Justice Was Served in Ferguson—This Isn’t Jim Crow America

◼ ‘Civil rights’ figures decided long ago that the only fair outcome would be indictment. But that was driven by ideology, not facts. - Ron Christie/Daily Beast

The day of reckoning has arrived not just in Ferguson, Missouri, but also across America. For some, the grand jury proceedings to determine whether the shooting of a black teenager by a white police officer was justified was never about seeking justice. As widely anticipated in the media, the jury of nine whites and three blacks elected not to indict based on the evidence before them. Sadly, hundreds if not thousands of individuals descended upon this small St. Louis suburb to agitate for an outcome based on their ideology rather than the facts under consideration by the grand jury.

Even though the grand jury elected not to find Officer Darren Wilson responsible for the shooting death of teenager Michael Brown, sadly, I never believed that the gathering protesters gathered in Ferguson were seeking justice or a peaceful resolution to the case, which has roiled race relations in America to levels I haven’t seen in decades....

Finally, someone needs to stand up to denounce the violence, rioting, and looting that has besieged Ferguson since the tragic shooting occurred. I fully support nonviolent demonstration—a right enshrined in the First Amendment of our Constitution. I do not support the belief that violent protest is justified regardless of the outcome of the Ferguson grand jury. But the fact that the Missouri National Guard had to be mobilized, along with thousands of state, local, and federal law-enforcement officers, to quell potential riots and acts of violence is nothing short of a disgrace. That gun sales would skyrocket in the town as shop owners boarded up their places of business to prevent looting is a beacon of clarity that illuminates the fact that for many, Ferguson has become a symbol of lawlessness, civil unrest, and violence rather than one of seeking justice for a slain teen....