Baltimore appears to have quieted down somewhat for the time being since six officers were officially charged with crimes in the death of Freddie Gray. Those charges appear to have been brought specifically to prevent further rioting and escalation, and perhaps that purpose has been achieved.
We do not know what happened yet. We know that he suffered a spinal injury that ultimately cost him his life. There is a lot of discussion and there are lots of rumors and false information. In the end the facts that can be known will be presented in a courtroom and heard by a jury. There is no need to prejudge now, but the odds are that the officers will be acquitted and the rioting will resume.
After Michael Brown and Trayvon Martin and Eric Garner and the rioting and unrest of the past several years this incident just seems like Déjà vu all over again. The specifics change, but the theme remains. The protesters and rioters see a pattern not just in these high profile cases but in these inner city communities in general.
Most of us are appalled at the looting and vandalism and arson and violence. A few people feel that those are the only ways to draw attention to what they see as a problem that urgently needs to be solved. Let’s step back a moment and understand, at least on the surface, what it is that these protesters and rioters want to bring our attention to.
Young black males in the inner cities are being unfairly targeted and killed by police.
There are several questions that we must ask here. Is this true? Why is this happening? What should be done about it? The answers depend upon who you ask and how you ask the questions. The protesters want us to believe that this is about racism. They point to statistics regarding the frequency of arrests or convictions of young black males versus other groups. They point to examples of white cops shooting young black men as proof of their premise.
Unfortunately, the reality is not so simple. The first problem we encounter is the idea of lumping individuals into convenient groups. Not all “black people” or “cops” or “white people” or “youth” fall neatly into categories. And Ferguson is not Baltimore. New York City cops have little in common with George Zimmerman. Baltimore, in particular, is a community where 48% of the police force is African American. The Mayor and Police Chief and the City Council are African American. Half of the six officers charged with crimes in this case are people of color.
It is becoming increasingly difficult to paint a picture of a bunch of racist white cops out killing young black men when these events occur in a town run by African American Democrats and with a police force that looks like the community they serve.
Without a doubt, there are problems in our inner cities. People are so desperate to draw attention to the problems that they are ok with rioting and violence as long as it shines a spotlight on the problems so that they receive the attention and resources necessary to fix them. Even if we ignore the young rioters and those that condone the violence we cannot ignore the older church and community leaders who have been marching peacefully to bring attention to what is going on.
Even if we accept the premise that young black males are being arrested and incarcerated at a higher rate than expected, the quick conclusion that this is because the cops are all racist does not automatically follow. The root cause of the problem is not racist cops. The root cause of the problem lies with these communities themselves.
Eric Garner was arrested for selling single cigarettes on a street corner. We can question why this was ever considered a criminal act, but the deeper question is why he thought this was a productive use of his time? The fact that Freddie Gray had a long criminal record has nothing to do with why or how he died but it does speak to the root cause of the problems in his community. The fact that Michael Brown had just stolen from a convenience store does not mean he should have been shot but it does indicate that there was a problem before he encountered Officer Wilson.
Al Sharpton wants to make all police forces federal. Beyond the obvious problems with that plan it presupposes that the issues here are with the police and not with the communities themselves. It assumes that changing the police will fix the problem. Not even Sharpton is stupid enough to believe that.
I believe that the Mayor of Baltimore loves her city and wants the best for the people who live there. I will say the same for Congressman Elijah Cummings. In fact, I will give the benefit of the doubt to all of the city officials and community leaders there that are marching peacefully and speaking out to raise awareness that they truly want what is best for their city and their young people.
When they point out that their community needs jobs and their kids lack a good education they are right. The clashes with police are not the real problem; they are a symptom of the real problem. In my view, the root problem is a lack of hope. When human beings lose hope they turn to drugs and crime and violence. They act out inappropriately. Inevitably they will be in conflict with those who are charged with enforcing the laws. And those encounters lead to arrest and incarceration and a further loss of hope for the future.
Someone asked me recently what I thought we could do to help solve the problems in Ferguson. I have reflected on that a great deal, and although I could point to a number of things that might help, such as changes to how law enforcement and the court system operate, the real answer is that people who do not live in Ferguson cannot fix the problems there.
When we teach children that someone else is responsible for their lives we set up the conditions for failure. If other people are responsible for our education and for making sure we have good jobs that pay well then we undermine the idea of personal responsibility. When people believe they can rely on “the system” to take care of them and run their lives then they are destined to be disappointed.
On the other hand when people are taught that their success in life will be up to them, that they own themselves and their life and are responsible for how their life turns out, then they are empowered and they can perhaps see the importance of education and a strong work ethic. It changes one’s entire outlook. Core values give one the basis from which spring character and integrity.
Clearly many of the community and faith leaders in Baltimore and Ferguson understand the importance of character and core values to the development of young people and community. But for too many years those ideas have been undercut by another agenda that teaches group identity and that individuals are owed certain benefits from society. This is the opposite of personal responsibility. These kids have been taught that the “squeaky wheel gets the grease”, and that by simply making enough noise people will give them what they want.
No amount of pandering will solve the core problems of character and personal responsibility. Al Sharpton is not going to save the day; he is going to perpetuate the problem. It is not that the Mayor and Congressman don’t care; it is that they either don’t understand or are afraid to address the root cause. They will decry the violence but still label the problem as being the police and the solution as being a change in procedures. If they really cared they would be honest and begin talking about the real problems in their community.
So what can the rest of us do? What can the middle aged white balding man living in the far suburbs do to correct the problems in Ferguson and Baltimore? First, stop thinking in terms of groups. Stop talking about “those thugs” and start seeing individuals. Resist the temptation to see color and don’t let the label of racist stick. Remember that there are only a few idiots burning and looting; the majority of the people in those communities are just as horrified as you are at the violence and riots.
We have to celebrate and support those who are trying to do the right things and teach the right values. That does not mean throwing a bunch of federal money at the problem. It may mean actually traveling to Ferguson and supporting a local business that shares your values. I would love to see aid come to these communities from “unlikely” sources like Republicans and conservatives. This is an opportunity to share our values and reach out to people with a vision of how to improve things.
We should be trying to reinforce the ideas of self-ownership and personal responsibility. Perhaps we could start a funding drive to empower an inner city youth to start a business in their own community. Perhaps we could launch a voter registration drive to help these folks understand that the change in their communities must come from their own kitchen tables and not from Washington.
We need to avoid name-calling and labelling and we must resist the urge to dismiss these problems and turn off the TV. Watching people riot and burn and loot their own community is uncomfortable and we feel helpless to do anything. And the truth is that we cannot fix the problem from the suburbs. But if we do not understand what is happening and offer solutions we will end up with more dysfunctional ideas that will further erode core values and leave our young people with a lack of hope.
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