Ferguson trauma

*   Recent events in Ferguson unfolded inexorably against all hope like a Greek tragedy.  If one accepts scientific determinism, then the entire saga is seen as the inevitable consequence of conditions before the Wilson/Brown encounter.  Nevertheless, I can't help considering several "what ifs" that might have altered the outcomes.  Societies sometimes improve by considering what ifs.

*   What if the racial mix of the Ferguson government and police were more like that of the population?  What if the police wore video cameras?  What if teenagers were more civilized, ie more respectful of people, laws, culture?  What if people were less tribal, specifically less racist?  What if more effective riot-control methods had been deployed?

*   What if citizens better understood the need for law enforcement, the consequences of insufficient law enforcement, the probability that with millions of armed police on duty during any day there will be a tragic action by a police officer--justified or unjustified?

*   What if all witnesses agreed with Wilson as to the sequence of events during the Wilson/Brown encounter?

*   People don't riot to protest cars or hospitals though 35 000 people are killed per year in auto accidents, and 100 000 people are killed per year by medical mistakes.

*   What if Al Sharpton and other civil rights leaders had stayed away or had urged objective examination of the evidence rather than victimhood and protests?

*   What if you were the patrolman encountering Michael Brown on the street that day?  Would the outcome have been better?  What if you were the grand jury, would you have found convincing evidence to indict officer Wilson?  What if you were the teenager encountering Wilson on the street that day?

*   Can riots be prevented by more justice?  What reforms would increase justice enough to prevent riots?  Are needed reforms possible without riots?