# Ferguson, MO **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [August 12, 2014, 4:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ferguson-mo/695354 "2014-08-12T04:51:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 49
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2014, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ferguson-mo/695354/961 "2014-08-16T22:10:49Z")
New Zealand, Texas… you’ve got a thing for sheep, don’t you **Terr**? ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2014, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ferguson-mo/695354/962 "2014-08-16T22:12:22Z")
> [@woodstockbirdybird](#): > > We _don’t_ need them, Stalin. The owners of the businesses that were looted and burned while the touchy-feely-bleeding-heart-hands-off Highway Patrol cops sat there and watched them burn might beg to disagree, Gandhi. ---
**Author:** ![slumtrimpet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@slumtrimpet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slumtrimpet)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2014, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ferguson-mo/695354/963 "2014-08-16T23:23:06Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > The owners of the businesses that were looted and burned while the touchy-feely-bleeding-heart-hands-off Highway Patrol cops sat there and watched them burn might beg to disagree, Gandhi. Gandhi? You used Gandhi as an insult? Snerk. Maybe you could get really down and dirty and call him Desmond Tutu or something. Or Dalia Lama. Boy, that would hurt. ---
**Author:** ![Reyemile](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/46a35a/32.png) [@Reyemile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reyemile)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2014, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ferguson-mo/695354/964 "2014-08-16T23:24:50Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > \*\* > > If you wouldn’t kill somebody to take what’s theirs, why would you be willing to kill to keep what’s yours? Because I own what is mine and don’t own what is theirs? Seriously, I don’t get this question. Is it supposed to be a gotcha? ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2014, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ferguson-mo/695354/965 "2014-08-16T23:36:18Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > The owners of the businesses that were looted and burned… They should’ve considered the possibility that supporting a police force which murders jaywalkers might lead to a certain amount of unfocused anger on the part of those in the targeted population. Crappy cops make everyone less safe, even those small businesses that are people too, my friend. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2014, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ferguson-mo/695354/966 "2014-08-16T23:48:57Z")
> [@Reyemile](#): > > Because I own what is mine and don’t own what is theirs? > > Seriously, I don’t get this question. Is it supposed to be a gotcha? If you don’t understand the question, there is no chance you would understand the answer. Others will, others have, and we will try and get along without you as best we can. ---
**Author:** ![JackieLikesVariety](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackielikesvariety/32/296_2.png) [@JackieLikesVariety](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JackieLikesVariety)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2014, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ferguson-mo/695354/967 "2014-08-16T23:52:05Z")
he did, he used Gandhi as an insult. seriously, back when he referred to “slitting throats” I was sure: TROLL ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2014, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ferguson-mo/695354/968 "2014-08-17T00:21:08Z")
> [@Squink](#): > > They should’ve considered the possibility that supporting a police force which murders jaywalkers might lead to a certain amount of unfocused anger on the part of those in the targeted population. Again, do you have some evidence of a murder having occurred that the FBI has not been made aware of? If so, why are you sitting on it instead of sharing it with them? ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2014, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ferguson-mo/695354/969 "2014-08-17T00:22:22Z")
> [@slumtrimpet](#): > > Gandhi? You used Gandhi as an insult? Yes, I’m using the name of [the man who believed the Jews in Nazi-occupied Europe should have committed mass suicide](http://www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/magazine/gandhiandthejews) as an insult. ---
**Author:** ![Leaper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4bbf92/32.png) [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2014, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ferguson-mo/695354/970 "2014-08-17T01:10:17Z")
Sight hijack: I understand why Gandhi is condemned for statements like that, but… Isn’t that what pacifism is all about? No war or violence under ANY circumstance? I will also note that the linked article calls the discussion over Gandhi’s statements and opinions “complex.” ---
**Author:** ![Reyemile](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/46a35a/32.png) [@Reyemile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reyemile)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2014, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ferguson-mo/695354/971 "2014-08-17T01:18:40Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > If you don’t understand the question, there is no chance you would understand the answer. Others will, others have, and we will try and get along without you as best we can. You’re acting like shooting someone to defend my stuff and shooting someone to take their stuff are somehow equivalent actions. They’re obviously not. In the first case I’m defending myself from a thief; in the second case I AM a thief, and a murderer to boot. Lethal force may not be justified if my stuff is being stolen. But asking whether or not I would murder people to take their property is a complete _non sequitor_. So if there is a coherent point you are trying to make, stop being an obtuse pseudo-intellectual and explain it. Otherwise, admit you are babbling and move on. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2014, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ferguson-mo/695354/972 "2014-08-17T02:10:25Z")
I’ve made it, and I do not require your approval or your permission. My name is right there, nobody makes you read it. Skip right along, don’t waste your time, I’ll get over it. ---
**Author:** ![andros](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e480ec/32.png) [@andros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/andros)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2014, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ferguson-mo/695354/973 "2014-08-17T02:15:53Z")
Just for my own part, I always find it amazing when someone places a higher value on things than people. ---
**Author:** ![xenophon41](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xenophon41/32/253_2.png) [@xenophon41](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xenophon41)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2014, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ferguson-mo/695354/974 "2014-08-17T02:28:17Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > I’ve made it, and I do not require your approval or your permission. +1 Offered for moral encouragement. ---
**Author:** ![Reyemile](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/46a35a/32.png) [@Reyemile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reyemile)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2014, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ferguson-mo/695354/975 "2014-08-17T02:35:24Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > My name is right there… Funny you should mention that. I appreciate the irony that the **elucidator** is refusing to elucidate a non-lucid point. ---
**Author:** ![magellan01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@magellan01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/magellan01)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2014, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ferguson-mo/695354/976 "2014-08-17T03:02:11Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > If you wouldn’t kill somebody to take what’s theirs, why would you be willing to kill to keep what’s yours? This is dumb as fuck. Even for you. The answer is that I have no moral claim to something that belongs to someone else. I do have moral claim to what is mine. ---
**Author:** ![Urbanredneck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ea5d25/32.png) [@Urbanredneck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Urbanredneck)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2014, 10:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ferguson-mo/695354/977 "2014-08-17T10:48:42Z")
From what I can tell it seems that most of the businesses looted were corporate or chain stores like the Quik Trip. QT’s are the equivalent of 7-11’s. Now they showed a nearby tattoo parlor with about 10 men outside, some black, and they didnt go near that store. Same with some other privately owned stores. Plus in many cases some of the peaceful demonstrators have stood guard outside private businesses. ---
**Author:** ![Urbanredneck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ea5d25/32.png) [@Urbanredneck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Urbanredneck)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2014, 10:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ferguson-mo/695354/978 "2014-08-17T10:58:21Z")
> [@Terr](#): > > Reporters were repeatedly and forcefully told to move away, turn around, put down their cameras or simply to leave the area when trying to get close enough to film the scenes of destruction and theft. Most reporters on the scene were simply recording the events as they unfolded — making no effort to interfere or interview participants in the rioting. > > Ahh more self-censorship by the press. And how wonderful that the police is not interfering with the looters. Well to be honest, there were many people holding up there cell phone cameras recording the action so they might not actually need to send in a highly visible news crew. Ive seen situations were the number of reporters way outnumbered the people they were reporting on. So you might see a dozen reporters surrounding some guy dancing around. Or lets say some cops are trying to wrestle someone to the ground a a dozen reporters swarm in and get in the way. What news crews SHOULD do is have reporters on staff from various backgrounds and races who can easily mix in with a crowd and get first hand stories. ---
**Author:** ![Mince](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ecd19e/32.png) [@Mince](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mince)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2014, 11:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ferguson-mo/695354/979 "2014-08-17T11:07:58Z")
> [@Urbanredneck](#): > > From what I can tell it seems that most of the businesses looted were corporate or chain stores like the Quik Trip. QT’s are the equivalent of 7-11’s. > > Now they showed a nearby tattoo parlor with about 10 men outside, some black, and they didnt go near that store. Same with some other privately owned stores. I don’t think it’s necessarily corporate vs. private; doubt any of the looters think on that level. What are they going to do with a tattoo iron? Looting a Kwik-E-Mart or Best Buy will yield more tangible goods. Let’s be honest, they don’t ply their craft to make a political statement, but to profit. The reality is, corporate chains own the most shit, thus they make the juiciest targets. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2014, 11:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ferguson-mo/695354/980 "2014-08-17T11:54:18Z")
[Well, so much for “we’re not going to enforce the law with tear gas”;](http://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/ferguson-protests-turn-violent-curfew) > [@](#): > > It was another violent night in Ferguson as police in riot gear cracked down on crowds of protesters who dug their heels in defiance against a midnight curfew. Officers fired rounds of smoke and tear gas even after assuring the public earlier in the day that they would not take such extreme measures. > > At least one person was shot, a police car was fired on and seven protesters were arrested… > > Johnson said that commanders uncovered a plot by a group of armed protesters to ambush officers as they set out to enforce the curfew. > > Johnson said that a few gunmen had broken into a restaurant, climbed onto its roof and planned on waiting for officers to march past. He said much of the tactical operation was focused on the restaurant, Red’s BBQ, on the corner of W. Florissant and Canfield. Johnson said the gunmen got away as police closed in behind a sheet of smoke and tear gas. It’s almost as if shaking hands and kissing babies _isn’t_ all it takes to stop a riot. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ferguson-mo/695354.md?page=48) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ferguson-mo/695354.md?page=50)