There are other bizarre aspects to the situation in Ferguson. Much has been made of the fact that a white police officer shot and killed a black youth. Certainly it isn't the first time this has happened and, sadly, it already isn't the last. One wonders, then, why some of the businesses that were torched in the night of violence were those owned and operated by black people. There have also been claims that outside agitators dedicated to spreading racial hatred flew into Ferguson from across the country with the intention of fomenting as much violence as they could in the beleaguered community just to stir the pot. This may be the case, but most of the violence was home-grown and it is far from over.

Already there have been calls on social media for a boycott of the Black Friday nationwide sales this weekend. That will probably have very little effect. However, demonstrators have been on the streets almost continuously in Ferguson since the shooting three months ago and when darkness falls in the days to come they'll be back and they'll be carrying guns. Darren Wilson will probably never again walk the streets of Ferguson as a police officer. He has a target painted on his back and he still isn't out of the legal woods because although no charges will be brought at the country level he could still be charged federally and sued in court by individuals or groups. President Obama has called for a national dialogue to address the racial problems still lingering in America but he knows that this isn't a problem that can be fixed by laws; this is a situation that exists in people's minds. Unless and until one person can look at another and see the value of his heart instead of the color of his skin this sort of thing will continue and fester.

I would really like to end this by saying that I'm a Canadian and racism doesn't exist in my country. I'd be lying if I did. It may not be as overt here but the bias is out there. We have hate groups including white supremacists in Canada, although fortunately they are almost vanishingly small. It's a sad situation that people have not been able to rise above this sort of thing, that skin-heads and other sick radicals can still find acceptance for their sermons of hate. I may not understand it but I also don't expect to live long enough to see it completely disappear, more's the pity.

Brad Franklin is a former political reporter, newscaster and federal government employee in Canada. He is a regular columnist for China's English Salon magazine and lives on Vancouver Island.

Opinion articles reflect the views of their authors, not necessarily those of China.org.cn

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