Democracy Gone Astray

Democracy, being a human construct, needs to be thought of as directionality rather than an object. As such, to understand it requires not so much a description of existing structures and/or other related phenomena but a declaration of intentionality.
This blog aims at creating labeled lists of published infringements of such intentionality, of points in time where democracy strays from its intended directionality. In addition to outright infringements, this blog also collects important contemporary information and/or discussions that impact our socio-political landscape.

All the posts here were published in the electronic media – main-stream as well as fringe, and maintain links to the original texts.

[NOTE: Due to changes I haven't caught on time in the blogging software, all of the 'Original Article' links were nullified between September 11, 2012 and December 11, 2012. My apologies.]

Sunday, August 24, 2014

Ferguson Erupts Again; Tear Gas Fired

After a relatively calm Friday in Ferguson, Missouri, tension flared again early Saturday morning as protesters rushed into a convenience store that Michael Brown was accused of robbing and were confronted with tear gas from police wearing riot gear. Multiple stores were said to be robbed, while other protesters protected several stores from looting.

Missouri State Highway Patrol Capt. Ron Johnson said that someone began throwing rocks and other objects, prompting police to deploy tear gas, but no arrests were made. Molotov cocktails hit a liquor store causing it to catch fire, HuffPost's Christine Conetta reported from the scene.

Police in riot gear were present, but never left the corner of Florissant Ave and Ferguson Ave., despite stores being looted just feet away. From midnight to 4:00 a.m., community members were left to self-police, Conetta observed, with several people trying to prevent looters from continuing to take items from stores.

The liquor store seemed to have experienced the most damage, and most of the liquor had been stolen, according to KMOV.

Michael Brown was shot on Aug. 9 after he and a friend were walking in the street and encountered a police officer. Brown's friend who was with him that night, Dorian Johnson, said that the officer attacked Brown, then shot at the 18-year-old as he was trying to get away. Ferguson Police claim that Brown attacked the officer, and said Wednesday that the officer involved in the altercation was injured. Multiple witnesses have said that they saw Brown with his hands up in the air when he was shot.

Police released footage on Friday that they said showed Brown robbing a convenience store for cigarillos. Darren Wilson, the officer who shot Brown, was not aware that he was a suspect in a robbery at the time of the shooting. The family's attorney accused police of trying to "assassinate the character of Michael Brown" to divert attention from his death.

For the latest updates, follow The Huffington Post's Ryan J. Reilly and Christine Conetta who are covering events in Ferguson.

Original Article
Source: huffingtonpost.com/
Author: The Huffington Post | By Christine Conetta & Braden 

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