Thoughts on Ferguson

I’m ashamed that I consider myself a St. Louis Jew. We Jews are supposed to be stalwart upholders of justice, as Torah tells us. There has been no uproar among the St. Louis Jewish community since the Aug. 9 killing of Michael Brown in Ferguson. Officials at all levels, up to and especially including the governor, have made a mockery of due process.

There has been an uproar among the black community, long frustrated by institutional injustice. 

That the press covers. 

However, I’m not ashamed of my Silver Life Membership in the NAACP. Jews and our leaders marched with Mrtin Luther King Jr. 

It’s long past time for us to support blacks and other minorities, and to speak out for justice. We’re also a minority.

Franklin Sax, Tucson, Ariz.

What has happened to our leaders in St. Louis? The silence is deafening. The killing of Michael Brown has opened a great debate in our community: a debate about how our justice system treats people of color in Ferguson, in St. Louis and in the United States. Issues have been raised: like the double standard in the way blacks and whites are treated in our courts; like the low number of blacks in the municipal police departments relative to the percent in the population; like rampant racial profiling by the police who stop drivers for driving while black. Just to name a few.

And what have we heard from our “leaders”? Largely silence, except for the prolific preparation for riots and looting. The best response to concerns about protests….the best way to satisfy the protesters is….constructive discussion about how to address the issues that are being raised.   

Where are (St. Louis County Executive Charles) Dooley or (county executive-elect Steve) Stenger? 

Why aren’t they addressing questions of hiring more African-American officers or developing better training for police? 

Why is the governor not addressing legislation that could deal with our court system that has an epidemic of imprisoning African Americans and filling our prisons with drug violators who represent no threat to anyone except themselves,  or making it easier for those convicted of non-violent crimes to get jobs, not harder.  

Where are the leaders of our corporate community from Schnucks, BJC, Monsanto, Wells Fargo, Enterprise, Edward Jones, Express Scripts, etc., who claim to love our community and who could take the initiative to change our city’s reputation as one of the most racially divided cities in the United States.  

Are they satisfied with the status quo? 

We are all taught in school that all “men” are created equal and that justice is blind.

The protesters in Ferguson are raising the Michael Brown case as a symbol that St. Louis, Missouri and the United States is not living up to that promise. 

The silence is deafening.

Ben Senturia, University City