Here I go wading in on something I don’t have all the facts about and I know it’s a sensitive subject that most or all people have an opinion. Freddie Gray died under mysterious circumstances while in police custody. During, or just after his funeral, “protestors” set fires, and attacked merchants, journalists and police — looted and burned. These “protesters” are in fact thugs and hooligans, according to the Mayor of Baltimore. Gray’s mother, Gloria Darden, said, “Don’t tear up the whole city just for him. That’s wrong.”
I think we all agree that a lot of questions surround the man’s death. It’s not really clear why he was arrested in the first place. Apparently he wasn’t committing a crime and was not wanted by police.
Just about the time of Gray’s funeral, Loretta Lynch was being sworn in as the nation’s first black female attorney general. She immediately said that the Justice Department stood ready to provide any assistance that might be helpful. Of course a Justice Department probe will not necessarily result in conclusions that support the suspicions of the “protesters.”
Rev. Martin Luther King said, “A riot is the language of the unheard.” Riots are, and have always been, a method that the oppressed use to make their frustration known — apparently hoping that their actions will convince those in power to respond to their needs/frustrations. Some believe that the inability to articulate their frustration results in the throwing of rocks, looting and setting fires. To me, and lots of other people, these actions make no logical sense and are self-defeating.
As I indicated previously, I obviously don’t know all the facts about Gray’s arrest and death and I don’t know all the facts that led to the disruptions in Baltimore. I’m not even sure the events were related in some instances. I believe in the American right to express one’s opinion and to protest, but I have little use for thugs and vandals that use peaceful protests as an excuse for violence.
President Obama said that those responsible for the Baltimore violence “need to be treated as criminals.” Treating them as criminals seems to be right on target to me — that’s what they are.
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