2 confrontations highlight very different police responses

You tell ME the difference: Two protests. Two groups of protesters. Two completely different responses.

What is happening in Ferguson, Missouri is disgusting on a variety of levels. The shooting of an unarmed citizen and the rioting and looting in response to it have become a sad chapter in American history. But we have a proud tradition of protesting our Government, a tradition that is protected by the Constitution of the United States.

In the past year we have seen at least two major demonstrations against perceived Government overreach, Ferguson and Cliven Bundy’s ranch, and the response to the protesters has been dramatically different.

The pictures below illustrate the point that HOW police deal with groups of demonstrators appears to be driven by a few factors.

Am I to believe that if ALL protesters were armed (as many were at the Bundy ranch), the police would have a more measured response? Am I to believe the race of the protesters, or police, is a factor in the strategy to deal with them? Or am I to believe that the way we enforce the law in the inner city is completely different from how we enforce the law in the rural areas?

It seems that all of these factors play into the relationship between protesters and law enforcement, and I’d argue that is a problem. The bigger issue is the message these two pictures send to anyone with a grievance against their Government.

Bring a gun.