Police getting away with abuse and murder? Who to blame? I'm going to say something that's probably unpopular and what people don't want to hear and I admit, it is a little bit of blaming the victim. I'm going to be blunt and put the blame (at least some of it) onto the very people and families who are being profiled, abused, shot and killed. Citizens that can't be bothered to vote, citizens that too often have a skin color that isn't white.
Let me ask everyone this, who is the President of the United States? OK, easy right? Now let me ask you something harder. Who is your town/city councilperson? Who is your town supervisor/mayor? Who is your local sheriff? Who are your local prosecutors? Judges? When did each of these people run for reelection last? Did you vote in that election?
My point is this: You can vote for President all day but if you don't vote for every office on the local level you are giving consent for local governments/law enforcement to abuse you, your family, and your neighbors. Look at this last election where so many people decided to stay home and not vote. What message does it send? Elected officials will only listen to the people who are willing and able to fire them from their jobs; minority non voters do not qualify. Do you think these elected officials care that people are out there protesting? Nope. Know why? Because the ones who vote are the ones who support Officer Wilson. The conservative minded, older, white, males are the ones who make sure to vote. If you were an elected official wanting to keep your job, who would you listen to? Non voting protesters and their supporters or the voting pro police mostly white men who want you to be tough on crime?
Look at the prosecutor in Ferguson, a Democrat with a history of screwing the little guy and minorities (just look at the Wikipedia page on him) who ran unopposed in his last election. His father was a police officer who died in the line of duty and he also has family that works in the police department. A clearly biased man, he has easily held onto his position for many years. We know he's biased and has refused to prosecute police brutality but has this encouraged people to primary him or even to run against him in a general election? Of course not. The same goes for the local government. Who hires police officers? I'm not sure how it works in Ferguson but where I am, the elected town government actually interviews and hires officers. If people didn't bother to vote, are they not somewhat responsible for Officer Darren Wilson being on the force?
I know this is treading the line of blaming the victim/victims but I think this is a message that needs to be heard and thought about. If you don't vote, you are giving consent for whatever abuse the government gives you. If you don't vote, you may not have shot an unarmed man, but you gave tacit consent. Protesting in the streets is meaningless if you don't vote. Politicians don't care that you protest, they can always have the media portray you as violent, ignorant looters. They only care if you can and will fire them. Only by exercising our right to vote, not just for President but the equally important if not more impactful in our lives local government can we stop injustice.