I wanted to be able to write things like that.
The best newspapermen still do. Not that it leads to results. I was reminded of that line by the events in Baltimore. Gov. Hogan turned machine guns against his own citizens because, he said, “Baltimore city families deserve peace and safety in their communities.”
He does not believe that. If he did, he would have pointed the machine guns at the real threats to the safety of “Baltimore families” years ago.
What he is protecting is property: The brutal beatings and murders of Baltimoreans by cops did not bother the governor, nor the mayor.
Police Commissioner Anthony W. Batts, who took over in late 2012, has publicly vowed to eliminate misconduct among the city’s 2,800 officers. Other police officials say the department has begun to track such allegations more closely to punish officers in the wrong.
Deputy Commissioner Jerry Rodriguez leads the bureau tasked with keeping police officers accountable.
“I can’t speak to what was done before, but I can certainly tell you that’s what’s being done now, and we won’t deviate from that,” said Deputy Commissioner Jerry Rodriguez, who joined the agency in January 2013 to lead the new Professional Standards and Accountability Bureau.
A burned drug store got the governor’s attention, and the mayor’s attention. Dead people did not.
Property before people. It’s the American way.
UPDATE (Friday, May 1) This is an interesting take, trying to see ourselves as others see us:
A statement from the United Nations said, “We condemn the militarization and police brutality that we have seen in recent months in America, and we strongly urge American state security forces to launch a full investigation into the death of Freddie Gray in Baltimore. There is no excuse for excessive police violence.” The U.N. called on the United States to make a concerted effort to make databases of police violence public to improve transparency and cut down on corruption in the justice system.
Baltimore has been a one-party city for thirty years, which you fail to note.
ReplyDeleteAnd you also fail to note that the real threat to Baltimore families has not been the police.
BTW, you obviously don't know what a machine gun is.
Actually, I do know what a machine gun is. Used to shoot a .50 cal.
ReplyDeleteDunno what relevance the party is.
How many people do you think 230 cops can beat up in a week? A thousand?
Two thousand?
You said Gov Hogan turned machine guns on the protestors. Prove it.
ReplyDeleteYou stated the that real threat to Baltimore families is the police. How many people have the Baltimore police killed each year, beaten up each year? How many people have Baltimorans killed each year, beaten up each year?
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2015/04/28/national-guard-troops-fan-across-baltimore/26540875/
ReplyDeleteYou have proved you don't know what a machine gun is.
ReplyDeleteHint: Nowadays the term is restricted to relatively heavy weapons fired from some sort of support rather than hand-held ...
You stated the that real threat to Baltimore families is the police. How many people have the Baltimore police killed each year, beaten up each year? How many people have Baltimorans killed each year, beaten up each year?
Is that likem how nowadays capitalism is restricted to free market capitalism?
ReplyDeleteNo, it is exactly like when it comes to machine guns, you don't know what you are talking about.
ReplyDeleteNice goalpost shifting, though.
You stated the that real threat to Baltimore families is the police. How many people have the Baltimore police killed each year, beaten up each year? How many people have Baltimorans killed each year, beaten up each year?
[crickets]
ReplyDelete