I watched the second part of a documentary on BBC 1 last night, in which Dan Murdoch (British) was exploring Black Power in USA. (The first part dealt with the KKK) It was horrifying how trigger-happy the (white) policemen are when apprehending a black person. There were several video clips of officers gunning down unarmed black men for a traffic offence or for running away, and one in which a mentally ill young man was shot dead at his front door. The black people have (somewhat understandably) armed themselves to the teeth. This is verging on a civil war in some of the southern states.

The most chilling scenes were of a black father of ten who had five of his young children in his people-carrier, while he drove along wearing a bullet-proof jacket and with an automatic rifle (I think, I don't know the names of guns, but it was huge, like a Kalashnikov) on his lap. He was, he said, defending himself and his children against the white Police.

The whole thing is escalating, with each side arming themselves with more and more weapons. Everyone is terrified and angry. However can a solution be found to this utter lunacy?