March 9^th

Patrick J. Buchanan has taken issue with Eric Holder’s classification of the Ferguson Police Department as racially biased. Pat maintains that after diligently searching through many emails only seven racist ones were found. Moreover the many nights of riots and looting that followed the killing of the black teenager were clearly a disproportionate response to just one killing. Then there was the testimony of witnesses who later recanted their accusations. All-in-all Pat tells us that this fine white police officer is “innocent of the slanders” that have been brought against him. Pat takes issue with the claim that a disproportionate number of blacks have been cited for various crimes because this is the case nationally.

Patrick J. Buchanan is a bigot; the matter has been thoroughly investigated by no less a stalwart conservative that William F. Buckley Jr. In a 40 thousand word investigative piece Buckley concluded that Buchanan’s racist comments disqualified him from consideration as a candidate for the Presidency (1992). On civil rights legislation Buchanan had said,

 

“There were no politics to polarize us then, to magnify every slight. The 'negroes' of Washington had their public schools, restaurants, bars, movie houses, playgrounds and churches; and we had ours.” (Right from the Beginning, Buchanan's 1988 autobiography)

 

It seems unlikely that Buchanan will give us an even-handed look at Ferguson, MO…and he hasn’t! 
The statistics he cites are accurate but he is careful about which ones he gives us. It’s true that blacks in Ferguson appear to commit a disproportionate number of crimes; at least they are charged a disproportionate number of times. That is not the same! It is also true that fines levied primarily against blacks are used to finance the City of Ferguson. Sometimes a simple parking ticket could escalate to a thousand dollar penalty. Sometimes the charges were just silly. A black man resting in his car after a sweaty work-out near a playground was arrested and charged as a pedophile, then when he gave his name as Mike instead of Michael he was accused of lying to a police officer.

Six percent of the police force is black, ninety-four percent are white; the town is two-thirds black and one-third white. Could that be a pattern? After Holder’s findings were announced exactly three police officers were dismissed. The chief responsible for this mess was not relieved of duty and was not available for questioning. More will be heard about this subsequently. Buchanan mentions none of this.

Then to the brave officer who shot the teenager, I’ve gone over this before: Following the altercation in his police car Wilson called for back-up but he couldn’t wait for it to arrive. He’d been “disrespected” you see, so he left his patrol car and went looking for this enormous teen (6’3’’ and 290 lbs.). He found him and in a fearful panic for his life he killed him.

Buchanan gives us no information about the use of fines to support the city, about the disparity between the black/white ratios on the police force and in the city, nor of some of the absurd charges by police against black citizens. This is hardly a surprise. What is a surprise is that newspapers continue to carry his column!