A troubling aspect to me was summed up by a black parent who was asked by her small boy whether he could run from a policeman if that policeman was hurting him. She told her son, "No."
I know white-against-black racism is part of this circumstance because essentially that's where the whole thing is rooted. But I can't help but recoil at images of the numbers of black men seen looting in the aftermath of protests. They are seen standing in line to get their share of loot. These men are part of the problem, and cultures that raise men like this are part of the problem no matter the race. Historically, communities are not lifted from above out of dispair. Rather, communities raise themselves out of dispair. The work of peaceful protesters in the Michael Brown incident I laud and fully support. I wish the same community would likewise protest just as loud and regularly against thugs in their own community.
I'm white. I don't like racism, whether a white thinking suspiciously of a black because of the color of his/her skin or a black thinking suspiciously of me because of the color of my skin. In my neighborhood if you're white and found looting a store you'll get your butt turned in to the police by a white resident. It does not matter if the criminal is your next door neighbor. You turn in criminals no matter the skin. Eventually the community is a safer place to live the result. It does not matter to me (or anyone else in my community insofar as I can tell) that the nearest law enforcement is primarily staffed by black officers, including the chief.
I have no idea the whole story of what happened in the Michael Brown incident. Eventually it'll come out and I say let the chips fall wherever the evidence says they should fall. In the meantime we have looters. Who's going to watch that video and call the State Police Captain and turn in the ones they can recognize? Those who don't call are part of the problem.
Then there's that black mother I spoke of to start with. What she has to tell her boys is wrong. We can do something about that by choosing not to tolerate bad behaviour no matter who's doing it. And it starts at home.