Riots in Baltimore

While I’m not condoning the actions of the people who are rioting in Baltimore, it is not impossible for me to understand why they are. 

I’ve expressed my concerns in the past how rioting and looting does a disservice to all, not just those of a certain race or ethnic background.

I’ve cited an old documentary called February One: The Story of the Greensboro Four as a good example of what a proper protest should be like. But, the fact of the matter is that we don’t live in a perfect world with perfect outcomes all of the time. All of these riots in Baltimore could have been avoided.

Even Ferguson could have also been avoided. However, they will continue to happen over and over again because Ferguson and Baltimore are not exceptions to the rule.

In fact, a great number of American cities face similar challenges; the same challenges being faced in Ferguson and Baltimore.

So we can choose to pretend it doesn’t happen, or pretend we don’t care because it’s not happening in our backyard, or engage in vitriol on social media with friends and strangers alike. Or we can address the underlying issues that are exacerbating things like these in places across the country.

With all that being said, what we need is to take a hard look at ourselves, and have a proper discourse of what the underlying issues are that are causing things like these from happening in Ferguson, New York, Baltimore, and other places throughout the country. It won't be an easy topic to discuss, but it is one that we really need to have.

The conversation should not only be about race. It should also include talks about social-economic issues, issues with education, crime, the police, with our elected officials, etc. Everything should be on the table. Everything needs to be discussed.

It won't be easy to discuss it, but if we don't, we're just going to continue seeing the same results over, and over, and over, and over, and again. It will never stop until people actually start treating the illness that's infecting society, as opposed to treating its symptoms.