Comparing Dante's Inferno And The Ferguson Trial

In the Inferno by Dante, we find many sins, each sin is divided into one of two groups. Either they are sins of incontinence or sins of malice. A sin of incontinence is the lesser of the two sins, these sinners are punished in upper hell and have committed crimes such as lust, gluttony, avarice, and anger. A sin of malice is the greater of the two sins, theses sinners are punished in lower hell and have committed crimes of force or fraud. When comparing the sins in the Inferno to the sins in the Ferguson Trial of 2014 the conclusion can be drawn that the major sins of the trial were the robbery of Cigarillos (a type of cigar) , death of an unarmed person, the seemingly corrupt nature of the Grand Jury’s decision not to indict police officer

Once inside of the store Dorian said that Michael instead reached over the counter and stole the Cigarillos, Michael Brown then proceeded to push the clerk before exiting the store. This was the first sin of many in the Ferguson Trail. According to Dante this sin was a sin of malice in the seventh circle. It is punishable by standing in a river of boiling blood where the depth varies according to the severity of your sin. Michael Brown will most likely just have his feet and ankles emerged in the boiling blood because his offense while bad was not a severe as other robbers and murderers. But because Michael Brown stole the Cigarillos and it was the precursor to all of the sins in this horrific event, he will end up in

This lead to acts of anger and defiance, People began to start riots on November 24th, 2014 the day that the jury’s decision became public knowledge. Crowds of protesters began to form outside of the police department. Over a dozen buildings were set on fire, there was vandalism, gun fights, and destruction of property. But all to prove a point. The people wanted to say that it was not okay to let one man’s heinous sin go unpunished. This would not be considered an act of violence became of their reasoning behind it, the people of Ferguson wanted to show the jury that they were not okay with the result of the hearing. These rioters are considered sinners of anger (wrath). While no sin is a good sin a sin of anger (wrath) is a sins of incontinence, which is better than a sin of malice. The people who commit a sin of anger (wrath) are punished in upper hell by tear each other apart and continuously rebuilding their own