This is a sticky topic. I have attempted to summarize thoughts but did not do it logically though. From this challenging and informative thread, we can only begin to start conversation about larger arguments and constructs. We may all agree that there is no single self-fulfilling argument to this discourse. In Grad School at Stat 101 class my Professor presented an analogy of ice cream sales and crime in summer. Crime surged in summer, so did the ice cream sales. Could a high rate of crime in summer be correlated to ice cream sales? IMO, some very strong arguments are presented here; we agree that as distinct human beings our reading of Ferguson events are unique and not imitable. But it would be an understatement to conclude that we are not swayed by our own prejudices. I have tried to copy and paste some pointers from above which can serve as food for thought.

@GeetMaiJawaafDiu : The lower you are in the economic ladder the harder it is it to climb up.
@tihar: The only people holding black people slave is black people themselves. They are getting slaved by drugs, laziness, lack of education, gangs etc.
@facebook: Few year back one cop was shot in NYC, only fault his was he went to clear dispute of a black man and his wife
@GeetMaiJawaafDiu: Be careful folks, even being noticed holding a fork in an argument in a restaurant when a cop happens to be dining at the next table could prove to be fatal - a mistake you will never get a chance to learn from.

Many years back I worked at a Gas Station in Fuller Park neighborhood of Chicago. Statistically, this inner city community is consistently ranked No.1 for violent crime in that region. That was my first year in US and I was a student (psst). My perception of the demographics that I encountered there, every day, was not sympathetic. It so happened that 92% population of that inner city was black. A big housing community next to the gas station was called “Projects” – a City subsidized housing that accommodated only economically disadvantaged people. In my many months working at that particular Gas station, I do not recall anyone purchasing gas worth more than $20. As a cashier I was robbed 2 times while working night shift (although there was no more than $40 in the register at any given time), robbed 1 time near my apartment, had a break in at my apartment and while I was working, there were 3 instances of dive-by-shootings; one instance where one of my frequent ‘Dutch Master’ customer was fatally shot. In many of these violent occasions, cops would come after the incident and collect witness accounts, testimonials etc. One question amongst the flood of questions was ‘description of the criminal. Was he Hispanic, Black, Caucasian?’ Unfortunately, I did not encounter any other race that I could’ve described to the policeman. But then again, the population of the neighborhood was 92% black – so my argument here is fallacious. I would encounter same cultural skewness had I worked in Saudi Arabia, Japan or New Canaan, Connecticut. Honestly, when I was working there I loathed the people whom I dealt with because I perceived most of them as criminals. Then when I really think about it I was a criminal too, if you know what I mean. I had a chance to game the system. My forefathers had a chance to game the system in Nepal (through religious or cultural hierarchy) the fruits of which laid a path for me to come here in US (and unfortunately lecture about this topic). Whereas my fellow brother from Dolpa, whose forefathers could not game the system, is grilling his ass in a Qatari dessert as I write this. There are both historical and cultural contexts at play here. During my south side days, many times in my casual conversation with customers, especially kids, I asked them what class they liked most at school, they’d say Gym. What do you want to do when you grow up? Football Player. In that context one would relate to “Bring Your A Game – Kevin Liles Story” at www.snagfilms.com (6) Also - Former Morehouse College president Benjamin E. Mays, noted in his autobiography, Born to Rebel, that his pursuit of education beyond the elementary level was delayed not only by the repressive racial social order of early 20th century South Carolina, but also by his father’s insistence that he stay and work the farm. His father, a former slave, consistently stated, “Weren’t there only two honest occupations for Negro men—preaching and farming?”(8)
Although armed with the trove of historical, cultural and economic information, the only thing I could do is regurgitate old cliché about economics, politics and history. The information and argument I presented here is not new. We understand and generalize that multitude of issues exist in policing inner cities of America. Michael Brown, Trevon Martin, Eric Garner should be read in conjunction with these issues but police impunity should never be tolerated.

References:

1. http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/ucr/leoka/2013/figures/figure_-1-_-2013
2. http://crime.chicagotribune.com/chicago/community/fuller-park
3. http://homicides.redeyechicago.com/neighborhood/fuller-park/
4. http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2008-05-25/news/0805240409_1_drive-by-shooting-apparent-robbery-attempt-chicago-police
5. http://s15.postimg.org/miku4m48r/Quarter_Water.png
6. http://www.snagfilms.com/films/clip/bring_your_a_game/bring_your_a_game_1401999720861
7. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/09/education/09gap.html?_r=0
8. http://journalofafricanamericanmales.com/wp-content/uploads/downloads/2013/06/Allen-and-Boyce-2013.pdf
9. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_of_Eric_Garner
10. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j1ka4oKu1jo
11. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fz-BCmrjxzk