I agree with you eyemamom…how the mayor , and even the governor didn’t learn anything from the events in Ferguson Staten Island, Cleveland , etc is unreal .
And the mayor denied this :
Jym, kiddo lives near JHU Hospital and Med School, and so far, it has been quiet in her area. It is kind of isolated from the downtown.
“Whats not getting out, is that Baltimore police have a Bill of Rights. They dont have to speak to anyone for 10 days after an incident. So people think nothing is happening and they cant force the cops to talk.”
“Wow. I don’t know how to even begin to express how wrong that sounds.”
That was also the work rule bestowed upon the NJ State Police, as revealed in the infamous “rolling van” police shooting/cover-up. Cops get the opportunity to get their story straight. Same is true for the NYC police also, if I am not mistaken. They cannot be compelled to talk to investigators right away.
Bunsen, unfortunately there was quite a bit of looting and small fires just to the east of JHU Hospital throughout the night. Mostly on Orleans and Monument streets. From listening to the police dispatcher, it seems like most every mom and pop liquor store in Baltimore was looted overnight.
I don’t think your daughter will be in harms way as long she stays off the streets at night. Most of the overnight stuff was isolated hit and run looting and fires. I’m so sorry that she has to deal with this.
I would disagree that the tourist areas around Camden Yards, Inner Harbor, Momument, Lexington Market, etc, are safe areas right now. For example, the Rite Aid at MLK and Mulberry was torched overnight.
https://www.google.com/maps/search/rite+aid+baltimore/@39.2931541,-76.6285081,17z
Unofficial crowd-sourced map of Baltimore trouble spots:
https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/viewer?mid=zYw5SbHYVKBM.kLaJN-znQs40
@jym626 - If the 695 Beltway is like a clock, UMBC is between 7 and 8 o’clock. If you look just above the central cluster of pins, along 83, zoom in on the words Wyman Park and there is JHU.
“Knuckleheads”? Seriously?! Come on, now.
I would suggest that the people of Baltimore should best address their issues with their political leadership:
*Police Commissioner: Anthony Batts
Mayor: Stephanie Rawlings-Blake who took office when her predecessor Sheila Dixon was indicted and forced to resign over charges that she stole gift cards intended for the poor.
City Council President: Bernard “Jack” Young (preceded by Rawlings-Blake and Sheila Dixon)
Governor (until Jan 2015): Martin O’Malley. Previously Mayor of Baltimore
US Rep: Elijah Cummings (preceded by Kweisi Mfume)
US Senators (both from Baltimore districts): Ben Cardin, Barbara Mikulski
US Attorney General (until yesterday): Eric Holder
US President: Barack Obama*
It doesn’t appear that the residents of Baltimore are satisfied with the results of the work their elected officials have done on their behalf. The good news is that there is clear accountability (single party rule) so, if they are dissatisfied with their leadership, they have options that would allow them to hope for change.
Thanks, greenwitch. I am somewhat familiar as I have family in Columbia, Bethesda and Potomac. I just don’t know where all the activities planned for the graduation and celebrations will be held, and suspect any planned for downtown will be moved!
And thanks, BB. Heard from BIL/SIL who tend to have a significant flair for the dramatic. They said their kids were “sheltering in place”.
Thanks, idad and everyone for the maps etc. Kiddo sent me a photo of a large fire which burned all night six blocks away. The area where she lives has nothing attractive - not even a convenience store to loot, so it is quiet. She is staying put in her apartment because she has a few papers due… Said that the mail was delivered today, and she received our care package. At least she will have granola bars, fruit, chocolates, and Indian food in pouches.
JHU students (both campuses I believe) were instructed to “shelter in place” last night. It’s an obviously sensible precaution. I think the only people sheltering in place in Baltimore last night who were at risk was the unfortunately family living in an apartment above a mom 'n pop liquor store that was looted and torched…
Interestingly, other than the governor and senators, all of those political leaders are African-American.
I live near Baltimore. It’s entirely diff than what the media is showing. The media is just making people ignorant on the whole topic. The same people who say “violence isn’t the answer” are the same people who stand by in silence when brothers are killed, same people who want to blow up each member of ISIS after an American is beheaded, same people who want 50% of our taxes to go to the defense sector, etc. It baffles me when white people try to tell black people how to respond to the killings of black people by white cops. Complete BS, Those who stand with us, we love you. People ask “How could rioters do this to their neighborhood” but will never ask How cops could do this to their neighbors. Racism is still apparent through stereotypes. When white people torch cars after a baseball game their “rowdy” but when black people torch cars and destroy property because cops are getting away with murder, they’re “savages”. When white people smoke weed they’re “hippies” but when black people smoke weed they’re “thugs”. When whites can’t find a job, “the economy is bad” and when black can find a job, they’re “dependent” White people on welfare are poor but blacks on welfare are “lazy”. DO YOU SEE WHAT I’M TALKING ABOUT??? Of course “peace is the wayto go” but did y’all really expect PEACE???
Yes. I agree, 0br0123.
This is the result of a systemic failure, over many years, of the political leadership. For example: economic policies that drive African-American unemployment through the roof.
Thanks, 0br. This late middle-aged white woman is utterly sickened by recent events and disgusted by the things you mentioned. I stand with you.
Police brutality needs to stop NOW, and so does the ever-accelerating income inequality.
And yeah, the ridiculous coverage by the ridiculous media in this country just makes things worse. (And any thread involving race or the poor here on CC tends to get awful pretty fast, sadly.)
0br0 many people feel the same way as you do.
I think the people in charge are doing their very best and making the best decisions they can as problems escalate. The response in Ferguson has had a very real effect on how leaders are now reacting to civic unrest . They do not want to overreact and make their towns into war zones. Whatever they do will be Monday morning quarterbacked and it will never be good enough. That is the price of leadership in todays media driven reality.
I believe the police caused this man to die.
What is the right response? What response will bring about change?
The African American community needs a leader. They need someone who everyone respects that can stand up and demand change. I am thinking of the many black millionaires and even billionaires who are powerful forces in the black community and because of their wealth they are powerful in all communities… Many of these people have made their riches off the black community, especially teenagers. I would like to see them step up. I would like to see them give the black community a voice and a direction. I think if the community had this they would not feel so marginalized. When people have no real power they become frustrated and strike out in anyway they can. They need a plan and a bold leader to effect change. And change is needed.
It really is a shame that we have no hope of change right now.
???
There is a video of a woman who apparently saw her son on TV coverage being involved in the rioting. The video shows her grabbing this masked kid who is taller than she and pushing him towards home while she continues to land one openhanded slap after another aimed at his upper body. She is obviously furious that this kid was in this crowd.
Today the media is lauding her for getting her kid. Those in charge wish other parents would go get their kids. But tomorrow what are the chances of this mother being visited by children and youth for abuse?
I don’t know if she was furious or if she was terrified. I bet that mom was imagining her son dead in the street or in jail. I’m smaller than my son and I have never raised a hand to my children, but if I were to find my boy in such a dangerous position, I just might lose my mind.
Of course she was angry with his behavior, but no mom wants her son out in that mess.