Not just another post about Ferguson, but it is where we begin. Being a veteran of white-cop-shoots-black-man journalism frenzy (of which Michael Brown is but the latest figure in such a narrative), and especially given the level of distrust I exercise about the news in general, I have felt very little fascination whatsoever with the facts regarding exactly what happened between Michael Brown and his shooter. What is of acute interest to me, however, is the reaction of media, both its left and ostensibly right wing variations, and the wider reception by liberal and conservative enclaves on the internet (I won’t deny the event prompted a number of my own tweets on the subject of rioting).

To the liberal media, it was and remains a foregone conclusion that this is the evil of racism played out at the microscopic level. For no reason other than a white man’s evil and unjust prejudice against someone on the basis of his skin color, an innocent and kindly black youth was murdered in cold blood. The days of the segregated South remain with us, when lynch mobs and KKK cross burnings were a daily occurrence that caused the poor black man and woman a trauma of perpetual terror. Given these conditions, it only makes sense that this black community would express its frustration by the only means available to it, i.e. rioting and looting. The response of conservatives to condemn the breakdown of social order in Ferguson is de facto racist, since it is a condemnation of black people for expressing distaste at their situation, in which they literally feel helpless to do anything about it except engage in what amounts to self-harm.

To the conservative media, it was and remains a foregone conclusion that this is the evil of liberal journalism played  out at the macroscopic level. For no reason other than liberal media’s need for a martyr who will fit the narrative of white-person-is-racist-so-murders-black-man the events in Ferguson have been cast over with a pall of obscurity preventing people from seeing the obvious, which is that a cop, if perhaps unwisely, shot a man who got in a physical tussle with him. Reports of the cop’s having the evidence of such a physical tussle abound in conservative sites, in addition to the photos and other evidence of Michael Brown’s unsavory character as a petty criminal gang banger. The response of liberals to condemn the Ferguson cops for daring to do their job and attempt to maintain order and prevent damage to property and persons only shows how unprincipled they are about law and order. Oh, and black people are pretty dumb to damage property in their own neighborhoods, as this will only make their material conditions even worse as the cost of security rises.

Both of these summations, liberal and conservative, have tiny grains of truth in them. However, it remains the case that the wisest opinion on the whole matter is that of none. I have the opinion that riots, no matter the racial or class composition, deserve the pleasant whiff of grapeshot, but this is an opinion about riots started in the wake of any event, whether just or unjust. Even if we grant the liberal his wet dream and we find out the cop in this case was a secret member of a neo-nazi group who shot a black man for nothing other than being black, this doesn’t lead to a condoning of the riots or any lesser necessity for putting down a riot. Riots, no matter the conditions which form them, are assaults on civilization and must be treated for the grave breakdown of society that they are in order that the business of civilization may proceed as smoothly as possible (including the effecting of a justice system which will, no matter that it will be condemned by the media for anything less  than a lengthy prison sentence for the officer, hopefully fulfill its duty of justice). One’s opinion about the gravity of riots and the need to break them up should be unmoved by the official or unofficial cause of those riots. The mob is an engine of chaos which always leaves destruction in its wake, with great harm caused to people and property which does nothing to help effect justice for the afflicted. There are pro-social methods of resolving conflicts over justice, and the lack of participation in those where they exist and are extended for the benefit of the aggrieved only weakens their ability to administer effectively. In at least some way, the riots have actually achieved the opposite effect in those directly affected; believe it or not, but finding your shops being looted predominantly by blacks will inevitably cause you to notice things.

These sorts of events are not going to stop. In the course of an officer’s duty, judgment calls must be made under conditions of extreme stress and ambiguity, and it is inevitable that another one of these cases will approximate the liberal’s preferred narrative enough that the whole journalism cycle will be kicked off once again. Some young black man will get himself killed by a white person (or at least someone who looks sufficiently white, see Zimmerman), which will be the indubitable proof that racism remains as rampant as ever in America and that we need to have a National Discussion about the poverty of black people and the ways in which racism not only happens on the microscopic level, but is institutionalized at all levels of society, from the justice system to banks and business. Given this, I have a number of suggestions to police forces to minimize the likelihood that such an event will occur in their appointed territory.

The first is that your force should be diversified as much as possible. We have to work with the reality that black, Asian, and (clearly, no passably white) Hispanics who make effective cops are relatively scarce compared to whites, and so race-based pay and promotion will need to take place. A non-white officer who can safely patrol and enforce the law in a black neighborhood without having to fear he, and by extension the police force he represents, will be excoriated as racist is an indispensable premium in this day and age. Yes, this means white officers will, for no lack of equal talent, will be paid less than their diverse colleagues, but white cops are, at least in the context of policing predominantly black neighborhoods, a liability. Send all your white cops to Duluth, and send all your black cops to the ghettos. Police chiefs, mayors, and all city officials who might be the subject of a public relations disaster in the wake of a white-on-black police shooting have it in their interest to pursue this kind of diversification as aggressively as possible, and thankfully liberalism in this case has pre-packaged, anti-racist reasons for non-whites getting paid more just for being not white.

The second is that, in the case of a riot, especially one which has any connection to the actions taken by a member of your own force, police and paramilitary forces that are not from and do not represent your own force should be used. This should mitigate any claims that the police in this case are simply defending their own, since literally those imposing force are a disinterested third party. It should be within the power of a mayor to declare a state of emergency and contract third parties from other police and private military forces to impose peace in order to facilitate the expedient serving of justice.

Third, as soon as any event which appears like it may be taken up by media and given the Trayvon Martin treatment all resources should be extended to preventing riots from happening in the first place. Issue a declaration that the matter will be given all due analysis by third parties who have no vested interest in the public appearance of the police officer and force in question in order to resolve any injustice, and that in no way shall rioting be permitted. It might be helpful to be pro-active in community organizing and tap on members of the community to begin working on peaceable ways of venting frustration so that a pro-social outlet exists and there would be no need to tolerate rioting as “the only way of expressing their frustration at the system.”

These are recommendations which do not proceed from a place of principled justice, but are pragmatic and particular to the conditions of the modern day. It is, of course, a contradiction to the supposed spirit of equality that non-white officers shall be paid more simply for being non-white, but then the spirit of equality in this case is precisely what inhibits white cops from effectively serving law and order because they pose the liability of being considered racist. These principles are a kind of kludge to impose peace and social order while the empire wanes, and inevitably as a stopgap they will fail, but until then, it appears wisest to keep society going for as long as we can no matter how insane it gets.