Waiting on the Grand Jury Decision

In light of the allegedly pending decision by the St. Louis Grand Jury, which will determine the fate of Officer Darren Wilson, consider this police chief’s take on violence in the black community and police response:

Michael Brown Protesters Calling the Shots

Philosopher Cornel West (second from right) joins members of the clergy as they minister to Ferguson police in front of the Ferguson Police Department on Monday, Oct. 13, 2014.

… as they minister to Ferguson police …

Members of the clergy got in the faces of law enforcement officers and offered opportunities for them to do penance. Amazing restraint was demonstrated by these police officers, who were forced to stand there and take this outrageous abuse:

The biggest [demonstration that day] took place outside the Ferguson police station, where about 500 people stood in heavy rain to chant and cheer 100 clergy members who offered themselves for arrest. About a dozen ministers walked toward a police line as a man on a bullhorn said they were offering to hear the confessions of police officers.

The Spiral of Silence and the Enforcers of Right Think

In our last post, we learned that researchers have found that people tend to self-censor their speech, both in person and on social media, if they believe that their opinions are unpopular or in the minority. Researchers call this phenomenon the spiral of silence. The tendency to self-censor is one that others, particularly progressives, use to political advantage, when they seek to punish or destroy those with whom they disagree. Depending upon how politically incorrect their points of view are perceived to be by others, speakers quickly learn to self-censor their speech lest they find themselves singled out, investigated, and punished by the enforcers of right think. Let’s look at some recent examples of this type of punishment that goes far beyond ridicule or ostracism.