Mob Rule

"Police always get a chance to kill and are never charged with a crime, they get a slap on the wrist. Black people never get justice."
"[The white police officer who shot Michael Brown on August 9 must be] prosecuted to death."
Lord Emmanuel Ondawon, 22, protester, Ferguson, Missouri

"Given the fog of uncertainty in which we are all talking, it is very hard to say what happened and how this thing will come out."
" Anybody who is saying 'The result of this case must be x, y or z' or 'The only way justice will be achieved if this or that happens', that is an extraordinarily premature judgement."
Frank Bowman, professor of law, University of Missouri, former federal prosecutor

CLAYTON, MO - AUGUST 20: Demonstrators protest outside of the Buzz Westfall Justice Center where a grand jury will begin looking at the circumstances surrounding the fatal police shooting of an unarmed teenager Michael Brown on August 20, 2014 in Clayton, Missouri. Brown was shot and killed by a Ferguson, Missouri police officer on August 9. Despite the Brown family's continued call for peaceful demonstrations, violent protests have erupted nearly every night in Ferguson since his death. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images) 

It's clear that there are locals from Ferguson, Missouri, coming out day after day in solidarity with the move to protest what they see as the unequal treatment in society and perceived inequality pursued by law enforcement agencies, of blacks, particularly young black males. And that's a funny thing, since young black males are notorious for their propensity to join gangs, commit unlawful acts, take part in serious crimes, and in fact prey on vulnerable members of the black community.

After those protests take place, when night falls, other 'protests' take centre stage. And at those demonstrations of ill-effect, where police have been arresting scores of 'protesters', they do so because of criminal acts taking place. Of those who are arrested, few are from the direct area. They have, instead, travelled sometimes long distances to arrive in this St.Louis suburb, eager to take advantage of the civil chaos, to pursue their own agenda of looting and threatening order.

When in his younger days Barack Obama was hired as a community organizer in Chicago and did his best to organize blacks to pursue justice and to themselves practise a better way of life, he recognized when he was in danger out at night on the streets, and would avoid coming into direct contact with young black males with whom he had great sympathy while recognizing their danger in society and specifically to himself, as well. There were times when in his own apartment at night he would hear those voices outside and know they were up to no good.

Police officer Darren Wilson is a wanted man. He is wanted by the black American people living in Ferguson, to come forward, admit himself at fault for repeatedly shooting a young, unarmed black man and causing his untimely death. The reputation of young black men for spur-of-the-moment violence precedes them, causing caution and sometimes unreasoning fear among whites, even though it is the black population that is more at risk with black-on-black violence.

As a grand jury deliberates on the case, a legal process involving state and federal probes into the incident that cost a young life and has caused protests, claims and accusations, night-time violence, looting and a breakdown of order, is examining evidence starkly conflicting as to what occurred. On the street, close by where young Mr. Brown was shot to death, an atmosphere of festivity, R&B music playing, games of chess ongoing, prevails.

Protesters rally outside the office of St Louis County prosecutor Robert McCulloch on August 20, 2014, demanding the arrest of Darren Wilson, the white police officer who shot and killed African-American teenager Michael Brown in the St. Louis suburb of Ferguson on August 9. A grand jury began hearing evidence into the shooting that touched off nightly demonstrations in Ferguson that frequently descended into violence. AFP PHOTO/Robert MacPherson (Photo credit should read Robert MacPherson/AFP/Getty Images) 

"The community -- pretty much the world right now -- wants justice", said one young man. "I think Officer Wilson should do time for it. He should be charged with murder." And should he not be charged, should the grand jury conclude there was just cause for Officer Wilson to have taken self-protective steps as a lone police officer confronting two black youth who were ignoring his calls for them to vacate the middle of the road, and one youth, big and bulky turned to grapple with him causing him physical injury ... there will be more protests, more violence.

Michael Brown, a young black man, was unarmed in a public place where everyone has a perfect civil right to dally, and to feel protected by the long arm of the law. He was jay-walking with a friend on a road without vehicles other than the squad car. Could be that the adventure the two young men shared getting rough with the owner of a convenience store and coming away with purloined smokes, gave them a sense of entitled confidence; boys' stuff.

ABC and Fox News were informed through a police source that Officer Wilson sustained a broken orbital bone after being punched out by Michael Brown. If so, the shooting would be held to be legitimate. Although there's nothing 'legitimate' about a young black man losing his life because he felt like throwing his weight around, with the wrong person.