Culture

The Peace Train Proves The Protesters In Ferguson Are A Bunch Of Truly Excellent People

Get tear-gassed by police? Ride around in a happy little train.

by Alex McKinnon  21 August 2014

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The ongoing clusterfuck that is the police response to the Ferguson protests keeps rolling right along, with the behaviour of officers continuing to range from infuriating to mystifying to genuinely frightening. In the latest act of bastardry to hit the internet, a police officer raises and points an assault rifle at unarmed protester before yelling “I will fucking kill you”. There’s footage and everything.

Scenes like this, besides making you wonder what the cheerful hell the world is coming to, make the residents of Ferguson and their grievances seem like paragons of calmness and reason. Imagine having to constantly put up with this level of contempt bordering on — and frequently becoming — violence, from the people who you’re supposed to rely on for protection and security. Imagine how that cop acts when the camera’s off, and when his “suspect” of the day is a young black guy.

All of which makes the Peace Train even more fantastic than it already is. Don’t know what the Peace Train is? Have a look at this goddamn thing:

Is that a bunch of young black dudes riding around in a little blue train with a big smiley face on the front? Why yes, casual observer, yes it is. The Peace Train made its debut about this time yesterday and chugged around the protest site for a little while, giving rides to people and playing some nice music to keep the crowd happy.

The Peace Train is probably the most visible instance of the restraint and good humour being shown by the vast majority of Ferguson protesters, and is also just a genuinely inspiring example of how people can make good happen out of the worst things. Get shot at by cops? We’re gonna hop on a little blue train with a smiley face on it and ride it around, playing some Marvin Gaye out its tiny windows. It even has its own Twitter account, trying to spread some good cheer and keep people informed about what’s going on.

How did police respond? By detaining the riders and forcing the Peace Train off the streets because, as we are all aware by now, Ferguson police are colossal assholes.

Sadly, shutting down a children’s play toy is by far the least shitty thing they’ve done.

If you need any more proof that the people protesting in Ferguson are class-A human beings, no matter what the police do or the media says, here’s a Vine of a crowd of them forming a circle to watch a little kid breakdance.

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Feature image via Ross Weidner/Twitter.