The Scenes from College Campuses Remind Me of Ferguson

10 years ago it was poor people of colour who were brutalised. Now it’s the flower of America’s elite who are feeling the boot heel of the US police state

Below is an article I wrote for my blog in 2014.

The “Tipping Point”, Militarised Police, and the Meaning of Ferguson

Originally posted on Friday, 15 August, 2014 by EuroYankee

I have been watching trends in the US for some time. Macro-trends, if you will. And in Ferguson I see the confluence of three trends: on one hand, poverty and income inequality, on the other hand, militarised police with armoured vehicles and heavy weapons, all coming together under a patina of racial friction.

First, let’s look at how America’s police forces have become militarised. It started in 1990 with the National Defense Authorization Act. This act had a section that allowed the Defense Department to transfer military equipment, weapons, ammunition and vehicles to local…