Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Waking up to a not-so-new American morning

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Waking up to a not-so-new American morning:

Waking up to a not-so-new American morning

"Congress shall make no law abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; ...or the right of the people peaceably to assemble" -- 1st Amendment, U.S. Constitution

“A riot is the language of the unheard.” -- Dr. M.L. King

This is supposed to be the 1st day of school in Ferguson, MO. Instead, the St. Louis suburb is shaken after another night of protests.
— CBS This Morning (@CBSThisMorning) August 14, 2014

Shaken, disturbed, angry...that describes me this morning after watching the live streaming and follow-up news coverage on MSNBC of the violent, militarized police assault on the black community in Ferguson last night. The sounds and images of an unprovoked, small-town, 94%-white police phalanx moving on a crowd of unarmed, peaceful mainly black citizens, firing rubber bullets, tear gas and concussion grenades as they came, rekindled disturbing flashbacks of Watts 1965 and Chicago, 1968 -- two events that greatly shaped my own political consciousness.

Al Jazeera crew flees after taking a direct hit.

This was no police riot, but a well-executed Gaza-style assault on a defenseless community, still in shock after the cold-blooded police murder of Michael Brown.

High on the list of targets was the press with reporters being told to leave, turn off their cameras and stop recording well before the assault began. A camera crew from Al Jazeerawas fired upon and reporters from the Huffington Post and Washington Post were roughed up, arrested and then released with no charges. A St. Louis alderman was also jailed. Many of the police had removed their badges and identification and Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Waking up to a not-so-new American morning: