Ferguson -- The saddest goddamned story I have read today: [View all]

[VanGoghRocks]

"Being black in America is basically being born with a target,” said Keyon Watkins, a 26-year-old college graduate with a computer science degree who joined in the protests on a late weekend night. “All of this is just built-up, pent-up aggression by being mistreated on a daily basis.

. . . .

Some of the protesters said they previously had been shot by police, or know relatives and friends who had been. Michael Johnson, 42, lifted up his shirt to show the scars on his torso that he said he received when he was shot by a St. Louis police officer at age 18, during a confrontation that he said never resulted in charges against him or the officer. Because of the injuries, he said, he had to abandon his dream of joining the Marines.

“That one night cost me my whole future,” said Johnson, standing in front of a looted and burnt-out convenience store. “If I got to die tonight, I don’t mind … I’m dying for a cause.”

http://stlouis.cbslocal.com/2014/08/18/protester-if-i-got-to-die-tonight-i-dont-mind/

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You might dismiss those words as false bravado. Or you might just hear in them resignation and resolution. Isn't it sad, though, just like this sadness that just keeps coming and never stops? Johnson is an American citizen!