OK, the Baltimore protesters (aka rioters/thugs) can still cry out against police oppression in the black community, but they can no longer claim it's a racial issue -- unless they're prepared to say that the police officer charged with murder was a racist against his own race. I admit, I was flabbergasted when I saw that 3 of the 6 police officers were African Americans. How on earth could this be? I have not heard a lot of news today, but what I have heard (on CNN) has not even mentioned the black on black character of this incident. What is the explanation for this? This is no "white cop kills innocent black guy" story. This is much more like the recent shooting in New Jersey where a black cop shot a black guy and was assisted by his white partner. I can't help but wonder, had the protesters known a week ago that half of the offending officers where black, would we have had the same level of anger and riot? And amidst all the demands for justice for Freddie Gray, will there be commensurate demands for justice for CVS and all the other business owners and home owners whose property was destroyed? We'll see.
9 comments:
any protester I heard interviewed just said cops. They never said white cops. If you think black cops don't have different attitudes towards the black/poor community versus the white/non poor community, then most likely you think wrong. The black cops I knew in MD certainly did.
So you are either saying that some black cops are racist against their own race or that this was not a racial issue. Which is it? Because that is exactly the point I was making. Also, CCN interviewed some protest leader several times this past week who went on and on about white cops killing black guys and getting away with it. Just Friday I heard someone on CNN saying that 17 white cops have been charged with murdering black guys and none have been convicted. I don't remember the time frame for those numbers. So is this a racial issue or isn't it?
We are talking Charm City, not any other city like for instance Charleston. What I am saying if using the word nigger is racist, then yes, black cops can be racist against blacks. For some reason some cops (very few of them I am sure) seem to think they can get away with stuff, but it eventually catches up to them. Baltimore is known for "rough"paddy wagon rides and I for one can see cops being very po'd having to foot chase a guy down that they would want to punish him so to speak. Is this particular case racist? I have no idea since I don't know any of these cops. I am just relating to you the cops I knew from playing softball with them. We will never know if they would have treated a white guy the same way or not.
By the way.....I would have been one of the ones in front of the cops "protecting" them had I been there for the protest.
This is exactly the point, Tom. This is not a racial issue at all. It is a lawlessness issue. There was a guy in PA named Mark Spotz a while back who went on a murder rampage throughout the state. He got captured at a hotel in Carlisle, so he was arraigned at our local courthouse. When he got off the elevator to enter the courtroom, he was bloody and bruised. He claimed the police had roughed him up in the elevator. Well, I'm quite sure they did. And his race was irrelevant. White cops smacked around a white killer. I'm not saying this is okay; we have a justice system and our police ought to be better than that. But the point is, the problem is not racial. That's a justification. The fact that a larger percentage of black men are in prison does not prove racial bigotry. It only proves that we have a large segment of our population that for many reasons is lawless. Freddie Gray was a perfect example of this. Skin color is irrelevant.
This past week has been an education. For example, Baltimore spends the second highest amount per pupil of all the large cities in American, yet it has a truancy rate of 8% Maryland is 2.25%). Clearly spending more money on education is not the answer, yet that's what a lot of people were calling for last week.
It is obvious to me that the problems run far deeper than anything money can solve. This is a cultural-spiritual problem that government has no feasible answer for. What might have happened if Freddie hadn't run?
As I said....I did not hear any actual protester say this was racial. What I heard was this is cop brutality/harassment that has been ongoing for years. Freddie was the final straw. The alleged spokespeople who might say this is racial are just dumb asses that are ill informed of what's going on in charm city. The problem as I see it is no one should be stopped by the cops just because the cops don't like what he looks like or for being a certain color. This is something David that neither you or I can at all relate to. What's it like to be black and poor in the inner city? Seems to me blacks running from the cops happens in more than just Baltimore, so I would think there is some kind of systemic problem in these cities.
actually, I agree with this synopsis as to what the problem is.
http://ftw.usatoday.com/2015/04/orioles-john-angelos-baltimore-protests-mlb
You are right, I have no idea what it's like to be black and poor in the inner city. Neither do I know what it's like to be an arrogant lawless street punk. I would argue that the majority of inner city residents are law-abiding citizens with good character and have never had a negative encounter with the police. As for the article in USAToday, it is pure bull-hockey. Thousands of jobs hadn't been shipped overseas in 1968 or after the Rodney King decision. Rioting of this sort is driven by anti-American anarchists who are bent on destroying the good in America. As I said, the problem is cultural and spiritual, not economic.
http://www.upworthy.com/he-shows-how-the-news-talks-about-black-people-by-talking-about-white-people-instead?c=ufb1
I have no patience with people who connect criminal behavior with poverty, especially when they bring up Jim Crow in the same paragraph. There are plenty of under-privileged people who have good character and would never consider destroying someone else's property. It is not "black culture" that's the problem, but the problem is connected to culture. There is no escaping that.
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