Does anyone have our back?

[Dark Helmet]

I have a specific comparison to report. My tax accountant and I were discussing the situation with Freddie Gray and the events in Baltimore. My tax accountant told me that he likes to shoot target practice as a hobby. He and his friends were shooting at targets when some police came up. He ran from the police because he was afraid of being harrassed. The police let him go. My tax accountant is white and lives in the suburbs.

In contrast, Freddie Gray was talking to some friends when some police came up. He ran from the police and the police chased him, dragged him to a paddy wagon (there is a video that shows this). Somewhere along the line, the cops broke Gray's neck and eventually he died. Freddie Gray is black and lives in the inner city.

IN neither case is running from the cops against the law, and it certainly isn't a capital crime. If the cops had simply let Freddie Gray go (like they did with my tax accountant), none of this would have happened.

Did your accountant have open warrants?

[SerenityNow]

Americans love their drama, love to overreact. The Boston Strong stuff in 2013 was a huge overreaction, and the way that Baltimore has been portrayed in the media has also been an overreaction. It's all just American and Western privilege. Far worse things happen elsewhere around the world.

Anyway, the greater crime in the city of Baltimore, as in every city in the US, has been the long-standing assault on inner city communities by the judicial system. If people wanted to feel sympathy for Baltimore, they should have been expressing it all along, not just because a CVS burned to the ground.

Really, this whole thing exposes how out of touch people are to what has actually been happening in poor communities in the United States. We really do value property more than people.

Well it's taken you a few days but you finally got that off your chest. I am sure you feel such a sense of relief that you have enlightened us all.

[weams]

It frustrates the hell out of me that someone enjoying the freedoms and options that this country offers to people would be so openly contemptuous of this country. There are many problems in the US, but it is still a far better option for someone looking to prosper on their own steam than most places on earth. You appear to have traveled extensively to other countries. So have I. Very, very few countries can offer what this country does overall and in many places the vast majority of the citizenry would move here today if given the opportunity.

Very true words. It's a great country.

[crawjo]

Well, damn, I wrote a long response but just lost all of it. Here's the gist of it: I do travel frequently and will be leaving the country next month and will be gone for a long time. So you can save your abuse for the next American who dares to think he has the right to criticize the country he lives within. You can stay in your bubble and continue to rage at your television set rather than actually deal with the problems. That seems to be the American way. And you can continue to criticize the culture of poor communities, but the bottom line is that until you stop incarcerating poor young black men by the hundreds of thousands and allowing the police to militarily occupy these neighborhoods, you are going to get a lot more riots like Ferguson and Baltimore. And all your patriotism and sense of righteousness won't be worth a thing.

[crawjo]

I agree it's a systemic problem but isn't it wider than just the judicial system? Unemployment levels, the cycle of poverty, people getting educations on the street from a young age. The life of someone born and raised in the rough parts of Baltimore would be pretty foreign to me. I'm not surprised some of these people don't give much thought to their local business owners. Telling people, well, peaceful protest is fine but this destruction of property can't be allowed, well, I don't really think they care. Actually lifting these communities back up and fixing these problems is a massive task and frankly it's one that I have no optimism about anyone committing to. It would take years, or even a generation or more to turn the tides. That's why someone rioting may have the attitude of "idgaf," and why some people are just going to take what they can get when a situation like this arises, be it some sneakers or the opportunity to lash out at police. Not even as a political statement, just because why not? The riots will end but these issues aren't going anywhere imo.

It is wider than the judicial system, but our judicial system makes it worse. These communities are already suffering from the loss of jobs...everything that Angelos talked about in his response earlier in the week. It only makes it worse to be constantly imprisoning people for often petty reasons. That destroys communities and families. And honestly I don't think the riots are going to stop. This isn't a Baltimore issue, and it isn't a Ferguson issue. It's an American issue that's been building for decades. It's going to keep happening.

[Malike]

Well, damn, I wrote a long response but just lost all of it. Here's the gist of it: I do travel frequently and will be leaving the country next month and will be gone for a long time. So you can save your abuse for the next American who dares to think he has the right to criticize the country he lives within. You can stay in your bubble and continue to rage at your television set rather than actually deal with the problems. That seems to be the American way. And you can continue to criticize the culture of poor communities, but the bottom line is that until you stop incarcerating poor young black men by the hundreds of thousands and allowing the police to militarily occupy these neighborhoods, you are going to get a lot more riots like Ferguson and Baltimore. And all your patriotism and sense of righteousness won't be worth a thing.

It's hard to stop incarcerating (any) person who is constantly breaking the law. You are either asking to turn a blind eye to crime in the inner cities, or suggesting they are all being incarcerated while being innocent.

[TonySoprano]

Alright, I'm closing this to allow things to cool. It may be reopened another time.

I suggest in the meantime, these squabbles be taken offline. Keep in mind abuses of the PM are not allowed.