Discrimination in US goes beyond one race

Washington

THE American public and media have been preoccupied in recent days with the political and social drama unfolding in Ferguson, a suburb of St Louis in Missouri. A decision by a grand jury last week not to indict the white policeman, Darren Wilson, who fatally shot Michael Brown, an 18-year-old African-American, in August sparked protests and acts of vandalism in Ferguson and around the country.

Americans have been glued to their television sets watching in horror scenes of mostly young blacks looting businesses, vandalising vehicles and confronting police who showed up in riot gear and tried to block off access to several areas of Ferguson, leading to violent clashes between protesters and police.