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Missouri Governor Says “Violence Will Not Be Tolerated” In Ferguson; Internet Says “What About Police Violence?”

By Steph Bazzle
Published on: 10:24 PST, Nov 12, 2014

With the grand Jury decision in Darren Wilson’s case regarding the shooting of unarmed teenager Michael Brown expected any day, the governor of Missouri has spoken out about Ferguson, saying “Violence will not be tolerated.” The internet responded with a resounding, “Does that apply to police violence too?”

According to NBC, the governor spoke Wednesday, saying that the state would not tolerate any violence. He was referring to incidents in the early days after Michael Brown’s shooting, when protesters were said to have thrown items at police, attacked them, and looted stores. (Protesters have denied any connection to looting and pointed out that the item thrown, on camera, was not a bottle thrown at police as alleged, but the police’s own tear gas canister thrown back.)

However, on Twitter, a hashtag campaign is making it clear that to many, it’s not violence by protesters that should be the concern.

There are reports of a surge in gun sales in Ferguson with the Grand Jury decision imminent.

Ferguson’s Mayor joined the Governor Nixon at the press conference, promising that peaceful protest would not be a problem, but it’s clear his words aren’t doing much to inspire confidence in the protesters.

There’s a general sense that protesters feel they are expected to be quiet and calm, not angry. While refraining from violence is certainly a reasonable expectation for anyone, being angry is pretty understandable.

Reports say that the gun purchases aren’t along racial lines — but it’s also relevant to note that the Missouri KKK leader, Frank Ancona, has announced record recruitment credited to the ongoing problems in Ferguson. According to the Riverfront Times, Ancona claims that there are sometimes 100 calls to his “Klanline” in a day.

The local chapter of the Klan has been circulating a flier on Twitter and will begin passing out paper copies soon, warning protesters. It essentially mirrors the governor’s statement: violence will not be tolerated. However, the Klan’s version is a little more specific.

It’s addressed to ‘terrorists masquerading as peaceful protestors’ and says that ‘threats of violence’ will not be tolerated. It also threatens the use of lethal force by anyone who ‘reasonably believes such force to be necessary’ in self-defense.

Clearly, the question on many minds is this: does the statement that violence will not be tolerated apply to all groups in Ferguson, or only to protesters?

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