“RABBI’S
MUSINGS (& AMUSINGS)”
Erev Shabbos Kodesh Parshas Bo
3 Shevat 5775/ January 23, 2015
On August 9, 2014 Michael Brown, an 18-year-old
African-American male, was shot to death after an altercation with Darren
Wilson, a 28-year-old white male Ferguson
police officer. Brown was a suspect in a robbery committed minutes before the
shooting.
On August 10, 2014, the evening after the shooting, people
began looting businesses, vandalizing vehicles, and confronting police officers
who sought to block off access to several areas of the city. At least 12
businesses were looted or vandalized and a QuikTrip convenience store
and gas station was set on fire,
leading to over 30 arrests. Many windows were broken and several nearby
businesses closed on Monday.
On August 11, police fired tear gas and rubber bullets to
disperse a crowd at the burnt shell of the QuikTrip convenience
store, set on fire by looters the night before.
On August 12, several hundred protesters gathered in Clayton, the county seat, seeking
criminal prosecution of the officer involved in the shooting. Protesters in Ferguson
On November 24, the grand jury decided not to indict Wilson
On November 25, CNN reported that thousands of people rallied
to protest the grand jury's decision in more than 170 U.S. cities from Boston to Los Angeles, and that
National Guard forces were reinforced at Ferguson to prevent the situation from
escalating. At least 90 people were arrested for arson, looting, and vandalism
in Oakland,
California. Protests also took place internationally, with demonstrations
held in several major cities in Canada
and in London.
Contrast:
After 210 years of unjustified brutality against an
innocent and defenseless young nation, there were three days in which the former
oppressors were mysteriously shrouded in utter darkness. What’s more, they were
completely immobile, unable to move a muscle.
The former slaves, who were completely unaffected by the
plague, followed instructions to search the homes of their former tormentors.
But incredibly, nothing was taken or even moved. There was no arson, no
demonstrations, no smashed windows, no looting, not even verbal epithets
hurled. In fact, there was not even one instance of any attempts at revenge
throughout the three days.
Someone once noted that the police are astounded each year
when on Purim thousands of men drink excessive amounts of alcohol, and there
are no instances of vandalism, looting, thievery, or destruction (asides for
the occasional accidental stepping on someone’s glasses).
What a people!
Shabbat Shalom & Good Shabbos,
R’ Dani and Chani Staum