Look, I get being angry — I’ve been angry. I get being angry with court stuff — I’ve been there, too.
Never has it entered my mind to burn down random stores and businesses that had nothing to do with the court’s decision.
This is doing no one any favors, and there is no excuse for it.
Oh, and media — there’s not a “peaceful protest” and some alternate non-peaceful kind. There’s either a protest, which is peaceful, or a riot. The stuff going on in Ferguson is a riot, and not a protest. These people aren’t protestors. Unless they’re only protesting. But once you destroy property or steal it (yes, you sure showed the Grand Jury by stealing liquor from a third party), you are a rioter or a looter. You are now a criminal, and you should be arrested and charged. Just because a large group is also doing it does not make it acceptable.
That said — the increased militarization of police and bad blood between citizen and law enforcement is some bad juju. It would not hurt any of us if we used this to move toward a better relationship on both ends.