A Social Perspective in Ferguson’s Unrest
Racial Profiling in America
Social problems affect everyone in society. For instance, a group of people in community suffers from poverty, while others experience unemployment. Nevertheless, social problems fall into various categories, as some affect individuals, and others influence a large number of people, according to Mills. A drinking problem is a personal issue, while unemployment may occur due to the state of the economy, thus, affecting a large number of people. However, other theories exist to proclaim that social issues, whether individual prone, stem from the society itself. Therefore, public affairs and distinctive problems have one common factor in that they all have a similar root that is the society itself. Social issues often stem from an individual’s personal feelings and their moral position at a given time. According to Mills, the best approach to understand the private problems is to view them from a public area in a term he called sociological imaginations (University of Minnesota, 2015). The paper will discuss a sociological aspect, precisely the Ferguson unrest, and use it for analysis.
Ferguson’s Unrest took place in the year 2014 when a 28-year-old police officer shot and killed Michael Brown. The event took place outside a convenience store where a caller called in to report an assault. From a sociological perspective, it occurred because of the deep-rooted aspect of racialism in the United States. A caller described the 18-year-old boy: Michael Brown. Racism is an intricate topic in today’s world, as it has manifested in many societies making it a public issue as told by Mills (University of Minnesota, 2015). Many black people in society hold race as the number one discrimination factor in the United States, and European countries. In the incident, the police officer responsible admitted to an altercation between him and the victim before later firing his gun as the boy tried to escape. The aftermath of the incident sparked a wave of protests: the Ferguson protests.
The protests began subtly before a series of looting and destruction of property took place. About 150 police in full riot gear assembled to prevent violence during the protests. In one event, one official told the rioting crowd, “bring it, you fucking animals, bring it” (Hare, 2016). In the aftermath of the Unrest, Mya Aaten- White failed to get a sound reply from the police who refused to respond to her accusation of using real bullets during the protests. The police also teargas reporters including those from the Huffington post and the Washington post violently frustrating the right to expression.
When analyzing the Ferguson protests, the African American communities received a harsh treatment from the police, an element echoed by the then-president Barrack Obama. Statistically, about 1100 people lost their lives through the police in the year 2014 (Keating, Christina, & Shelly, 2013). Looking at the numbers, whites made up 51% of the numbers, while the blacks made up 20.1%. Noteworthy, black people make up 17% of the population while whites make up 62 %; thus, the statistics highlight an overrepresentation of the black communities in police killings. A sociological issue arises when the journalist covering the story also became victims in the riot; the Unrest sparks the conflict approach. At the same time, symbolic interactions recognize the relationship between white and black people in the society. White people behave in a precise manner while the presence of black people, while a black person will behave differently while in the company of white people to avoid confrontations. However, in this case, the whites who were majorly the police acted violently to quell the growing Unrest.
The public code in many countries holds that every person, regardless of race, has the right to acquire any service or goods they desire; in addition, people have a right to display their dissatisfaction. However, the manifestation of racism denies black people from receiving services in equal measure to their white counterparts. The social setting for racism is a healthy environment in which people exist. In the Ferguson unrest, racism highlighted itself when a police officer used violence to quell an unarmed suspect (Hare, 2016). Racism also manifests itself in the public service departments as the police used large force on rioting groups, a right that every American holds. One woman failed to get a hearing from the police highlighting the shortcoming of the justice system to the black communities.
Another intricate element arises in the news coverage section, as most officers denied the complete media coverage of the story. One incident highlights that some journalist received instructions to clear from the area, and later on teargassed for not moving fast enough. The United States is a country that has highly highlighted racism in its societies. This is true because 58% of all Americans claim that race relationships in the country are poor. However, in the current presidential construct, which took over in 2016, most people hold that the situation has worsened.
For example, 59% of all black people claim that racism is a big issue in the United States, and about 78% believe that the country has made little improvement to that respect. For instance, Barrack Obama called on to officers to stop throwing people in jail for practicing their first amendment rights, highlighting that black people have a higher chance of imprisonment for petty crimes (Keating, Christina, & Shelly, 2013). In addition, about 56% of all American adults believe that color influences the type of reaction the police take on some groups. White majority riots receive less police presence with comprehensive media coverage, while black-dominated riots receive scant media attention.
The conflict approach fits in the definition of a racially focused society, notably compared to other forms of perspectives. Inequality is a matter that has manifested itself in the nation, as mentioned, and only a few communities display equality among all members. Any societies that report a low number of racial attributes have either white majority populations or black majority populations (University of Minnesota, 2015). However, to overcome societal conflicts, the aspect of inequality has to receive considerable resistance from all groups. However, the element of equality will only deny the status quo a chance to accomplish their desires for a cheap price making the item impossible to achieve. For instance, most blacks reported the presence of racism in society. Up to 59% of them reported that they received a laced racial remark at one point in their existence. For instance, the Ferguson unrest recorded a police officer saying, “bring it, you fucking animals, bring it” (Hsu, 2018). Therefore, the racial attributes function to demean to dominate.
Structural interest possessed by the disadvantaged make the aspect of fighting racism difficult, as they lack the resources and the means to fight against oppression. For instance, the whites control the police force, and the justice system. From the Ferguson’s Unrest, the police responsible for the death of the murdered boy did not receive a jail sentence; confirm that the only means to achieve attention is through rioting (BBC, 2015). Another conflict aspect arises in the manner in which journalist were denied a chance to cover the story. Such as aspects highlights the perception of the society towards African Americans. The police failed to engage in a more subtle manner and resorted to force (Thomas, 2014). The journalist present escaped with wounds. The nature of the police creates an element of symbolic interactions but in a negative manner. However, the president raised a point to confirm that there is an intricate relationship between the leaders and the people. The president called on the police to abide by the second amendment, and protect people’s rights to picket.
Conclusion
The Conflict approach clearly manifests in Ferguson’s Unrest, as people in the riot received an unprecedented reaction from the police. The police teargased journalists, and killed some rioters in the protests. In addition, some people went to jail for merely practicing their constitutional rights. A notable argument arises as to whether the police would have used a similar type of force whenever enforcing order in a white dominated protests. In addition, the police would have used less force when tackling a white boy. Nevertheless, a functionalists approach arises when analyzing the behavior of the police. The police profession works to quell unrests, and the present of the protestors worked to confirm their role in the society. Although, the formalists approach arises it does not complete the event in as much as the conflict theory does. The event highlights Mills argument about sociological issues because they often highlight a public stance at any given time. The individual aspects that influence an individual have a nationalized approach.
References
BBC. (2015, August 10). Ferguson Unrest:From shooting to nationwide protests. Retrieved 2020, from BBC: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-30193354
Hare, B. (2016, August 9). How did get here from ferguson? Retrieved 2020, from CNN: https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.cnn.com/cnn/2016/08/09/us/ferguson-michael-brown-timeline/inex.html
Hsu, A. (2018, July 7). Ferguson riot and ferguson Unrest (2014-2015). Retrieved from BlackPast: https://www.blackpast.org/african-america-history/ferguson-riot-and-ferguson-unrest-2014-2015/
Keating, D., Christina, R., & Shelly, T. (2013). A Breakdown of Arrests in Ferguson. The Washington Post.
Thomas, G.-N. (2014). Military Veterans see deeply flawed police response in Furguson. USA Today.
University of Minnesota. (2015). Social Problems: Continuity and Change. Minnesota Library Publishing.