Baltimore: The Language Of The Unheard

A riot is always ugly.  Violence and senseless destruction always occur.  A riot is stupid group-think, a thousand people sharing a brain.  Never good.

But not all riots are created equal, at least according to some.  There were Boston Tea Parties and Whiskey Rebellions, which were "patriotic."  There are sports-related riots following big wins or losses, which are silly.  But nothing captures the American attention like a so-called "race" riot.

The white right has always loved race riots -- they're a chance to change the subject.  It happens every time, going back to Harlem and Watts and Hough in the 1960's.  It happened after Ferguson, and it's happening now about Baltimore.

Name-calling.  Victim-blaming.  People I know are posting ignorant shit on Facebook claiming that Freddie Gray's rap sheet justifies his abuse at the hands of the police.  Fox News has ramped up its usual pandering racist mode:  "We don't want to talk about why the riot happened.  We want to focus on black people behaving badly.  Because that's the real problem.  Here, watch this video of a black man throwing a rock."


Why does a riot of this type happen?  Is it because a bunch of bored people decide, on a whim, they have nothing better to do?  "Hey kids, let's put on a riot!"  Or maybe it's because of outside agitators.  They always show up for a good riot.  "Traveling halfway across the country to steal toilet paper from a CVS has been a dream of mine."  Perhaps the mayor caused the riot with a regrettable comment about "space to destroy."




None of that B.S. is why Baltimore got hot.  The riot happened because, in a city with a long history of racism, oppression and police brutality, Freddie Gray got his spine snapped by six storm-trooper cops and somebody caught the aftermath on video.  Let's not lose sight of that single, pertinent fact, amidst all the sideshows and shiny objects.



Everywhere, the black community has a bad attitude about cops, and for good reason.  Harassment is the daily reality.  A kid gets killed in police custody, and decades of frustration and anger come pouring out.  Looting and destruction are the unfortunate, unhelpful, but not unexpected side effects.

If you really can't understand why these riots occur, you are simply perpetuating the problem and are likely part of it.  You're focused on the unpleasant effects while not dealing honestly with the root causes.














Violence rarely accomplishes anything, but even Martin Luther King, Jr. -- that paragon of non-violent protest -- acknowledged it may, at times, be inevitable.

From the #blacklivesmatter post of 11/26/14:

"It is not enough for me to stand before you tonight and condemn riots.  It would be morally irresponsible for me to do that without at the same time condemning the contingent, intolerable conditions that exist in our society.  These conditions are the things that cause individuals to feel that they have no other alternative than to engage in violent rebellions to get attention.  And I must say tonight that a riot is the language of the unheard."

My father was born and raised in Baltimore.  I have family and friends in the area.  Peace, Baltimore.