Baltimore was Burning and Few Asked Why? [View all]
April 28, 2015 (San Diego) A police van burning, a CVS pharmacy looted and burned. Police and youth exchanging rocks and other debris. This has all the makings of a riot. This, as Doctor Martin Luther King wrote, was the voice of the oppressed screaming. Riots are a force of nature. They are an open, rank and true expression of rage. But unless we listen, the message will be missed.
We had an opportunity to talk with Chet Whye, who currently lives in Harlem New York, and has lived in Baltimore. This was facilitated by Steven Lesser, who knows Whye and is a radio host based in the East Coast. Whye said that he witnesses a 9 year old throwing rocks at police yesterday. This is part of his frustration though. While he saw media emphasize the violence, none “emphasized the police culture” that has led to this explosion.
He added “”Look. I’m a Baltimore kid. Nobody wants violence, but people have been pushed to the limit and massive peaceful protests have resulted in no material legislation and no national agenda. What the hell do people expect to happen?”
People are frustrated with the system, and as he observed, and we have observed, this is national. The reasons for this are deep. We are just scratching the surface. Among them are the following reasons:
http://reportingsandiego.com/2015/04/28/baltimore-was-burning-and-few-asked-why/
When you look under the hood what stares back is quite the monster... Thanks Steve. But this conversation needs to happen and I admit, I only looked at one of the many variants...
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