Baltimore Rioting, Looting OK According to Mayor
- Thread starter Pilgrim
- Start date
Neither is abuse of authority, and the people rioting have suffered a great deal more of that, and for a much longer time, than their outburst of anarchy. As to damages, how many looted businesses and/or burned vehicles equal thousands of people feeling they have nothing to lose?
BTW: the percentage of minorities in political and law enforcement means little, when the problems are systemic.
It's also well documented that people who would not otherwise break the law, and have no history whatsoever of breaking the law, have been involved in rioting, including seeing fires and looting. Those people did not riot because they were criminals.
Those who think rioting can be boiled down to "criminality, pure and simple," are missing the big picture of cause and effect.
Yes, I imagine virtually every single one of those people have personally, directly, suffered abuse and injustice. Probably just like virtually every single one of them suffered through slavery and therefore have every right to riot over the injustice of slavery. It's good that we can justify all the looted businesses and burned vehicles so easily. It helps so much that they can feel a welcome outlet for their feelings, regardless of the impact on anyone else and themselves as well for that matter.
These words must have come from the tail end of your shell and not the head.
......
There are other factors that contribute to large payouts such as municipalities deciding to settle lawsuits instead of incurring court costs and or risk losing cases with a lot of ambiguity. ( no clear cut evidence of guilt or innocence. There is also occasions when there is a gaming of the system. Making up false claims of brutality or misconduct by citizens( citizen made up stories and in some cases self inflicted injuries) and a lawyer profession all too willing to take any case regardless of merit because they have knowledge of a city government's propensity to settle lawsuits.
Regarding the Freddie Gray incident, we don't know exactly how he sustained his injuries. He may have been injured from the arrest accidentally or on purpose. He may have been injured in the van accidentally, intentionally, or negligently. Even if the evidence concludes that Mr Gray hurt himself by slamming his head against the inside of the van, there still will be a settlement payout because the officers didn't secure him with a seatbelt. The Police Dept. had just changed their seatbelt policy to make it mandatory.
Yes, there is some police misconduct in police departments. With the thousands of police contacts that large departments have with the public, there will be some misconduct, mistakes, and in some cases brutality. The vast majority of police contacts with citizens however happen without incident. We're talking about roughly around 1 or 2 % percent of officers in a department. Still too many, but not a widespread problem.
There are other factors that contribute to large payouts such as municipalities deciding to settle lawsuits instead of incurring court costs and or risk losing cases with a lot of ambiguity. ( no clear cut evidence of guilt or innocence. There is also occasions when there is a gaming of the system. Making up false claims of brutality or misconduct by citizens( citizen made up stories and in some cases self inflicted injuries) and a lawyer profession all too willing to take any case regardless of merit because they have knowledge of a city government's propensity to settle lawsuits.
Regarding the Freddie Gray incident, we don't know exactly how he sustained his injuries. He may have been injured from the arrest accidentally or on purpose. He may have been injured in the van accidentally, intentionally, or negligently. Even if the evidence concludes that Mr Gray hurt himself by slamming his head against the inside of the van, there still will be a settlement payout because the officers didn't secure him with a seatbelt. The Police Dept. had just changed their seatbelt policy to make it mandatory.
It's probably fair to presume that the innocent people and business owners that had their property stolen, homes burned and businesses destroyed don't really care about the prior criminal records of the vandals and thugs that might have felt "insulted or disrespected". Suppose you happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time because of a delivery you just completed and had your truck ransacked and set on fire? Would you be concerned about the personal problems - real or imagined - of the hooligans that stole your belongings and destroyed your means of making a living? At the risk of being presumptuous, I'll bet you'd want the criminals arrested and prosecuted, regardless of their prior criminal history.
Didn't work
What didn't work?
Do you know it's made up and if so how?
witness23
Veteran Expediter
Framed in that manner, I'd say you're 100 percent right.
Of course I would want them arrested and prosecuted. Rioting is a criminal act that should be met with consequences, same as any other criminal act. But I'd eventually ask why it happened, same as with any other violent crime. People don't riot because of "personal problems," they riot because of an injustice. Society wants to know the motivation behind any violent crime. Even if the rioting has a valid reason, like an injustice, that reason doesn't magically make it OK to riot.
I get it that you're one of the "criminality, pure and simple" people who don't care what the reasons behind the rioting is, the only thing that's important is that they be put down hard to prevent them from rioting again.
The United States of Amnesia
golfournut
Veteran Expediter
Having lived in Baltimore since 2008, the best move we ever made was moving out of the state.
Maryland is not a business friendly state.
Baltimore is the "burbs" for DC.
63% of the blue collar is black.
The state, county and city are predominantly democrate party.
All 3 are in financial problems.
1 to 5 black on black killings happen almost every night.
The neighborhoods around the inner harbor are predominantly white. Real estate in these areas ain't cheap.
The symphony is broke. The musicians took a huge pay decrease in 2010 and haven't got it back.
There is a heavy gang presence in Baltimore and Baltimore County.
There is so much more wrong that I'll quit now cause I'm out of time except for this last thought.
The current situation has been building for some time.
Maryland is not a business friendly state.
Baltimore is the "burbs" for DC.
63% of the blue collar is black.
The state, county and city are predominantly democrate party.
All 3 are in financial problems.
1 to 5 black on black killings happen almost every night.
The neighborhoods around the inner harbor are predominantly white. Real estate in these areas ain't cheap.
The symphony is broke. The musicians took a huge pay decrease in 2010 and haven't got it back.
There is a heavy gang presence in Baltimore and Baltimore County.
There is so much more wrong that I'll quit now cause I'm out of time except for this last thought.
The current situation has been building for some time.
That is what long term liberal policies bring to many of these areas. Chase all the business and higher property tax payers out and you get a mess. Even when they have federal money, it is often wasted away. Baltimore is second in the nation in spending per student and look at their education system. Throwing money at it, doesn't fix it.
One can throw the race card, but Baltimore is ran by minorities. All the way through to their police department which has a lot of minorities. I heard today that gangs in the riot wanted to go after Asian and Mexican businesses. If true, that sounds like more than just hating whites. My opinion is they have a lot of problems tied to long term liberal policies. No different than Chicago. Most of the crime and homicides are against the very people in their own neighborhoods.
One can throw the race card, but Baltimore is ran by minorities. All the way through to their police department which has a lot of minorities. I heard today that gangs in the riot wanted to go after Asian and Mexican businesses. If true, that sounds like more than just hating whites. My opinion is they have a lot of problems tied to long term liberal policies. No different than Chicago. Most of the crime and homicides are against the very people in their own neighborhoods.
Whatever progress towards racial harmony our country has strived for has suffered a setback. If black politicians and officeholders in major US cities are willing to stoke the flames of racial hatred, the situation seems without hope. Old stereotypes get re-enforced and observers retreat to their comfort zones fully resolved that the other side lacks goodwill. Playing to the mob is a dangerous game. Should our nation's urban centers be written off as lost?