Riots in Baltimore: Wailing sirens everywhere right now...

[veritas]

• Tweet

Oh Lord.

http://www.cnn.com/2015/04/27/us/baltimore-freddie-gray-funeral/

I went to the markets today and went staight home because I sensed that riot beh. mob justice by instinct I sensed in Kenya. Good thing I did. Place has erupted.

[veritas]

Hard to believe that CVS being looted is a few blocks up from where I live. Watching it on CNN right now and can also hear sirens and chaos outside. Lord. I hope I'm going to be ok.

http://www.cnn.com/2015/04/27/us/baltimore-unrest/

[Kim Jong-Un's Pajama Pants]

The question I am grappling with.  Why are there so many white police officers in these areas?

[veritas]

No idea. The riot is moving downtown. . Lord. Getting closer to where I am..

[Georgesoros]

Why do black people do what they do?
It only worsens the problem.
Now a lot will lose jobs because they destroyed whatever business had.
Its so sad.
Sad that tehe fellow died but violence is counterproductive

[veritas]

What's happening right now is very sad. I'm not worried about what's happening right, now but what may follow the next couple weeks. Gang groups carrying out sporadic violence. It was handled very badly.

[veritas]

Sounds of police and choppers still ongoing. . I noticed on CNN they're now debating "black vs white" I see one thing that's most apparent. Poverty.

[Kim Jong-Un's Pajama Pants]

Poverty is just a symptom.  Black people have had enough.  They thought with Obama, something was going to be done about it. 

But anyone familiar with US politics will tell you, Bill Clinton, even George Bush would come out forcefully against police who break the spines of black people.

Obama prefers to keep as much daylight as possible between him and such things. 

[Georgesoros]

Windy
Black America problems are very complex. Mobility is very limited due to lack of leadership, especially in the family. It pays to have a leader. Most Kenyan poor would fight to have the opportunity blacks have - classrooms, electricity, certified teachers, etc.

[veritas]

I'm shocked with the chaos still ongoing Obama hasn't said anything.

[Georgesoros]

It makes me feel bad when I see these thugs looting in the name of police corruption. Most of them do nothing all day except complain and hang out.

[Kim Jong-Un's Pajama Pants]

Windy
Black America problems are very complex. Mobility is very limited due to lack of leadership, especially in the family. It pays to have a leader. Most Kenyan poor would fight to have the opportunity blacks have - classrooms, electricity, certified teachers, etc.

Parkerpen,

It's not fair to compare them to people with an experience that is totally alien to them.  That is totally meaningless to them.  It doesn't apply.  As far they are concerned, they wake up in the hood and nothing has changed.  Cops that are more like an occupation force than a police force.

I also used to compare them to Africans and think they are nuts.  But put yourself in the shoes of a black teen born and raised in that environment.  There are no jobs, very few social amenities, no libraries, bookshops, malls...the only places to hang out a liquor store on the corner.  What are you going to do? 

I saw Obama finally speak on it.  He talked about it the usual sterile way.   Lamented the destruction of their neighborhoods.  Even on his lameduck leg, he still fears to offend people that would never have voted for him anyway.

[veritas]

Everything is closed. Feels like a zombie place. Just occasional clueless white college students wearing protest shirts, gang members wearing chains, homeless people as usual. Tension everywhere. The only place open was McDonalds and there was a woman screaming in there. I had my burger in silence and left. I'm going to have to go to DC tomorrow for supplies. This might drag on for days.

I can't believe the baseball games are still going without spectators. It's like FCK Baltimore, the rest of America have a right to baseball.

[veritas]

Everyone keeps talking about black people. I support the protests but I don't see how this is going to change things. They'll still be treated like rubbish by the police. They need stuff here like youth empowerment centres, parks, recreational areas, there's nothing here for the youths. Place is a dump and festering with poverty.

[Real P]

Why do black people do what they do?
It only worsens the problem.
Now a lot will lose jobs because they destroyed whatever business had.
Its so sad.
Sad that tehe fellow died but violence is counterproductive

Parkerpen, whether it is the "right" way to handle this is beside the point, because this way is precisely the natural evolution of what has been occurring. It will always be the end result if injustices are allowed to continue long enough. And indeed, this sort of violence has resulted in meaningful changes to laws in the past. If police want to avoid this stuff, they need to functionally change their institutions - including the inherent racism hard coded into it - and begin to treat those they serve with respect and EQUALLY. But they don't. And this anger and violence will always be the natural result when those in power ignore your pleas for help against horrific injustices.

This being a sad result and not what anyone wants is beside the point, because people will only suffer for so long before turning to violence. It's a story as old as time.

[Georgesoros]

Lived among african americans in the city. Most problems are a lack of leadership.Fathers don't exist. Older people are a bother. churches are for the old. School is where you go to show yourself. This continues generation after another. Opportunities are there, one has to move. Most of us saw opportunities in America, we moved.

Why do black people do what they do?
It only worsens the problem.
Now a lot will lose jobs because they destroyed whatever business had.
Its so sad.
Sad that tehe fellow died but violence is counterproductive

Parkerpen, whether it is the "right" way to handle this is beside the point, because this way is precisely the natural evolution of what has been occurring. It will always be the end result if injustices are allowed to continue long enough. And indeed, this sort of violence has resulted in meaningful changes to laws in the past. If police want to avoid this stuff, they need to functionally change their institutions - including the inherent racism hard coded into it - and begin to treat those they serve with respect and EQUALLY. But they don't. And this anger and violence will always be the natural result when those in power ignore your pleas for help against horrific injustices.

This being a sad result and not what anyone wants is beside the point, because people will only suffer for so long before turning to violence. It's a story as old as time.

[Kim Jong-Un's Pajama Pants]

Lived among african americans in the city. Most problems are a lack of leadership.Fathers don't exist. Older people are a bother. churches are for the old. School is where you go to show yourself. This continues generation after another. Opportunities are there, one has to move. Most of us saw opportunities in America, we moved.

Why do black people do what they do?
It only worsens the problem.
Now a lot will lose jobs because they destroyed whatever business had.
Its so sad.
Sad that tehe fellow died but violence is counterproductive

Parkerpen, whether it is the "right" way to handle this is beside the point, because this way is precisely the natural evolution of what has been occurring. It will always be the end result if injustices are allowed to continue long enough. And indeed, this sort of violence has resulted in meaningful changes to laws in the past. If police want to avoid this stuff, they need to functionally change their institutions - including the inherent racism hard coded into it - and begin to treat those they serve with respect and EQUALLY. But they don't. And this anger and violence will always be the natural result when those in power ignore your pleas for help against horrific injustices.

This being a sad result and not what anyone wants is beside the point, because people will only suffer for so long before turning to violence. It's a story as old as time.

I agree that these are problems that people have to address.  Separate problems from the issue of police violence on minorities in my opinion. 

The best way to understand it.  No matter how much you see yourself as different from African Americans, think what would happen if God forbid, your son, or even yourself were to be on the business end of a police bullet.  They will likely justify it and move on.  The best justice you might get is a suspension of the killer with pay, while phony investigations continue.

Looked at from that perspective, I perfectly understand why people are rioting.

[mya88]

Why do black people do what they do?
It only worsens the problem.
Now a lot will lose jobs because they destroyed whatever business had.
Its so sad.
Sad that tehe fellow died but violence is counterproductive

Parkerpen, whether it is the "right" way to handle this is beside the point, because this way is precisely the natural evolution of what has been occurring. It will always be the end result if injustices are allowed to continue long enough. And indeed, this sort of violence has resulted in meaningful changes to laws in the past. If police want to avoid this stuff, they need to functionally change their institutions - including the inherent racism hard coded into it - and begin to treat those they serve with respect and EQUALLY. But they don't. And this anger and violence will always be the natural result when those in power ignore your pleas for help against horrific injustices.

This being a sad result and not what anyone wants is beside the point, because people will only suffer for so long before turning to violence. It's a story as old as time.

Very well said Pokots.... that is the crux of the problem and unfortunately it takes defining moments such as this for real change to take place. If it wasn't for the civil rights marches and riots back in the days of Dr. Martin Luther King, black people would still be riding at the back of the bus, unable to vote.

[Real P]

Very well said Pokots.... that is the crux of the problem and unfortunately it takes defining moments such as this for real change to take place. If it wasn't for the civil rights marches and riots back in the days of Dr. Martin Luther King, black people would still be riding at the back of the bus, unable to vote.

Mya, Black and other Minority folks were hugely instrumental during the civil rights movement. In fact, they were at the helm of some of the biggest riots both peaceful and otherwise, and directly led to laws being changed. Folks are furious. They have every right to be. They're turning to violence, because nothing has been done to fix the injustices hardcoded into institutions of power in this country. If you want it to end, those systems need to be fixed.

PS: Breaking News - All six police officers have been charged. Warrant is out now for their arrest.

http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/may/01/baltimore-freddie-gray-death

The problem is that if this was a peaceful protest nothing will be accomplished.