Baltimore Rioting, Looting OK According to Mayor

Turtle

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If black politicians and officeholders in major US cities are willing to stoke the flames of racial hatred, the situation seems without hope. Old stereotypes get re-enforced and observers retreat to their comfort zones fully resolved that the other side lacks goodwill.
If you think black politicians and officeholders stoking the flames of racial hatred is bad, that pales in comparison to when white politicians and officerholders do the same thing. Talk about old stereotypes getting reinforced and observers retreating to their comfort zones. Whoowee.
Shoot 'em. Period
Then again, the same sentiment is echoed by many white non-politicians and non-officerholders some of whom I'm sure will tacitly cheer her on.
 

davekc

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Whatever progress towards racial harmony our country has strived for has suffered a setback. If black politicians and officeholders in major US cities are willing to stoke the flames of racial hatred, the situation seems without hope. Old stereotypes get re-enforced and observers retreat to their comfort zones fully resolved that the other side lacks goodwill. Playing to the mob is a dangerous game. Should our nation's urban centers be written off as lost?


Your last question says it all. Until they take some responsibility in their communities, it is a sad road ahead. Trillions, yes trillions, of government/taxpayer dollars spent, and really no change. Throwing money at it will change nothing and hasn't up to this point. The very people they need to invest in these areas and take the risk, have been driven out.
 
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Turtle

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Throwing money at it will change nothing and hasn't up to this point.
P'shaw. Every problem the government throws money at, we get more of it. Hunger, poverty, drugs, education. Remember when radical Islamic terrorists where the equivalent of a mosquito? One could certainly argue that the government itself is largely to blame for the depth and breadth of the inner city problem.
 
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cheri1122

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Yes, I imagine virtually every single one of those people have personally, directly, suffered abuse and injustice. Probably just like virtually every single one of them suffered through slavery and therefore have every right to riot over the injustice of slavery. It's good that we can justify all the looted businesses and burned vehicles so easily. It helps so much that they can feel a welcome outlet for their feelings, regardless of the impact on anyone else and themselves as well for that matter.

What you [personally and generically] "imagine", rather than troubling to learn facts, is largely responsible for the rage expressed in rioting. You know exactly nothing about whether any one of the people you see have experienced abuse, injustice, degradation, etc, but you have no problem snippily proclaiming your disdain for them. And you simply cannot see how that kind of response is precisely what they have been subjected to by "authority" their whole lives, and they are beyond fed up with it.
Nobody is justifying looting or burning - but if you refuse to consider that it just might have been provoked by decades of injustice, rather than the one incident you pretend it's about, it will continue to happen. It will, in fact, only get worse.
When it happens in nearly every city in the US at the same time, [which could occur, if the underlying issues are ignored as usual], do we [us more fortunate people] have a solution for that?
 
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aristotle

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50 years after the civil rights movement of the 1960's and LBJ's Great Society entitlement programs, little, if any progress can be demonstrated. Almost certainly, the answer lies within the family structure. Children need to know they are cherished. Intact nuclear families with parents modeling positive traits are best equipped to produce offspring who are well-balanced, happy and capable. Destroying traditional family structure unravels society. Undermining the traditional concept of marriage is one more headlong rush into darkness.
 

LDB

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Well since you apparently know far more than I, tell me out of 100 Baltimore rioters how many have been directly, personally victims of the injustice and abuse that apparently justifies and exonerates their behavior? I've already acknowledged a few of them will have personally and directly experienced something. It doesn't justify rioting and burning, no matter what it was, but yes they will have experienced something. Enlighten us. How many per 100? How many free passes do they get for their experiences? It's just amazing that anyone can in any way minimize and justify any of the criminal activity at all. And no, I don't discount for a moment the ongoing efforts and actions of Sharpton and others over a period of decades to create and promote racial tension and discontent.
 

cheri1122

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50 years after the civil rights movement of the 1960's and LBJ's Great Society entitlement programs, little, if any progress can be demonstrated. Almost certainly, the answer lies within the family structure. Children need to know they are cherished. Intact nuclear families with parents modeling positive traits are best equipped to produce offspring who are well-balanced, happy and capable. Destroying traditional family structure unravels society. Undermining the traditional concept of marriage is one more headlong rush into darkness.

First, the "traditional" concept of marriage is a relatively recent concept. Marriage was traditionally arranged to form and strengthen ties between groups [clans, countries, dynasties], and love had zero to do with it. Women were viewed as breeding stock - how "cherished" did that make the resulting progeny feel?
Second, if restoring the family structure is important, why not look at what is causing people to divorce, or not marry to begin with? Really, I mean, not in the nostalgic view that it was better in the "old days". There are a few different reasons, [economic stress is high on the list, along with unreasonable expectations], but gays are not among them. Problems never get solved, until one can accurately identify the problem. We all know about "intact nuclear families" being an excellent environment for raising children, except when the parents aren't modeling "positive traits" because they are ignorant or miserable or both. And that, my friend, is way too many intact nuclear families these days.
Children know when they're cherished, and it doesn't matter to them if both parents are the same sex - unless outsiders make it a problem for them. Which they do, sadly.
 
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Turtle

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Well since you apparently know far more than I, tell me out of 100 Baltimore rioters how many have been directly, personally victims of the injustice and abuse that apparently justifies and] exonerates their behavior?
That's an easy one. 100 of them. However, while understandable, they are not justified and exonerated.

How many free passes do they get for their experiences?
None

It's just amazing that anyone can in any way minimize and justify ANY of the criminal activity at all.
And yet the police and the justice system time and time again manage to minimize and justify most of their criminal activity.

And no, I don't discount for a moment the ongoing efforts and actions of Sharpton and others over a period of decades to create and promote racial tension and discontent.
Yeah, because Sharpton and those others are just geniuses at convincing so many people that racial oppression and discrimination actually exists even though it wouldn't if only they'd shut up about it.
 
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golfournut

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The next time anyone is in Baltimore, stop at the TA and park. Then walk up the hill east about 1/2 mile. Our tax dollars at work! (Caution: don't do it at night.) And the city is spending 100 million dollars on the Red Line to transport the residents of this area to downtown that already has a bus line that is never crowded. The city says so they can shop. They would have to get a raise in welfare to do that. Maybe that's the next big protest.
 

ysracer

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Well since you apparently know far more than I, tell me out of 100 Baltimore rioters how many have been directly, personally victims of the injustice and abuse that apparently justifies and exonerates their behavior? I've already acknowledged a few of them will have personally and directly experienced something. It doesn't justify rioting and burning, no matter what it was, but yes they will have experienced something. Enlighten us. How many per 100? How many free passes do they get for their experiences? It's just amazing that anyone can in any way minimize and justify any of the criminal activity at all. And no, I don't discount for a


The next time anyone is in Baltimore, stop at the TA and park. Then walk up the hill east about 1/2 mile. Our tax dollars at work! (Caution: don't do it at night.) And the city is spending 100 million dollars on the Red Line to transport the residents of this area to downtown that already has a bus line that is never crowded. The city says so they can shop. They would have to get a raise in welfare to do that. Maybe that's the next big protest.



I might suggest reading this... :

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs...imore-became-baltimore/?tid=pm_business_pop_b
 

golfournut

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From one of the comments in your link:
BillyShields

4/30/2015 5:55 PM EDT

"Baltimore hasn't had a Republican mayor since 1967. Four of the last five mayors have been African-Americans. Going back to 1959, seven of the last ten Maryland governors have been Democrats. The third Republican was just sworn into office this January. Both houses of the Maryland General Assembly are heavily Democratic."

Seems Chicago, Detroit and Baltimore to name a few share the same fate.

It's also obvious some contributers of the article haven't been to Baltimore lately or maybe even Maryland.

As I said earlier in a previous post, Maryland is NOT a business friendly state. With the exception of Under Armor and Domino's Sugar and a few other smaller companies, Baltimore is a local service community. Sure there are a few companies like Legg Mason, but those don't provide the start up jobs that Baltimore needs.

If you drive around the neighborhoods that are on the map, what you will find are row homes. Out of a row of say 10 homes, 6 maybe boarded up. Section 8 doesn't pay enough for the owner to cover the high taxes, higher maintenance costs associated with section 8 properties and make a profit. On top of that, there is little hope for an increase in property values.
In about 2009 the city tried to get investors to buy and rehab the properties in those neighborhoods with minimal incentives. It was a flop.

The wealthy black community won't invest in Baltimore. I personally know 6 of some of the wealthiest black business people in Baltimore. Their money is in DC. In restaurants, hotels, parking garages and shopping malls in Silver Springs Maryland. When asked why not Baltimore, the most pleasant way I can illustrate their answer is "it's a crap hole".

Cities like Annapolis, Hanover, Sikesville, Rockville and many on the eastern shore and western Maryland don't suffer from the poor leadership of past politics that infest Baltimore.
Cities like Rockville and Silver Springs, while still considered a burb of DC have managed to bring in some higher tech industry through their own local incentives to businesses to offset the states failure. Baltimore and Baltimore County have done the opposite. Because they are constantly broke, they claim they can't afford it.

The local political culture is one of betterment for themselves, not the community. Not to mention some criminal activity. The Past mayor, Sheila Dickinson during, if I remember right, her 3rd term was indicted on a gift card kick back scam. She was forced to leave office but still gets a $86000 a year pention. That open the door for the then Mayor Pro Temp Stephanie Blake to move into office. Throw in some concil members actions and state officials in the education department for cheating scandals, it gets a little clearer to see some of the struggles that beset Baltimore.
 
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golfournut

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I will add this. The last steel mill closed in I think it was 2012 or 13.
Baltimore has been on top 20 list for places to visit according to the tourist bureau. That brought in big bucks to the city. With the new visitor center at Fort McHenry, the war of 1812 celebration and the tall ship festival all contributed big bucks to the city. The problem is/was that most of the activities for these were around the inner harbor which includes the communities of Canton, Fells Point, Downtown and Federal Hill and a portion of Curtis Bay. A few blocks north of the inner harbor, Patterson Park, had some activities.
With all that has happened, I wonder where they will be on that list. This was big business in Baltimore. Gonna take a while to get it back.
Incidentally, I lived in Canton.
 
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muttly

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If you think black politicians and officeholders stoking the flames of racial hatred is bad, that pales in comparison to when white politicians and officerholders do the same thing. Talk about old stereotypes getting reinforced and observers retreating to their comfort zones. Whoowee.
Shoot 'em. Period
Then again, the same sentiment is echoed by many white non-politicians and non-officerholders some of whom I'm sure will tacitly cheer her on.

A few things I find interesting about the link you provided are as follows : The fact her comment was picked up in the national media so quickly and that it made national news to begin with. Another thing is the story in the News doesn't give her complete facebook quote and the context with who she is exactly speaking about. I'll provide the quote shortly, but this an excellent example of how the news media illuminates stories of perceived white racism to advance an erroneous narrative.(white racists are every where) Just like they do when a minority citizen is injured or killed by the hands of a white officer. My point is the story makes national news when this happens and skews perceptions of people that white officers indescrimitely kill black people. It doesn't provide the context of the overwhelming majority of arrests happen without incident. And it doesn't include the fact that more whites are killed by police than blacks. Blacks are killed disproportionate to their population, BUT are also disproportionately the perpetrators of crime at a higher rate.
Getting back to the quote of the assistant prosecutor in her facebook page it is as follows:
She described "large swarms of people throwing bricks etc at police who are fleeing from their assaults" and then suggested using guns.

"Simple. Shoot em. Period. End of discussion," Walsh posted.

Yes, her statement was wrong to say and she should have lost her job(she did)because of it. She is in a position that fights for justice fairly, but she specifically was talking about the people who were throwing BRICKS at the police and potentionaly causing great bodily harm. The link didn't include her quote about bricks being thrown at police and instead only used the somewhat vague quote about protesters turning violent.( protesters have used different degrees of violence in Baltimore)
It also wasn't proof of her having racial hatred, but that narrative has already been cast in the few news stories I've read about this.

http://news.yahoo.com/detroit-prosecutor-resigns-saying-baltimore-rioters-shot-193846671.html
 
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Moot

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From the linked article: "Policies that were set in place back in the 1930s, the 1940s that set up the redlining were also setting these other cycles in motion," says the Steven Woolf, the center's director, "where you have generations of illness that are actually being passed on."

No mention of the policies that were set in place back in the 1960s like LBJ's Great Society.
 

Turtle

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A few things I find interesting about the link you provided are as follows : The fact her comment was picked up in the national media so quickly and that it made national news to begin with.
Yes, I know. A lifetime of watching Fox News can make it difficult to know what is and is not news. It was picked up by the national media so quickly and it made national news because it's news.

Another thing is the story in the News doesn't give her complete facebook quote and the context with who she is exactly speaking about.
The Detroit News article doesn't give her complete Facebook quote, but it absolutely gives the context of exactly who she is speaking about.

I'll provide the quote shortly, but this an excellent example of how the news media illuminates stories of perceived white racism to advance an erroneous narrative.(white racists are every where) Just like they do when a minority citizen is injured or killed by the hands of a white officer.
Another excellent example, of many, where you demonstrate you don't understand what you read. There is no erroneous narrative in that story of white racists being everywhere. The narrative is in a quote in the third paragraph of the story, and it echoes the biggest problem that people are complaining about, that law enforcement all too often becomes extrajudicial judge, jury and executioner.

My point is the story makes national news when this happens and skews perceptions of people that white officers indescrimitely kill black people.
The only perception that is skewed here is the criminal justice system is color blind, thanks to the honest comments of an officer of the court.

It doesn't provide the context of the overwhelming majority of arrests happen without incident.
It doesn't provide about arrests at all, mainly because she was talking about riots, not arrests.

And it doesn't include the fact that more whites are killed by police than blacks.
It also doesn't include the fact that a grizzly bear can outrun Usain Bolt. That's because her comments were about what the police should do to the rioters, not bears.

Blacks are killed disproportionate to their population, BUT are also disproportionately the perpetrators of crime at a higher rate.
That's not really true. Blacks are certainly arrested and charged at a much higher rate than are non-blacks, but that doesn't mean they disproportionately commit more crimes. Whites use illegal drugs at a significantly higher per capita rate than do blacks, for example, yet blacks are arrested and charged at a rate of three times that of whites. The perception that blacks disproportionately commit crimes is skewed by your own whiteness. It's why whites overwhelmingly at more than 70% believe the criminal justice system is color blind and absolutely fair and even-handed, despite blacks being prosecuted for lessor offenses that whites get probation for, and blacks receiving significantly longer sentences than do whites for the exact same crimes.

Getting back to the quote of the assistant prosecutor in her facebook page it is as follows:
She described "large swarms of people throwing bricks etc at police who are fleeing from their assaults" and then suggested using guns.

"Simple. Shoot em. Period. End of discussion," Walsh posted.
Uhm, that's not her complete quote. That's even less of her complete quote than it shown in the Detroit News piece.

Yes, her statement was wrong to say and she should have lost her job(she did)because of it. She is in a position that fights for justice fairly, but she specifically was talking about the people who were throwing BRICKS at the police and potentionaly causing great bodily harm.
BRICKS? OMG! I didn't know she was talking about BRICKS! Yeah, I mean, of course, if you throw bricks, you need to be shot, obviously. That almost goes without saying. Duh. What's all the outrage over her statements about?

The link didn't include her quote about bricks being thrown at police and instead only used the somewhat vague quote about protesters turning violent.( protesters have used different degrees of violence in Baltimore)
It also wasn't proof of her having racial hatred, but that narrative has already been cast in the few news stories I've read about this.

http://news.yahoo.com/detroit-prosecutor-resigns-saying-baltimore-rioters-shot-193846671.html
Unfortunately, the link you provided didn't give her complete quote, either. It did, however, give the correct context, which you managed to miss, again.

Her exact quote, in all of its glorious completeness:

"So I am watching the news in Baltimore and see large swarms of people throwing bricks etc at police who are fleeing from their assaults… 15 in the hospital already. Solution. Simple. Shoot em. Period. End of discussion. I don’t care what causes the protestors to turn violent… what the ‘they did it because’ reason is… no way is this acceptable. Flipping disgusting."

Washington Times - Teana Walsh Resigns After 'Shoot 'em' Facebook Post
 
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aristotle

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Peaceful protests are legitimate. Rioting, however, is never acceptable. The violence erupting in Baltimore would have been put down on Day One in most American cities. Without a doubt, mayors, city councils and police departments across the nation are fine tuning their contingency plans pertaining to quashing a riot. The people who rushed into Baltimore's streets to attack police, burn or steal property disgraced themselves.
 
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Turtle

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No, violence is never acceptable. No one here has ever said it was. But it is sometimes understandable, particularly when the voice of peaceful protest is continually ignored, as the voice of violent protest cannot be ignored.

Yes, mayors, city councils and police departments all across the nation are getting their anti-riot plans in order, just like they have for more than 100 years. But it won't stop the riots, because riots are a symptom, not a cause.
 
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muttly

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Yes, I know. A lifetime of watching Fox News can make it difficult to know what is and is not news. It was picked up by the national media so quickly and it made national news because it's news.

The Detroit News article doesn't give her complete Facebook quote, but it absolutely gives the context of exactly who she is speaking about.
I didn't say it wasn't news. My criticism is that it is national news.
Big story, assistant prosecutor makes bad comment on Facebook and people that want to see racism in it and eat it up.
I'm surprised that someone would want to know the what, where, why, how, and when about a news story, but post a story that doesn't have the full context. It doesn't have the full context because the very beginning of the quote which was not provided in your original link specifically talks about bricks being thrown at officers.
Go back and read the full quote. The word THIS is referring to the bricks being thrown at the officers and some of them (cops)taken to the hospital.
But you wouldn't know that or anyone one else because the link you provided was very sloppily written.
 

Ragman

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From one of the comments in your link:
BillyShields

4/30/2015 5:55 PM EDT

"Baltimore hasn't had a Republican mayor since 1967. Four of the last five mayors have been African-Americans. Going back to 1959, seven of the last ten Maryland governors have been Democrats. The third Republican was just sworn into office this January. Both houses of the Maryland General ***embly are heavily Democratic."

Seems Chicago, Detroit and Baltimore to name a few share the same fate.

It's also obvious some contributers of the article haven't been to Baltimore lately or maybe even Maryland.

As I said earlier in a previous post, Maryland is NOT a business friendly state. With the exception of Under Armor and Domino's Sugar and a few other smaller companies, Baltimore is a local service community. Sure there are a few companies like Legg Mason, but those don't provide the start up jobs that Baltimore needs.

If you drive around the neighborhoods that are on the map, what you will find are row homes. Out of a row of say 10 homes, 6 maybe boarded up. Section 8 doesn't pay enough for the owner to cover the high taxes, higher maintenance costs ***ociated with section 8 properties and make a profit. On top of that, there is little hope for an increase in property values.
In about 2009 the city tried to get investors to buy and rehab the properties in those neighborhoods with minimal incentives. It was a flop.

The wealthy black community won't invest in Baltimore. I personally know 6 of some of the wealthiest black business people in Baltimore. Their money is in DC. In restaurants, hotels, parking garages and shopping malls in Silver Springs Maryland. When asked why not Baltimore, the most pleasant way I can illustrate their answer is "it's a crap hole".

Cities like Annapolis, Hanover, Sikesville, Rockville and many on the eastern shore and western Maryland don't suffer from the poor leadership of past politics that infest Baltimore.
Cities like Rockville and Silver Springs, while still considered a burb of DC have managed to bring in some higher tech industry through their own local incentives to businesses to offset the states failure. Baltimore and Baltimore County have done the opposite. Because they are constantly broke, they claim they can't afford it.

The local political culture is one of betterment for themselves, not the community. Not to mention some criminal activity. The Past mayor, Sheila Dickinson during, if I remember right, her 3rd term was indicted on a gift card kick back scam. She was forced to leave office but still gets a $86000 a year pention. That open the door for the then Mayor Pro Temp Stephanie Blake to move into office. Throw in some concil members actions and state officials in the education department for cheating scandals, it gets a little clearer to see some of the struggles that beset Baltimore.
Sure glad I don't live near a place like that.
Detroit sure has it made!
:rolleyes::facepalm:
 
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muttly

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Yes, I know. A lifetime of watching Fox News can make it difficult to know what is and is not news. It was picked up by the national media so quickly and it made national news because it's news.

The Detroit News article doesn't give her complete Facebook quote, but it absolutely gives the context of exactly who she is speaking about.

Another excellent example, of many, where you demonstrate you don't understand what you read. There is no erroneous narrative in that story of white racists being everywhere. The narrative is in a quote in the third paragraph of the story, and it echoes the biggest problem that people are complaining about, that law enforcement all too often becomes extrajudicial judge, jury and executioner.
Agree that was part of the story, but they also played the racial angle in the story, along with other news reports about this. It feeds into the narrative that there are white racists everywhere, when it really can't be determined that the assistant prosecutor even made a racist statement or is racist. And the racist angle was used by you in the original post with the link you presented. So there is that.
 
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