Since the police shooting of Michael Brown, the city of Ferguson, Missouri has been under great turmoil. While the details of the shooting that occurred in the afternoon on August 11th, 2014 are still under investigation, to the mainly Black residents of Ferguson the situation resembles too closely to that of Trayvon Martin. Moreover, because the city of St. Louis was recently found to be the sixth most segregated city in America (Ferguson Demographics Source) protests by Ferguson citizens seems to be the obvious reaction. Perhaps what no one expected was the intensity in which the police would respond to the seemingly peaceful protests.

As with most protests in the age of social media, various outlets documented the beginning of the conflict between the protesters and the police. Some political officials, including the Senator of Missouri Claire McCaskill, are calling it an extreme reaction from the Ferguson Police (Politico). This reaction included rubber bullets and riot gear. Most importantly however, the police also used tear gas to control the crowds. Photos arose across Instagram and Twitter of Ferguson covered in smoke shortly after the initial protests. While most reactions on social media outlets were allegedly ones of sadness and even confusion, those in Palestine, all too familiar with tear gas and even worse, bombings, offered their advice and support.

According to a screencap posted on the Facebook of UrbanCusp, Palestinian Twitter users reached out to those suffering in Ferguson by offering advice on how to deal with tear gas. Their advice included running against the direction of the wind and also not rubbing your eyes. Finally, one user even expressed their support by advising 'to remember that the pain will pass.'

As the shooting of Michael Brown continues to be investigated, the police tactics have been promised to be changed by Gov. Jay Nixon who has appointed the Missouri State Highway Patrol to calm the situation in Ferguson. Furthermore, Capt. Ron Johnson, a Black man that grew up in St. Louis that has been appointed command over the Highway Patrol, also plans to aid in decreasing the tension between the police and protesters in Ferguson (New York Times). For now the protesters can find comfort via social media as other countries in conflict like Palestine reach out and offer their advice and support.