The racially charged passion play unfolding in the St. Louis suburb of Ferguson, Missouri, seems almost choreographed in its predictability in the 11 days since a police officer shot and killed an unarmed 18-year-old black man on Aug. 9.

The Michael Brown shooting has elicited all the usual protests — peaceful by day, riotous after dark — with looting and burning of businesses; agitation from national civil rights leaders; pleas for calm from area clergy; heavy-handed riot control with rubber bullets, armored vehicles and tear gas; intervention from state and federal officials; gunfire from demonstrators directed not only at police but at each other; and most recently, deployment of National Guard troops by Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon.

The vehement outcry in Ferguson is reminiscent of previous episodes it resembles: the July 17 death of a New York man in a police choke hold; the Trayvon Martin shooting in Florida in 2012, the Rodney King verdict in Los Angeles in 1992, race riots in Newark and Detroit in 1967. It’s as if we’ve been here before.

The “piling-on” by outsiders from all corners of the country demonstrates the wide acceptance of an implied script. Everyone knows their part. The rise of social media only enhances the flashmob mentality of the demonstrations. Shopping centers in Ferguson were overrun with looters within hours of Brown’s slaying.

It almost seems like a stereotype — and stereotype is almost synonymous with prejudice.

As with previous incidents, the implied script threatens to upstage the root cause of all this mayhem: the injustice of chronic racial discrimination. If we all accept the certainty of the tide of anger and violence in Ferguson, then we’re likely to accept that the outcry eventually will pass and nothing will change. African-Americans, particularly African-American young men, will continue to be targeted for extra police scrutiny. The black community’s distrust of law enforcement will persist.

As the first black president, Barack Obama has an opportunity to change the perception of an inevitable outcome. Speaking Monday, Obama set the proper tone by acknowledging the anger caused by Brown’s shooting, but at the same time urging demonstrators to resist violence. Giving in to anger by looting or attacking police only stirs tensions and chaos, Obama said.

The social and cultural conditions that precipitated the outrage in Ferguson are likely to remain long after the uproar has subsided. But it’s only after the riots end that groundwork for a remedy can begin.

Obama, in cooperation with governors like Nixon, can introduce programs and incentives for minorities to pursue careers in law enforcement and criminal justice. The appointment of Missouri Highway Patrol Capt. Ron Johnson demonstrated the potential for one prominent black officer to instill the black community’s trust and faith in law enforcement. Consider what hundreds more of Captain Johnsons could accomplish.

Obama has the political clout to end the violence in Ferguson — and the capability to recruit and train black police officers once the violence has been quelled. It could be a noteworthy achievement in the final two years of his presidential tenure.