Post-Gazette columnist Tony Norman says when it comes to 2014, we probably haven't experienced as much turmoil in a single year since 1968.
From the riots in Ferguson and the nationwide demonstrations in reaction to police violence inflicted on African Americans to the debate over gay rights in the U.S., the American landscape was filled with social upheaval.
The national stories on police violence that were centered in Missouri and New York, Norman says, have brought a new degree of scrutiny when it comes to police misconduct, and the cases resonated quite strongly here in Pittsburgh, too, culminating in a series of demonstrations. Like 1968, Norman says, 2014 “feels like a year where there were great shifts in the public consciousness.”
The rash of protests against police have provided opportunities for dealing with important and pressing social issues, Norman concludes. Norman also talks about the year’s news regarding Pittsburgh’s August Wilson Center, the Sony film “The Interview” and the new civil rights afforded to LGBT individuals.
