Why isn’t the Tea Party sending a militia to Ferguson?
“Now that the mass media has finally arrived, it is able to simply condemn the police for overstepping their boundaries, and paint Ferguson as a chaotic warzone where a bit of collateral damage can’t be helped. Yes, the behaviour of the police is unsettling, but what is truly terrifying is the lack of interest by so much of America’s population.
We only need to look at the slow uptake of the mass media, and much of the public response to these incidents to see proof of this. Reactions seem to range from disinterest to mild annoyance. Comments sections are flooded with racist remarks.”
Some abject speculation: I think some of this is just about the fact that people in the US are SO uncomfortable with race that it isn’t something they will voluntarily get involved in in any way (and by race, I mean anything involving non-whiteness because whiteness has implicitly been defined as the comfortable absence of race). I don’t think these organizations have intentionally decided not to get involved so much as they feel prohibitively uncomfortable about it. It probably isn’t even discussed or perceived as as an issue they should have a stake in. It is otherized. Given the suggestion from a member of the organizations, I think it is possible that they would make some action, but that isn’t likely to happen.
FAQ