Baltimore is burning. Thankfully not all of it. Unfortunately, it was bound to happen. Not that it should have, but given the tone deafness of leaders, of police, and the failure to educate our youth, it was almost inevitable.
Don’t think it started because of the murder of Freddie Gray. That was simply the nail that let the bubble burst. Do you really think ‘The Wire’ was set in Baltimore as a fluke?
I know most of you don’t read newspapers, and even fewer read more than one, and it’s the truly very rare bird who reads papers from cities other than their own! But, when the last Rosh Hashana was hear, the Baltimore Sun was disclosing the results of its investigation into the Baltimore Police. (One of their conclusions? The perception that officers are violent can poison the relationship between residents and police.)
To say it was not pretty is an understatement. To say that is not emblematic of too many of our police forces is an unfortunate corollary. To say that in the US the police have a pattern of oppressing Blacks is simply stating the obvious. And, please note tat the Baltimore PD is at least 40% Black. This is different from Ferguson.
But, it isn’t. Because the riots occurred. Oh, sure, you can claim it’s just a few bad apples. But, the City Council warned it was coming. But, the Baltimore PD warned it was coming. Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, the Mayor, thought not.
And, sorry, Mayor Rawlings-Blake, this is not out of context. You f…ed up..,and should have IMMEDIATELY said so, unless you really think thus us do. (I, for one, am leaning to the latter, given your subsequent actions. Really? Running away from Don Lemon of CNN last night?)
To what am I referring? Here’s what the mayor said on Saturday after throngs were venting (ok, rioting) causing a lock down at Camden Yards, keeping the crowd in the Baltimore Stadium after the ballgame ended…for their safety. You judge for yourself.
“I made it very clear that I work with the police and instructed them to do everything that they could to make sure that the protesters were able to exercise their right to free speech. It’s a very delicate balancing act. Because while we try to make sure that they were protected from the cars and other things that were going on, we also gave those who wished to destroy space to do that as well. And we worked very hard to keep that balance and to put ourselves in the best position to de-escalate.”
REALLY? Wished to destroy space? Are you surprised that there were leaflets immediately distributed calling for “The Purge” to occur in Baltimore.
And, here’s another fact to consider. When you speak to high schoolers in Middle Class America (even among those barely above the poverty line) asking them about their future, they talk of college, of starting a business. Not so when you speak to many Black teens in Baltimore.
There are other differences from Ferguson, too. Like the mom who recognized her child in the ski mask and whaps him upside his head, as he is going off to terrorize his neighborhood.
We need more moms like that. Who know there is a big difference between protesting abysmal conditions and rioting. Or, even joking about The Purge. (No, it was clearly not meant as a joke, though.)
And, it also can’t take weeks to indict cops who break the neck of a youth while in custody, whose only guilt is running from cops (given the history of Baltimore cops and Blacks, that is normally a prudent choice). Or, to keep investigating what happened. (Hmm. I just told you what did.)
It’s time to stop the studies, see the crap right in front of our eyes, and change the facts on the ground in Baltimore NOW.
David Forbes left this comment- for some reason, my blog would not let it get posted.
Roy while I don’t like rioting, I agree with you. The deck is so stacked against an individual who is unjustly abused or killed by the police (or their family) that justice is seldom done. Abusive police are seldom reprimanded and almost never convicted of a crime. Even if a family receives a monetary settlement, the officers usually keep their jobs. Facts prove that trying to protest or work within the system have not resulted in significant changes to police behavior. When people cannot achieve change within the system, they get frustrated, then angry, then finally violent. Police need to understand that every time they protect or cover for a violent or abusive officer, they diminish their own legitimacy and moral authority. Police abuse should be investigated by an outside authority. A police shooting and/or murder should be investigated just as thoroughly as any other murder. Charges of excessive force should go on officer’s permanent record, and be available for any other department to review, so abusive officers can’t just move to another city. Monetary settlements for abusive or violent officer’s should come out of the Police Department’s budget, not a City’s insurance or emergency fund.
David:
First, let me thank you for your comment- and your persistence!
I agree with your first two sentences. It’s not just Ferguson or Baltimore. It’s everywhere. In Alexandria, a cop shot a kid who was among a group that may have absconded from IHOP with a $ 40 tab. He killed the kid- and was not punished. No excessive force, no problem with moonlighting (he was serving as security for IHOP.) We can pick New York City, we can pick any city or county. This has to stop.
And, yes, folks get angry and do crazy things. But, picking on the services that work for us won’t prove a point. (NO, I am NOT advocating they burn down City Hall, either. I just feel their pain- and recall mine from the 60’s, when actions in the South (maybe that should be called inactions) were approved by the powers that be (and the police/sheriffs); actions in DC (the Vietnam War) were not going to change without continued pressure, etc.
Now, we get to your last sentence….
I don’t think taking the settlements from the Police Budget will work- since the option would be to let the citizens remain at risk. Making the financial punishment accrue to the policeman/woman involved, their supervisors- that would work. And, given our belief that students can’t be absolved from debt by bankruptcy, the same should certainly apply to these aberrant officers!
Gave them space almost sounds like they condone that behaviour. As for the mother, I agree. She gave her son a much needed piece of her mind, and her hand.
A big difference between protesting and rioting.
That was my feeling exactly, Jeffrey…
And, i think this difference is why there are so many folks going around trying to tamp down the situation- even gang members are getting into the act.