I spent August 14th, 2014 with the people of Ferguson. All I knew prior to arriving was an unarmed black teenager had been killed by a cop and violent altercations were taking place in streets. What I found was a community fed up, with a deep seeded mistrust and sense of oppression by a nearly all white police force. This community was upset and emotional about the killing of Michael Brown but they were peaceful, something they shared with the police was frustration towards the few individuals who were undermining their peaceful demonstrations. These troublemakers were few. Throughout the night of August 14th there were multiple occasions when these few got out of hand and every time, without exception, it was the people of Ferguson who kept them in check. The demonstrators were clearly concerned with the way they'd been portrayed in the media. Their message was being muddled by the violence initiated by a few.
As a stranger in a foreign environment I was made to feel welcome. I was offered food and water and everyone was willing to speak to me about their experiences.
It is unfortunate that these demonstrations are marred by the violent acts of a small group. It is not the will of the community to act out in this way, only the view of a group of outliers. It is upsetting to see headlines, day after day, of riots and tear gas instead of the real issue at hand; an unarmed teenager was shot 6 times, twice in the head, by the very person assigned to protect him and the community he lives in.
music by - Braden Deal http://www.bradendealmusic.com

By Casey

17 thoughts on “Peace in ferguson”
  1. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars rcs368 says:

    2021 nothing has changed in policing.

  2. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars Dejah Wilson says:

    Watching this video, 6 years later, and it's still happening 🙁

  3. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars the.abhiram.r says:

    it's sad that groups like antifa align themselves with black lives matter in 2020, they make up a small percentage of protesters but cause most of the violence

  4. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars Travel by Ailsa says:

    It is so indescribably terrible that we are still having to fight for this 5 years later

  5. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars Lars Wagner says:

    nothing changed in 2020..

  6. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars Sonny Scott says:

    This has been going on forever and it needs to stop.

  7. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars mattvsmoney says:

    I’m from STL and still live here to this day. I’m watching this back in 2020 during the week of protests from George Floyd’s murder. It could’ve all been so simple if we just learned from this moment.

  8. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars Anna says:

    My mom works down in Ferguson and the protests have brought nothing but economic downturn and lost revenue for the businesses and people of Ferguson. Wish them only the best.

  9. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars Tuffli Games says:

    As a citizen of st louis this was pretty scary

  10. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars Hina M says:

    🙁

  11. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars Military Force says:

    Im from hazelwood. Only 10 minutes away from ferguson. Ferguson is full of looters, criminals and thugs. I've seen it myself. Media is just biased

  12. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars Andre Barrett says:

    Wait… why does this only have 300,000 ish views?!

  13. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars Chabotal says:

    This man came to my town and i didnt even know

  14. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars 2NerdsOnaCouch says:

    I live 30 minutes from Ferguson.  My work place was 10 minutes from Ferguson.  We had specialized security at my work for a solid 3 months afterwards.  We never really needed the security before but when the riots happened and with the protests moving outward from Ferguson to other places around the St. Louis metropolitan area other cities got super nervous and our store's management got nervous, for good reason, but I do remember the one night out of many that there was peace.  And I remember everything erupting again and again.  I am glad you were there during the time of peace.  A few of my friends actually live in or next to Ferguson and they were literally going home from work or going to the store and got gassed and/or pepper sprayed by police and other people.  It was really crazy.  We have a very long way to go but at least the protests got the conversation rolling again.  Thanks for showing this movie

  15. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars rice says:

    As somebody who lived on the east side of the river while all this was going on, I was deeply troubled, and I feel for both sides. My opinion is, you are right, only a few people where violent. The masses became violent once a few evangelist came in and stirred the pot.

  16. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars Brock Ewing says:

    i live near Ferguson and this is bullshit. My mom was threated with a long pipe when she was working at one of the schools giving immunizations to the kids in Ferguson

  17. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars Steph Boeker says:

    CaseyNeistat, do you still feel an injustice lead to the death of Mike Brown? Why/Why not? BTW, how do you justify making the statement "an injustice that lead to the death of Mike Brown", before the evidence was in?

    Thanks for your generous consideration,
    Steph_Louisiana

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