Does your conscience bother you? Tell the truth

Simple, eloquent, and to the point. From St. Louis Coptalk, a "message board ... provided for the use of law enforcement officers employed by the St. Louis Police Department and their supporters in the St. Louis Metropolitan area," we get this message:

A Safety Message for Civilians

Posted by A Concerned Cop on 10/26/2014, 8:29 pm

If you don't have a gun, get one and get one soon. We will not be able to protect you or your family. It will be your responsibility to protect them. Our gutless commanders and politicians have neutered us. I'm serious, get a gun, get more than one, and keep one with you at all times. A warning from St. Louis Coptalk: get a gun, we won't be able to protect you

Oh, the people of St. Louis have guns. As one of the co-owners of County Guns noted to the press, white people are buying up guns for fear, "the city is going to explode."[Exclusive: Missouri police plan for possible riots if Brown cop not charged, Reuters, 10-8-14]:

Ferguson today is a city on the edge. While mostly black residents hold small protests outside the police station each night, gun store owners report a jump in sales to white residents. Local business owners in the area where Brown was shot complain about lost trade. Many storefronts remain boarded up with plywood. 

Police and elected officials are meeting regularly with multi-racial citizen groups in a bid to improve community relations, tackle concerns about police discrimination, and avoid the turmoil that followed Brown's shooting. Civil unrest is still the "worst case scenario", Knowles said. 

Adam Weinstein, co-owner of County Guns, said sales were up 50 percent since Brown's shooting, mostly among white residents fearful of riots who are buying Glock, Springfield and Smith & Wesson handguns, and shotguns. "They are afraid the city is going to explode," Weinstein said, a former member of the U.S. Navy and St. Louis firefighter with heavily tattooed arms. 

Fear of what's just beyond the horizon isn't exclusively for the white residents of metropolitan St. Louis. Recall, fear of black protesters convinced Walmart to lock up ammo at many St. Louis stores. [Several Walmart locations locked-up ammunition during weekend protests, KMOV.com, 10-15-14]:

Several Walmart stores in the St. Louis area have pulled ammunition from the shelves following recent protests. 

Monday night, demonstrators made their way into Walmart locations in Maplewood, Ferguson and Bridgeton, forcing the stores to close while several arrests were made. 

On Wednesday afternoon, the empty shelves at Maplewood looked like there had been a mass purchase of ammunition. But according to an employee, it was locked up in the back. 

“I can see why they would think that would be a concern if someone did break in in mass and loot the place and steal ammo,” said shopper Tim Casey.

The civil unrest seems unavoidable, with preparations underway for the inevitable hostilities launched by Michael Brown supporters (CNSNews)

Fear of what's coming in metropolitan St. Louis is palpable, scaring seven school districts into begging the St. Louis Prosecutor to release the grand jury findings until after school hours and kids are safely home. [Multiple school districts write county prosecutor regarding grand jury decision, Fox2Now.com, 10-27-14]:

Seven school districts are asking St. Louis County Prosecutor Bob McCulloch to carefully consider when he releases the findings of the Michael Brown grand jury. They are raising safety concerns for students. 

A spokesperson says McCulloch has received this letter and is considering it. 

The letter was sent by the Riverview Gardens School District but was also signed by six other superintendents. The letter asks McCulloch to announce any grand jury decision either after 5p.m. on weekdays or on a weekend, preferably on Sunday. 

The letter is dated October 22nd. 

It references how the release of past information along with protests and the police response have forced road closures and made it difficult for students, parents and school buses to make it to campuses. The letter says school districts are expecting similar issues when the grand jury decision is announced  and that information released during the school day has the potential to greatly affect school district operations.

Remember: as a citizen of metro St. Louis, it will be your responsibility to protect yourself, your family, your property (be it private or commercial), and your business. [Exclusive: St. Louis Businesses Warned of ‘Civil Unrest’ After Grand Jury Decision, CNSNews.com, 10-27-14]:

A St. Louis property manager is warning businesses near the St. LouisCounty courthouse to prepare for “civil unrest” in the wake of the imminent grand jury decision in the Michael Brown shooting. 

Public demonstrations and random acts of violence have plagued the St. Louis area since August, when a white police officer shot and killed an unarmed, black teenager in the North St. Louis suburb of Ferguson, MO. 

The warning to businesses came by way of a letter, dated October 21, addressed to “all tenants” in The Boulevard shopping center in Richmond Heights, MO. The shopping center is less than a mile and a half from the site of the grand jury proceeding in Clayton, MO. 

The Pace Properties Manager disclosed that the property management team “met with local authorities/police recently to discuss their plans and recommendations for dealing with possible demonstrations and civil unrest after the grand jury decision is announced on the Michael Brown shooting.” 

The term “civil unrest” is used multiple times throughout the letter. 

The note also lays out the priorities of police in the event of any riots: 

“The number one concern of public safety officials in the event of demonstrations or civil unrest will be the safety of citizens. Protection of property will be a secondary consideration.”

The letter further notes that “authorities anticipate that the grand jury’s decision will be announced in November, at the earliest.” This fits with other media reports which also predict a November announcement.

On the Thomas Jefferson Memorial in Washington D.C. reads an inscription worth remembering, not for what's written, but what is left out. It's a quote from Jefferson on slavery located on the northeast interior wall. It reads: "Nothing is more certainly written in the book of fate than these people are to be free."

But it omits the next sentence: "Nor is it less certain that the two races, equally free, cannot live in the same government."

And ultimately Thomas Jefferson's unheeded warning is the primary lesson of the Ferguson Fiasco and the great scandal behind the collapse of the city of St. Louis. 

Whatever comes of the grand jury's decision in the case of Officer Darren Wilson, know the book of fate Thomas Jefferson cited didn't lie when he read from it then; and the chaos St. Louis Coptalk warned about, seven school districts fear is coming and the "civil unrest" businesses are preparing for now was also noted in the same tome.