times said he had spoken to Nixon “and confirmed that he (Obama) had instructed the Justice Department and the F.B.I. to investigate the fatal shooting ‘to help determine exactly what happened and to see that justice is done.’ ”
:: Saying it was time for “a different tone,” Nixon pulled out the St. Louis County police and called in the Highway Patrol. Brilliantly, someone, maybe Nixon, placed in charge of security a black patrol captain who grew up in the St. Louis area. “We’re starting a new partnership today,” Capt. Ronald S. Johnson said. “We’re going to move forward today, to put yesterday and the day before behind us.”
:: McCaskill told reporters: “The militarization of the response became more of a problem than any solution.”
Again, isn’t it gratifying to see people in authority speak and act wisely and turn near hysteria into reflection and reconsideration?
Capt. Johnson walking with protesters in Ferguson
One of the first things Captain Johnson did was tell troops not to carry tear-gas masks. “In the early evening,” the Times story said, “he accompanied several groups of protesters through the streets, clasping hands, listening to stories…”
At one point, a woman named Karen Wood approached him and said, “Do you have a minute to at least talk to, you know, a parent?”
“As sweat stained his blue uniform,” the story said, “he clasped Ms. Wood’s right hand and stood, for several minutes, listening to her story.”
“Our youth are out here without guidance, without leadership,” Ms. Wood said. “It’s important that they know there is an order.”
The Times’ story said the conversation between the trooper and the lady concluded with Johnson patting Wood on the shoulder and saying softly, “I thank you. I thank you for your passion, and we’re going to get better.”
I don’t know about you, but the report of that interaction almost brought tears to my eyes.
What a message Johnson brought to Ferguson: I hear you and I feel your pain.
And this is one guy, who, it’s very clear, really does feel their pain.
Bravo, Mr. President. Congratulations, Gov. Nixon. And thank you, thank you, Captain Johnson.
JimmyCsays: At the juncture of journalism and daily life in KC 
Sorry…Somehow the “allow comments” box was unchecked on my dashboard, so you weren’t getting the usual invitation to leave a comment. Now fixed.
Wondered WTH was going on over there at jimmycsays!
This massive machine doesn’t always operate on greased rails…
So after reading this article I’m starting to feel confident about that free lunch.
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/aug/15/michael-brown-when-can-officers-shoot-ferguson
Seems that Michael Browns accomplice left out a couple of details about what
they were doing right before they were confronted by Officer Wilson. It will be the assault on the police officer that blows this case away though, and not the strong arm robbery they committed right before the incident.
Glad that there is finally peace in Ferguson. Who knew that a black man in charge and some free food was all it would take to quell the masses. Wonder why it took our genius leaders nearly a week to figure that one out. Oh well, better late than never!
Fun fact of the day : On my last day of the fourth grade, we learned that the word “strictly” was spelled with a “t” and not a “k”. With this new found knowledge, I decided that the institution no longer had anything to offer…chuckle!
Have a great day everybody!
I knew you had gotten through at least the fourth grade, Jason, and I thought you just might catch that spelling error in the previous post’s comments, where you and Jennifer went at it pencil to pencil. En garde!
Just couldn’t help myself Jim! All in good fun though! :)
Spell check police–what a badass you are Jason. Why do you need Jim to protect you all the time? Put on your big boy pants and stand up for yourself.
I disagree with everything John writes but I respect his ability to speak for himself and defend himself when someone challenges him. You on the other hand resort to juvenile name calling and childish comments that offer nothing more than proof of your Looney Tunes mentality.
I look forward to your next middle school comeback and then your running away and hiding.
I’m going to see if Capt. Johnson can spare a few hours today to dash over to KC and try to bridge the gulf between Jason and Jennifer.
…Jason and Jennifer, Jennifer and Jason…Hmm. Has a nice ring to it…Oh, never mind, I know Jason’s happily married.
Jennifer, I don’t need to defend myself against you and I wasn’t aware that Jim was defending me at all. Please do some digging and find some quote where I resorted to juvenile name calling. I believe that is your department and you do it quite well, I might add. It is your gender and racial bias along with the contradictory nature of you comments, that make you an easy target, even for a simpleton like myself. Besides, I was under the impression that you found my comments humorous…can I get a chuckle?!
Normally I don’t point out spelling errors on comments, but when some one berates me about my education and follows that up with misspelled words…who could pass that up. I’m sure I’m not the only one who spotted your ignorance, but I wasn’t sure if you noticed.
You just keep being you. I mean that seriously. If everyone here agreed all the time, I’m afraid I would get bored and quit posting comments…and I enjoy pushing your buttons so you can have your chuckle every now and then.
What does my gender have to do with anything? Good grief. You are an even worse individual than I originally thought.
Still haven’t seen any “smart and thoughtful” examples, Jim.
Read again…gender bias,