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A Few Thoughts on the Events in Baltimore
While watching the news coverage of the rioting in Baltimore last night, I recalled a conversation I had with a gang member I arrested during the Los Angeles riots of 1992. He was a member of one of the many Crip “sets” to be found across South L.A., and I asked whether he and his fellow gangsters had any sympathy for Rodney King, whose videotaped beating by LAPD officers engendered the whole mess.
“[Expletive] Rodney King,” he said. “Rodney King ain’t no Crip. This ain’t about no Rodney King. It’s about getting free [expletive].
And so it is in Baltimore. The people you see looting and burning businesses and throwing bricks at police officers are not avenging Freddie Gray, whose death in police custody has yet to be explained. For the rioters, it’s all just a good time. The Los Angeles Times today described the “angry crowds” on the streets of Baltimore, but anyone watching can plainly see they are not angry; they are gleeful at the chance they have been given to run amok and steal, break, and burn things.
For the victims of these crimes it’s a riot; for the participants, however, it’s a party.
Image Credit: imagazine.com.
Published in Domestic Policy, Law
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Because nothing says justice like two-ply.
Photo from Fox news.
Jack,
I see what you see. The only other thing that bothers me is the possibility that they aren’t even from Baltimore and have been brought in for the party.
Regards,
Jim
I’m sure that Baltimore has plenty of home grown thugs – I don’t imagine they need to import too many…
I think the following is a Mark Helprin line. I couldn’t get it out of my head as I watched the news last night …
The opportunity creates the will
Can we just stop patrolling the ghettos? #blacklivesmatter
You’re right, Jack. And it’s the same idiot mob energy that drives college kids to trash a New Hampshire town after a football game. It’s an antidote to boredom, it’s a rush, it’s entertaining, it’s fun. Has nothing to do with race, protest, justice or (God knows) peace.
Tell that to the “But we need compassion!” people in the other thread.
I know—I had ignoble thoughts along these lines. But there are old ladies in the ghetto who need their insulin, and now they don’t have a CVS…so stupid!
What do you think, guys—does the fact that the city of Baltimore has an Af-Am mayor, police chief, police commish and city attorney have any chance of changing the dialogue from “black lives matter” to “black lives matter so much, we need to change what present government policy is doing for/to inner city black people?”
We do need compassion, but compassion is not the same thing as enabling. (People—liberals especially—always get this wrong.)
The inner city black people need to abandon the slavery of the liberal machine. They won’t of course and no government policy short of ending dependency will stop the burning of the cities. This is the tip of the iceberg. It is going to be ugly beyond comprehension.
I love that he took the time to bag his loot.
DocJay They won’t of course and no government policy short of ending dependency will stop the burning of the cities.
Doc! How?
Okay, I’m going to post my ending welfare idea, because the better-informed people aren’t getting around to doing it. You have no one to blame but yourselves.
My sister in Maryland said her small town in mountains had to send officers and personnel She said it is finals time at U. of MD. and college is closed!! Kids have to take finals on laptops from home. An elderly man’s car was torched, the CVS and probably they took drugs, they targeted minority officers and store owners so didn’t care who they lashed out at, and yes, it has been reported these are gangs from other areas inciting the trouble – plus gov. officials were late in calling in National Guard to protect people and property. I loved this one:
http://edition.cnn.com/2015/04/28/us/baltimore-riot-mom-smacks-son/index.html
CPS has already arrested her and put the child in foster care.
Juan Williams made a good point just now on Fox News – Baltimore once had a thriving black middle class. So what happened? Well, automation happened and jobs that weren’t automated went overseas. Industrial economies changed. Drugs happened. The Welfare State happened. White flight happened. Black flight happened. And the city was hollowed out. Terrible city schools happened. Poverty happened. I disagree that the rioters are all about fun and opportunism. There is an element of frustration and despair. And these riots and looting set back any progress that has been made by parents, clergy and community leaders. Those rioters have people in their lives that spent last night and many nights on their knees praying for their hearts to turn away from the violence. Why can’t we acknowledge that? People are trying to help these people and help themselves, and I don’t understand the indifference from some.
Well CPS might have to depend upon some police officers testifying against her. After last night’s block parties in Baltimore that probably won’t happen. She will probably be nominated for Mother of the Year by the Baltimore PD.
Casey,
Yeah but is it paper or plastic?
Regards,
Jim
PLASTIC!!!!!!!
Eco-Criminal
AND just now on Fox – social media analysis shows the probability of anarchists who were in Ferguson also being here!
Are we certain he didn’t use self-checkout?
Dev,
Social media analysis suggests links between Baltimore and Ferguson violence
Yep. It had that Sharpton / Tawana Brawley feel to it. Now they need to find out exactly who is organizing on social media. I think that is called sedition. What do you think Jack?
Regards,
Jim
The question is what caused all of these things to happen.
A major one that you don’t list is family breakdown. It happened, and it was caused in substantial part by the welfare state. I realize that this wasn’t the only factor — the development of the Pill had an enormous effect.
The welfare state and terrible schools didn’t just “happen.” These are the results of bad policies which are principally the fault of Democrats (and other Leftists).
I think that you are very astute to include “black flight” as one of the major problems, and one that is not easily soluble. Middle-class blacks have been quite welcome in the suburbs for decades (or to the East Side, to a deluxe apartment in the sky). I can’t blame them for wanting to move themselves and their families to a better environment.
I live in Southern Maryland, and my son lives in Baltimore City. Our county is sending police resources and its volunteer firefighters and their equipment. The next county over declined to send its firefighters, a decision I am sympathetic with. Who will replace that equipment if it gets damaged/destroyed in the riots? But they are getting a lot of criticism from locals who say that we are all in this together and amounts to abandoning fellow emergency responders in a time of need. I worry about this getting worse and putting my son’s life and home in danger. (He lives a couple of miles from where this is happening.)
The thing is, there are peaceful protests going on. The thugs are drowning out those voices, which is a real shame. (Not because I think there’s a race problem here, but because peaceful protests would get more respect, even if less media coverage.)
Also, I am of the opinion that the police brutality issues here have much more to do with officers exerting their power/frustrations/whatever over the poor and powerless than anything to do with race. It just so happens that in urban areas especially, the inner city poor tends to be predominantly made up of minority populations, thus giving the perception that race is the motivation.
Bread and circuses.
I have essentially no experience dealing with poor, black, inner-city neighborhoods or their residents. I have read about the issues, analyzed the Michael Brown investigation report in detail, and had a long discussion with a cop who used to work in such neighborhoods.
My impression is that a substantial majority of residents of such neighborhoods support the criminals and distrust, abuse, and lie to the cops. Both the cops and the residents have an “us vs. them” mentality. I am going to be very hesitant to condemn a cop who gets frustrated in these circumstances, in which he is putting his life on the line to defend the people of a neighborhood, and most of those people are making his job harder.
I realize that there is a “chicken and egg” problem in the relations between cops and black inner-city residents.
But this is Baltimore, for crying out loud, with a black mayor, majority black city council, and black police chief. Complaints that “the man” is racist ring hollow to me when “the man” is a black Democrat. (And yes, I know that the mayor is actually a woman — I mean “the man” as in “stickin’ it to the man.”)
I will say this — we are in the seventh year of the term of our first black President, and I do not recall race relations ever being this bad. It was probably worse in 1968, which was before my time.
I agree with you, Jack. The youths that are involved in the rioting are fatherless nihilists – not protestors. They don’t care that much about Freddie Gray. Rather, they see the situation in the same way as do kids everywhere when it snows. The latter are delighted with the situation, and they go outside with parkas and sleds. The former are also delighted by the opportunity presented to them, but they go outside with crowbars and bricks.
Didn’t matter to him, he’s obviously bi-sackual.
I bet he did!
Ah, in that case you’re using a proper noun, which should be capitalized. “The Man.”