Today was the funeral of the latest victim to police brutality, Freddie Gray. This morning, nearly 2,000 people assembled to mourn the late Gray, with eulogies and tearful, soaring music. Hours later, riots begin in the form of shouting and bottle throwing. The national guard is sent in with riot gear, and the violence escalated into the burning and looting of a CVS, crushing of a police vehicles and at least fifteen injured police officers. By this evening, 27 or more people had been arrested. Beginning tomorrow, the mayor of Baltimore, Maryland has imposed a 10 pm to 5 am curfew. This is intended to slow down protests and stop violence in the city.
This is certainly not the fault of the protesters. This is only the last in many, many cases of police brutality and racial discrimination. The police department, like many aspects of our US system of government in modern days, is flawed. It is this, along with decades of history, that has pushed the violence to this point. When the police show up in riot gear before it has gotten to this point, it makes it seem that they are preparing for the worst to happen, and in some ways induces it to happen. The common underlying issue here is the police. It is the people who are confused and angry and this has been coming out in ways that are wrong. I do believe their intentions really are good, but they feel like there is no other way that they might be heard. I wish that this wasn't true, but it's not very often that a peaceful protest makes the major headlines.
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/28/us/baltimore-freddie-gray.html?_r=0
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