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  • Essay / Ferguson Protests in Ohio

    Ferguson Protest in Cincinnati I literally stumbled across this protest while I was at home in Cincinnati over the Thanksgiving holiday. I'm glad I did, though, because it was, by far, the most passionate demonstration I've ever seen. The day after the Ferguson ruling was announced, protests were held across the country. I had followed certain demonstrations on the news and noticed that they took place, for the most part, only in large and large cities. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay I was in downtown Cincinnati that day visiting former colleagues from my summer internship at the Cincinnati Enquirer. On my way home, I noticed picketers on a nearby overpass. I parked my car on a nearby street and walked toward the area where the protesters were gathered. It was already dark and quite late in the evening, around 8 p.m., and the group was growing bigger by the minute. Those I met were all young people, most of them students at the University of Cincinnati. As the group grew, people of all ages, races, and backgrounds began to join. The protesters I saw for the first time shocked me: they were literally lying in the street, on an interstate overpass, in protest. The idea behind this was to mimic the amount of time Michael Brown had to lie in the street after being killed. It made sense as it was explained to me and was a powerful image – of despair, anger and shock – but I was also quite critical of this form of protest. protesting on the street, as it was very dark and there were no signs further down the road to attract the attention of drivers before approaching the protesters on the street. After this close call, some protesters moved further down the street and eventually stopped staying on the road. The media quickly picked up on the protests (I texted an Enquirer reporter who sent out an alert about the protest), which seemed to have a double-edged sword effect on the protests. News media provided increased coverage of the protest, including powerful photos and social media buzz. It's possible that more people came out to participate in the protest after it was reported on the news, but I haven't met anyone who told me that the news had personally inspired them. However, as media coverage intensified, so did police activity. The police were never violent or physical towards any protesters that I saw. They blocked the street as they started walking and pointed them in a certain direction at one point while they were walking (which I noticed was because of construction). I saw reports that 12 people were arrested, but unfortunately did not see that happen. I read in a local newspaper that a protester trying to block the street (I don't know if it was someone lying in the street or just kneeling in the street with their hands raised, which also occurred) was among those arrested. Many protesters wore masks. Most wore masks from the movie V for Vendetta, which we saw in class and which was a commonly used mask during the occupy movement. The film is about.