Two policemen shot in Ferguson
Two policemen were shot by someone in a crowd in Ferguson last evening, although according to this report, the shots don’t appear to have come from the protestors, who numbered about fifty. Other reports, however, say the shooters were embedded within the group of protesters. The good news is that the wounded officers have been released from the hospital, although their injuries were reported as serious.
Eric Holder and President Obama mouthed the right words in response—or rather, I don’t think they actually “mouthed” them. Obama appears to have dealt with the incident in a tweet, whereas Holder released a written statement.
The shooting has come after concessions that would ordinarily be thought to damp down the violence rather than fan it, the latest being the resignation of the police chief. But there are many people who have an interest in promoting more turmoil. At some point we may learn who those particular shooters were, since there were witnesses and some suspects may have already been taken into custody.
In the Brown killing and subsequent investigation of Officer Wilson, the local prosecutors could not get a conviction of Wilson because it became clear that the evidence not only didn’t support it but actually exonerated him. But Holder had used the pretext of the Brown killing to launch a civil rights investigation anyway, with the idea that it would open up the entire Ferguson justice system to DOJ scrutiny, and that racism would indeed be found. I’ve written about that process here, and although I could write a book about it, and about the often-spurious social science principle of “disparate impact,” I’ll just say that in the report the DOJ used research on disparate impact* to justify the charge of rampant racism, research that doesn’t hold up even as research, or in a court of law for the most part, either. But by issuing a report, Holder and the DOJ don’t have to subject their research to the usual standards or to peer review, nor do they have to convince a court, they merely have to convince the press (which is already convinced) and the public (which for the most part lacks the skills and special training to evaluate the math or the science in the report).
That is not to say that some members of the Ferguson police force are not racist (we don’t know one way or the other), or that it wouldn’t be a good thing if there were more black police officers in Ferguson, a city that is about 2/3 black but has a police force that is largely white. Such a large imbalance is an obvious recipe for trouble. Months ago I read several articles attempting to explain the reason for it in Ferguson, and although I can’t find them now (and am in a hurry, so I can’t look further at the moment), I seem to recall the reasons given were that the demographics of the city had changed rather rapidly from white to black, and the police force had not caught up, hampered in part by the fact that there had not been many black applicants. My guess is that one reason for the lack of black applicants is the perception of the police force as white and therefore the “other.” That would tend to reinforce and perpetuate the whiteness of the force, whether the higher-ups intended it or not.
When Holder issued his report on the police force, he held a lengthy press conference. He had a great deal to say. Here’s one short clip:
Here’s another brief clip from an interview where Holder agreed that, if necessary, he would “dismantle” the Ferguson police force:
This “dismantling” statement received a wide press at the time, as did the report itself, with headlines that indicated rampant and shocking racism had been found in the entire Ferguson police force. Holder is not responsible for the shooting—the shooters are—but he did nothing to calm things down and used rhetoric, indicating global racism by the Ferguson PD, that could only have fanned the flames rather than calming them.
[* NOTE: Here’s a quick and nontechnical summary of the way disparate impact reasoning works.]
Some commenter on some blog (I forget which) speculated that this shooting was an attempt to bait the police into losing control and be caught on video shooting people or at least smashing heads, etc. If so, it didn’t work. Good for the cops.
mizpants:
Yes, they may have wanted a Kent State. Good that they didn’t get one.
“Mr.Holder immediately boarded a plane for St.Louis where he is said to be determined to stand-by the Ferguson police who have received these gunshot wounds from unidentified demonstrators. Also on his way to Ferguson is Rev. Al Sharpton who recently escaped the inferno of his tax files/records and wants to show his solidarity for adherence to our laws. President Obama Tweeted from his golf cart…”
Washington Post–March 12–Front Page
NeoConScum:
Interesting. I wonder whether Holder will speak—that would at least be something, whether he is just covering his own butt or not.
Re disparate impact reasoning.
Years ago the University of Texas noticed that few females went into engineering. They required at least a 650 math SAT score for admission to engineering school and few females made that score. Since that had a disparate impact on females they reduced the required score. The math SAT score was highly correlated with success in engineering school but who cares about that. If it keeps out the women, that’s unfair.
Ray:
Disparate impact is widely used in a host of arenas, because it substitutes an equality of outcome standard for an equality of opportunity one.
…I’ll just say that in the report the DOJ used research on disparate impact* to justify the charge of rampant racism, research that doesn’t hold up even as research…
The contemptible Eric Holder leveraged this brain-dead logic to create a hit-job “report” on the Ferguson PD. Those clips almost made me nauseous. Holder is Exhibit A demonstrating what a disgrace King Barack’s Banana Republic regime is.
——————
Just heard the following 2 statements previously made by Holder played on talk radio (from memory, not verbatim):
1) Officer Darren Wilson will not be prosecuted due to a lack of evidence.
-Suggesting that Wilson got away with some crime (murder, manslaughter?), rather than was exonerated because almost all the evidence backed him up.
2) …even though violence is never justified, it is understandable here because of a pattern of police bias, blah ba blah ba blah, blabity blah ba blah, blah, blah, blah …
-Translation: actually, violence really is justified in Ferguson. And what a surprise, more violence in Fergusson!
What a heinous joke of an Attorney General.
The idea that you can easily create black police is absurd. To be a cop, minimum requirements must be met. You have to be a high school graduate plus a couple years of junior college or military experience. You need an IQ of near 100 to pass mental tests. You can’t have a criminal record. You must pass a drug test. You have to want to be a cop. What percent of young blacks (especially males) would pass those requirements? My guess is damn few.
Disparate impact discussed:
Arrest per 1000 residents
Ferguson has a shocking 2.8x black to white ratio.
186.1 black, 66 non black
Madison, Wi:
593.1 black, 61.9 non black
So the black to white ratio is only 9.6x.
Oh, wait …
It turns out that very liberal Madison and its Dane County have just about the worst black-white inequality in America across a host of measures…
and so on.
It is the culture stupid.
More at: iSteve
George Soros funds Ferguson protests, hopes to spur civil action
Liberal billionaire gave at least $33 million in one year to groups that emboldened activists.
Busy, busy, busy …
Soros, Ford Foundations ‘Lavish’ $196 Million to Push Internet Regulations …
Busy, busy, busy…
“The best years of his life.”
Whé¸t could possibly go wrong?
Bho, eric the red, sharpton, and the msm did not pull the triggers but they, and the rest of the race hustlers fanned the flames of irrational hatred with their mythology of the gentle giant and hands up don’t shoot.
There sure as hell is blood on their hands. Incitement, relentless incitement, counts. Legally as well as morally.
“Almira Gulch, just because you own half the county doesn’t mean that you have the power to run the rest of us. For twenty-three years, I’ve been dying to tell you what I thought of you! And now … well, being a Christian woman, I can’t say it!!” –Auntie Em
Soon there won’t be any of you or your families left. They will all have been “mysteriously” disappeared by ISIL death squads or black rape cells.