Former Minnesota governor, Jesse Ventura weighed in on the Ferguson protests on Thursday’s episode of “Off the Grid” which airs on Ora.tv. Asked his thoughts on the whole ordeal, Ventura replied that
“I’m gonna startle people and say ‘here’s my impression of this whole thing:’ racism. It’s still alive and well in America, and this is a clear example of it. Racism on both sides. Whites don’t trust blacks, blacks don’t trust whites. It’s out there and we have to continue to battle it, and continue to forge ahead because that is the ultimate problem here, I believe. Even more so then police brutality or anything like that. Yeah, that’s out there. You look at police forces today, they look like the military.”
He was then further asked to elaborate on the use of police force in Ferguson, in response to the protests, as well as the questionable tactics that have been employed since the protests broke out.
“The problem to me comes down to this. The use of lethal force. First of all, I oppose the use of the death penalty to begin with, but you’re putting the death penalty out there on the street with the use of lethal force against crimes that are in the court room that could not rise to that level. The only thing that rises to the death penalty is murder. So unless you are out there committing murder, at what point do you use lethal force?…We understand that police have difficult jobs, we understand that. But the use of lethal force I think has become far too much…Lethal force should only be used as a last resort for a crime that warrants it.”
The producer of “Off the Grid”, Alex Logan noted some alarming statistics. Of the 21,000 residents of Ferguson, 67 percent are African American, whereas only 29 percent who are white. But in their police force the statistics are nearly the opposite.
Only four African Americans represent a police force made which has a total of 57 members.
“You gotta admit Jesse was right at the start then. There’s a bit of racism sneaking in here.”
Ventura replied, “I think we have to be honest with ourselves. Yes we’ve come along way since the 60s, but it clearly shows me we’ve got a long way to go people.”
When asked to comment on the number of arrests of journalists, including those working for the Huffington Post and the Washington Post, Ventura gave a clear message to the American people, saying ”there’s something called the First Amendment people. And we are watching all of our Bill of Rights disappear to this government that’s suppose to work for us. It ain’t gonna happen as long as you keep electing Democrats and Republicans.”
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