In Pagedale, Missouri, a St. Louis suburb like Ferguson, town officials raise money by slapping fines on poor black residents. Among Pagedale’s municipal ordinances, according to a local lawyer: “[Y]ou can’t have a hedge more than three feet high. You can’t have a basketball hoop or a wading pool in front of a house. You can’t have a dish antenna on the front of your house. You can’t walk on the roadway if there is a sidewalk, and if there is not a sidewalk, they must walk on the left side of the roadway. They must walk on the right of the crosswalk. They can’t conduct a barbecue in the front yard and can’t have an alcoholic beverage within 150 feet of a barbecue. Kids cannot play in the street. They also have restrictions against pants being worn below the waist in public. Cars must be within 500 feet of a lamp or a source of illumination during nighttime hours. Blinds must be neatly hung in respectable appearance, properly maintained, and in a state of good repair.”
No wonder black people in places like Pagedale fear, distrust, and despise the police.
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Photo: In Pagedale, Missouri, black people live under a medieval revenue collection system that uses cops to shake down the peasants.