Introducing The Great United Democratic Republic of My Pants
You have to be careful not to take the names of countries at face value. Take The Peoples Republic of China. It requires a ballsy marketing executive to slip ‘republic’ into that title. Indeed China seems to pay scant regard to the ideals of republicanism as first laid out by Aristotle and then Plato. Perhaps my favourite is Great Britain, this does not require a ballsy marketing executive, as much as one who is suffering from a chronic mental illness. Only boxers and wrestlers name themselves things like Great, Marvelous, but that is what Britain has become symbolically, an over weight middle aged man in a Lycra leotard, both unappealing to look at, and even more unpleasant to be around.
Always be wary of countries that contain united in their name, for it is almost a certainty that they are not. In the same way that China is not a republic, and Britain is not great; America is not united. Is it even reasonable to expect a country of over 300 million people of every race and creed to live in harmony? If the recent events in Ferguson, Missouri are anything to go by then the answer is a resounding no.
The Ferguson riots have understandably generated much debate as to what lays at the heart of the problems. Personally I thought it was the brutal execution of an unarmed African American teenager by a policeman, after watching the news however, I realized my initial deduction to be too simplistic. Rather than apportion all the blame on one red neck, trigger happy cop, who probably only became a policeman after finding shelf stacking at Walmart to be too stressful. The riots have become the inspiration for national reflection. Topics up for discussion have included the militarization of the police, the appropriateness of the 2nd amendment and of course race.
Militarization of the police and the 2nd amendment have a causal, symbiotic relationship. The 2nd amendment gives citizens the right to arm themselves, this in turn necessitates the police to arm themselves. Citizens see the police are armed and get nervous, they run down to their local gun shop for more firepower. The police become concerned when helping an old woman across the road she pulls out an AK47. 9/11 has been the scapegoat for the reason of police militarization, but the reality is that there has effectively been an arms race between U.S citizens and U.S law enforcement. And anyway neither of these were the main causes of the Ferguson Riots.
The cause of the riots is racial tension fueled by extreme disparity in the distribution of wealth. The demographics of Ferguson Ferguson shows that it has a population of 21,000 people, 67% black and 30% white. 20 years ago these figures were reversed however the Ferguson Police force and Government haves remained almost exclusively white.
Some Economic Statistics for Ferguson
- 25% of blacks in the Ferguson area live below the poverty line, compared to 11% of whites (the first time I saw this I was shocked at that many white people struggling).
- The average income for black people is 60% of what it is for white people $32,000 compared to $53,000.
- Unemployment for black people in the Ferguson area is 20% (double the national average) compared to 6.7% for white people.
House ownership is the main means that an American can accrue wealth, the diagram below shows the disparity between blacks and whites.
This money then gets fed down via inheritances, making whites ever wealthier and blacks ever more resentful. In his speech on 18 August 2014 President Obama identified that disparities of this nature between ethnic groups will inevitably lead to tensions.
As with the aftermath of the Rodney King beating and subsequent riots, America sits uncomfortably on a knife edge. And I believe the economic disparities between white and blacks is a problem, I’m still left asking myself, wasn’t this just caused by one dumb, poorly trained, ignorant cop? Is it right to go tearing up a town because of the idiocy of one man?
I simply don’t know. Once again Uncle Sam has pitched me a curve ball. striking me out and leaving me with nothing to do but scratch my crotch.
My Blog 
