I think there are some in that neighborhood who know what happened regarding the burning down of the QT, but they won't say a word because they're either trying to cover up for someone or they're directly involved in the arson.
I will say that when I worked in the Wal-Mart in this area, it was kind of an eye opener to realize how much crime is a part of some people's daily lives even if they are not really criminals themselves. How much of their income comes from illegal activities? Are their family members selling food stamps (I know there aren't "stamps" now but there were when I worked there), selling stolen merchandise, selling drugs, selling stolen scrap metal or bricks, is that where part of their income comes from? In a lot of cases I think people are hostile to the police because they really have been treated unfairly. Yes I believe this happens and I know law-abiding black citizens who 100% believe this happens and I believe them. In other cases I think they are hostile because the police want to stop where their money comes from (I'm not referring to only one race here). Or they are under the control of or in fear of people who don't want their income threatened (don't they always say follow the money?). So I'll listen to the witnesses statements with an open mind, until or if they get discredited, but I want to see how well they match the forensic evidence before deciding for sure what I think about the shooting itself.
I think it was probably a good idea to change the style of policing just to calm things down. It really does make things go more smoothly when the people trying to run things are a mixture of races and not all one race. I witnessed that on my job, being white managing a store where the majority of patrons and crew were black. It just looks better. You want to treat people as individuals and promote the best people, and it's better when the talent pool is diverse! I was once asked my opinion on who should be promoted next, and I named a black woman and my boss said "she already turned it down". Bummer! I said I'm not really enthusiastic about anyone else right now but if I think of anyone I'll let you know. So it sounds like my eye for talent once I'd worked with someone was ok, though all my hires didn't work out! I was never told what race of people to try to hire or promote or recommend to be let go, and I wouldn't make decisions on race anyway, but my job was a lot easier if the talent pool was diverse! There was a discussion on the radio yesterday about why the mayor of Ferguson was white, and I was surprised to learn that in the last mayoral election only 12% of the citizens voted and there were no black people running. A black caller on the show (he identified himself as such) said he might run next time. That would be good. It's sad that you have to think about it at all but it really does look better if the government is more diverse.
There was a discussion about why the Ferguson police force is mostly white. One theory is that other departments pay better than Ferguson and if you are black you have more choices of jobs. I don't know if this is true, but if I was in charge of what officers to hire, all things being equal I would prefer the pool of talent to be diverse and roughly reflect the community we were in. Is the pool of black talent in policing smaller than white and they are in more demand so can work in communities that pay better? I don't know but some people stated they believe this is true. Technically it is probably illegal to consider race when hiring but morally I have no objection to making the force reflect the community racially if everyone is equally qualified. I would like more information on this topic to know what is really going on.
This is really uncomfortable for me to write because it reflects a sad reality that there are some black people will never trust a white person and some white people will never trust a black person but I hope most people judge people as individuals. While working at the Wal-Mart a white woman once requested an escort to her car. A common request. The closest male associate was black. I asked him if he would escort her out. She pulled me aside and said "can I get a white boy to go with me." I was thunderstruck. This was one time where I really had a hard time thinking quickly about how to handle this. First priority is to make sure the black associate does not know she said this. I said "It turns out she's not ready to go yet, but thank you." He went about his business away from us, thank God. Next thing in my mind - what white males are working tonight, (security guy on duty that night, whose job it really is if all else fails, was black), I couldn't think of any! And even if I could is this a request I should try to meet at all? I didn't really want to. What I really wanted to do was say too bad, I'll walk you out or no one will, but the instinct to make customers happy is very strong! Thank God my boss (white male, only white male in the store at the time) saw my confusion and said "I'll walk her out". I had forgotten about my boss, I guess my usual practice was to try to shield whatever boss I was working under that night from anything possible and not kick things up to them unless absolutely necessary (usually I was second in command of the store while I was there - I could make nearly any decision running the store that they could except maybe fire people on the spot or open the safe but if I didn't know what to do I had someone to go to, thank God). I asked my Mom later about what I should have done. She said she would have told the woman that I know the guy and he's ok. I said that's a good idea, but he was brand new I didn't know him at all! Though I had no reason not to think he was ok either. What do you think I should have done?
People should treat each other as individuals, Police should treat the people as individuals, and the citizens should treat the police as individuals. If any good can come of this I hope it's an open and honest dialogue about how to do things better in the future. There are predators who don't think people who want to live crime-free have any rights at all and they have certain tools in their toolbox to make sure they dominate a community and twist people's perceptions in whatever way it takes to make their crime activities easier. Is martyring themselves in a suicide by cop scenario one of these tools? Don't many criminal types not expect to live very long or even want to anyway? I can never get in the mind of such a person to know what they are thinking but that's the impression I have, based on what I really don't know specifically, does anyone have any thoughts on this?
I worked with a mother at the Wal-Mart whose two (adult) children were working there also. Very nice family. She told me she had taught her daughter while driving not to make eye contact with anyone at a stop light, and her son not to run down the street because people will think he stole something. This is the reality some people live with every day. If any better understanding between races can be reached I think part of the key is getting to actually know people of other races and not segregate yourselves but I understand why some people want to. When you actually know people you have more empathy for whatever they are going through. St. Louis has the reputation of a fairly segregated city, it's possible to nearly segregate yourself if you really want to. I don't think it's healthy though. If you extend trust to someone and they abuse it, it's harder to extend it again. It's sometimes not easy to remember that this is an individual, not a whole group.
When I was in college a friend of mine and I were recruiting people for the Outdoor Club and I noticed my friend was inviting white women to talk to us about the club and not black (I think he wanted to not only recruit for the club but possible dates as well!), I asked him why and he said "Black people don't like the outdoors that much." I said how do you know, why don't you let them decide whether they like it or not? We eventually got two to come to a meeting and they told me they felt a little weird being the only black folks and I said I hope you stick it out for awhile, I want you here, maybe more will join if you are there, but they didn't come back. Sad. Do I blame them? No. But it was disappointing.
When I worked at a hardware store, we had a conversation about black-white self-segregation in the break room. At the time there were two nightclubs close to each other on the other side of the river in Illinois, one was called the OZ and one was called the WIZ. The patrons at the OZ were mostly white and the WIZ was mostly black. We were talking about why that is and one of the other employees asked me, do you feel weird being the only white person in the break room right now. I said I didn't notice until you pointed it out but when I first started working here I would have noticed. That's not because I object in any way, it's because I'm not used to it. But it does help me understand better what it's like to be in the minority.
I'm rambling here and have to get going, but I wanted to share the things I've been thinking about over the last few days and share a little bit about what goes on in the mind of one white person that grew up in North St. Louis County. For those who aren't from around there it might help to understand the baggage that comes with this situation.