Obama's Ferguson Reaction Is A Balancing Act: Assuages Hurt Sentiments But Warns Against Violence

With Ferguson, Missouri back in protests and threatening to spread into other cities in the United States, President Obama has made an effort to douse the flames by counselling patience and return to sanity by shedding the path of violence, as "that serves no purpose or benefit." Obama's Ferguson reaction came on Wednesday night even as the city started was seething under a sense of injustice in the wake of the grand jury's decision in not indicting Police Officer Darren Wilson in the shooting death of unarmed teenager Michael Brown.

Without taking sides, President Obama warned that "nothing of significance, nothing of benefit results from destructive acts." reported ABC News. The President, while offering comfort to those angered by the grand jury's decision said, if any part of the American community is not feeling welcomed or treated fairly, that is something that puts all of us at risk." He said "those who think that what happened in Ferguson is an excuse for violence, I do not have any sympathy for that."

Rejecting violence, Obama said the nation has made "enormous progress in race relations. I've witnessed that in my own life, and to deny that progress I think is to deny America's capacity for change." President Obama reminded Ferguson arsonists that, "I've never seen a civil rights law or a health care bill or an immigration bill because a car got burned."

Chicago Address

President Obama was in Chicago, originally scheduled to promote his recent immigration action. Remarkable changes and laws have happened "because people vote; people mobilised. people organised." Making clear that he has "no sympathy at all for destroying your own communities, Mr. Obama reached out to the overwhelming majority of people who are frustrated and at pain, because they feel some communities are not treated fairly or some individuals are not seen as worthy as others. "And I want to work with you, and I want to move forward with you. Your president will be right there with you," Obama said.

Meetings Soon

Meantime, Mr Obama also directed for a series of regional meetings between federal, state and local law enforcement officials and community and faith leaders starting next week. These will be focused on "building trust" between communities and make strategies to "make sure that law enforcement is fair." Senior Obama adviser Valerie Jarrett will be spearheading that initiative, according to the White House. The president may also "consider" a trip to Ferguson once the situation stabilises, indicated a White House official.

Meanwhile, a CNN report described Obama's speech as a balancing act and a departure from the early days of his presidency and the plank that catapulted him into Presidency. It said, "Obama's balancing act, which Americans are now familiar with in all his nearly six years in the White House, is a dual act of reflecting on the African-American experience while firmly standing by the legal system."