Stuck in the Mud

 Ferguson, Mo. has been a hotbed of debate over racial issues in the past few months, but it also brings up other discriminatory debates as well. The issue of class discrimination and gentrification are being closely examined in the area as well. The heavy police presence that we have all gotten to know recently brings up the debate of why such a heavy and aggressive force is necessary. Is there a bigger picture that needs to be examined? The police force will say that they are merely doing their jobs and putting bad guys in jail. That may be so, but a larger issue is at hand. A heavy police presence means more police stops. As Peter Coy puts it in his article Race, Class, And the Future of Ferguson, "...middle class drivers stopped by police routinely hire lawyers who knock speeding tickets down to non-moving violations; poorer drivers, mostly black, who can't afford lawyers, often find themselves caught in a downward spiral." Now, with a ticket that can't be paid, they face jail time and possibly losing their job. They are labeled as "chronic offenders". Thus the downward spiral begins. 

            The gentrification of these low income neighborhoods is getting some attention as well. “…as blacks move into a town, whites move out. The tax base shrinks, and blacks feel cheated that the amenities they came for quickly disappear” (Coy 2). As surrounding neighborhoods grow, it pulls business away from less fortunate ones. This causes a situation a lot like being stuck in the mud and unable to get out. Not only do property values drop, but the ability to get a good education becomes next to impossible. The mud gets heavier and heavier. 

American citizens live in a capitalist society where success is possible for anyone. Unfortunately it is a little more possible for some. When a society has rich, it will inevitably have poor. However, how the poor are treated can be something to strive for. Ferguson, has not only put social issues in our face, but slapped across them as well. “It says something good about the U.S. that the travails of one small suburb have riveted the nation’s attention. But change is hard” (Coy 3). Indeed it is. Maybe society can start with a helping hand as opposed to a foot on the head.

Works Cited

Coy, Peter; Collins, Keith; Ingold, David; Campbell, Elizabeth. Bloomberg Businessweek. 8/25/2014, Issue 4391, p12-14.              3p. , Database: Business Source Complete