Across the United States people took to the streets in response to the Staten Island grand jury decision in the Eric Garner killing. The second grand jury to refuse to indict a police officer who killed an unarmed African American, along with the killing of 12 year old Tamir Rice in Cleveland, has led to protests throughout the United States. These protests have been building for many years as the killing of African Americans and abusive relations between police and citizens has become all too common.
Watching the corporate mass media tonight often seemed like watching Global Revolution Live. Live video from multiple sites in New York City, Washington, D.C., Boston, Cleveland, Chicago . . . of people shutting down roadways, bridges, tunnels, subways and demonstrating their opposition to police abuse. Under hashtags #EnoughIsEnough, #ThisStopsToday and #BlackLivesMatter expressed the desire for transformative change in the behavior of US police, the relationship between police and people and an end to racist, militarized policing.
It is good to see the mass media finally reporting on the deeply rooted problem of abusive policing but the explosion seen today has been building for years.