“We … gave you all the f******* freedom you got!”
St. Louis Cardinals baseball fans — almost all white — were in no mood to have their favorite pasttime interrupted by conscientious Ferguson protestors.
While previous protests saw police pepper spray law-abiding demonstrators, the St. Louis Cardinals fans peppered the mostly black supporters of Michael Brown with racial epitaphs and other vile and profane statements.
Ahead of the Cardinals-Dodgers game, protesters gathered outside Busch Stadium in St. Louis to call for justice for 18-year-old Michael Brown, who was unarmed when he was shot and killed in broad daylight in Ferguson, Mo., on Aug. 9.
Here is a sampling of some of the unfortunate exchange:
- Cardinals fans countered chants of “Justice for Mike Brown” with “Let’s go Darren.”
- When protesters began chanting “U.S.A.! U.S.A.!” someone yelled “Africa! Africa!”
- One fan called a protestor a “crackhead” and told him to visit a dentist, while another later said “remove your hat” and “pull up your pants.”
- “If they’d be working, we wouldn’t have this problem,” an older, white man said.
- “We’re the ones who f***in’ gave all y’all the freedom that you got,” a young, white woman yells later.
- A woman recording the protesters, according to KTVL, with her phone confronted Hussein, a Marine, about why he was there. “Why are you here? I don’t believe you’re a veteran. What are you?” she asks. “What do you mean what am I?” Hussein responds. “What race am I? I’m a f***ing Marine.” “OK … from … uh … what … what level?” she says. Hussein then explains the United States Marine Corps is a branch of the United States Armed Forces. “I know it. But how far did you get?” she asks before walking away.
Hussein ruminated on the implications of the video Tuesday while speaking with the Riverfront Times.
“That’s sad that it gives our city a really bad look … The sad part about it is the fans that were there, you have no idea if they came in for the playoff game from outside the St. Louis area,” he said. “It really portrays St. Louis as super racist and, but there’s no way to prove those fans were from here.”
Team officials spoke with Major League Baseball and law enforcement about bolstering security, according to KTVI before Monday’s game against the Los Angeles Dodgers. Despite the tense climate, the protest was peaceful.
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