Reactions To Rioting In Baltimore
[guest post by Dana]
As rioting continues in Baltimore, here are a few reactions to the situation by members of the elite media.
Rachel Maddow at MSNBC attempted to label police as out of control – as massive rioting took place: In an interviewing with at-the-scene reporter Erica Green of the Baltimore Sun, Green described the scene in Baltimore as “all-out war” and relayed to Maddow that an officer had just been rushed away for medical attention after having been hit in the head with brick and that other officers picked up the items being thrown at them and threw them back at rioters.
From Maddow:
“If they’re picking up things that are being thrown at them and throwing them back, that implies to me, just as a lay observer, that the police feel .. that the police are a little bit out of control, or that they may not be using disciplined police tactics.”
Green would not agree with Maddow and instead explains that the police:
…showed extreme restraint even under the direct assault for “a very long time” during which they “didn’t do anything
Senior Editor of TNR Jamil Smith likened rioters to “children” with this gem:
I don’t condone this, but we need to listen to what these children in Baltimore are communicating. Make no mistake, this is communication.
Sally Kohn at CNN has fun with a new hashtag :
Looting a real shame. But FAR MORE shameful is pattern of police violence against black community! Perspective, people. #BaltimoreRising
If only every white Americans was even *half* as outraged about police violence as are about riots…
Wolf Blitzer at CNN was more concerned about how fast emergency vehicles were going rather than rioters burning down buildings:
“Look at this, we have a police vehicle now getting through this area, and this, this shot from the helicopter. That cop car is going very fast right now. And presumably … I don’t know where it’s going, But uh, that’s a dangerous situation in an urban area like this. Look what’s going on Tom Fuentes, is that the appropriate behavior for a vehicle like this with a lot of cars like that on the road?”
Marc Lamont Hill at CNN disagreed with fellow panelists and justified the rioting uprising:
No, there shouldn’t be calm tonight. Black people are dying in the streets. They’ve been dying in the streets for months, years, decades, centuries.
…
Now, I think there should be an ethics attached to this, but we have to watch our own ethics and be careful not to get more upset about the destruction of property than the destruction of black bodies and that seems to be to me – to me what’s happening over the last few hours and that’s very troublesome to me. We also have to be very careful about the language we use to talk about this. I’m not calling these people rioters. I’m calling these uprisings and I think it’s an important distinction to make. This is not a riot. There have been uprisings in major cities and smaller cities around this country for the last year because of the violence against black female and male bodies forever and I think that’s what important here. I agree with you, Don. We can’t ignore the fact that the city is burning, but we need to be talking about why it’s burning and not romanticize peace and not romanticize marching as the only way to function. I’m not saying we should be hurting, I’m not saying we should be killing people, but we do have to understand that resistance looks different ways to different people and part of what it means to say black lives matter, is to assert our right to have rage – righteous rage, righteous indignation in the face of state violence and extrajudicial killing. Freddie Gray is dead. That’s why the city is burning and let’s make that clear. It’s not burning because of these protesters. The city is burning because the police killed Freddie Gray and that’s a distinction we have to make. – See more at: http://newsbusters.org/blogs/curtis-houck/2015/04/28/cnns-marc-lamont-hill-baltimore-not-riot-uprisings-against-police#sthash.ZegJd6Qa.dpuf
Perhaps the best reaction to the mayhem in Baltimore is the lone mom who catches her son at the riots:
–Dana
Hello.
Dana (86e864) — 4/28/2015 @ 6:25 amThat mom == the biggest hero of the Baltimore Riots.
Xmas (bfaacb) — 4/28/2015 @ 6:39 amCNN is like a pig in mud
happyfeet (831175) — 4/28/2015 @ 6:41 amBecause they’re killing each other, Marc Lamont Hill. Not because of the cops.
Steve57 (08cad4) — 4/28/2015 @ 6:43 amI’m always amused when I watch lefty Democrat strategists talk about jobs being the cure for absent fathers, crime, drug problems. The Blue State model is an abject failure and needs to have its sorry ass put down like a rabid dog.
Colonel Haiku (2601c0) — 4/28/2015 @ 6:43 amwonder how marc lamont would feel if it was his home and place of business getting busted up.
seeRpea (8fa79e) — 4/28/2015 @ 6:48 amThat woman is the one who should be invited to the State of the Union address. Not mattress girl. Despite her language and visible anger, I hope some day that young man is able to truly understand how much his mother loved him and what she did for him that day.
elissa (cbcbbb) — 4/28/2015 @ 6:53 amcreepy fascist noah at hot air says the media should only have people on what stay on message with respect to advocating non-violence and such
i disagree with creepy fascist noah at hot air
as we watch failmerica decline into a silly hyper-violent third whirl laughingstock it’s interesting to hear all the different views i think
happyfeet (831175) — 4/28/2015 @ 7:00 amPerhaps the best reaction to the mayhem in Baltimore is the lone mom who catches her son at the riots:
I wonder what she’s like, how she thinks, politically? Probably generally of the left or a devout Democrat overall, but at least with a tiny bit of sanity when it comes to certain issues, certain situations. She may be the type who’ll say “I think Hillary is a dishonest, lame b—h, but I’ll vote for her because I have no other choice.”
Mark (607f93) — 4/28/2015 @ 7:05 amthat boy got someone what love him Mr. Mark
she can vote for Hillary up one side down the other for all i care
happyfeet (831175) — 4/28/2015 @ 7:08 amThere doesn’t appear to be any risk or penalty for engaging in burning and looting other people’s property. As long as thugs get a free ride, this criminal behavior will continue. The criminal element of the black community runs wild. Except for one brave women who shows them up.
Bar Sinister (b48c12) — 4/28/2015 @ 7:15 amThe Baltimore riots are the natural and expected consequence of Liberal Intellectual Radical Progressive policy; the LIRPs consistently treat inner city black as if they were uncivilized and backward children, AND promote policies that will increase friction between the police and the people, AND protect the police from the consequences of lawless behavior. If the LIRPs do not want riots, they have a strange way of showing it.
Of course, they DO want riots. They want a mob at their back and call that they can prod into doing whatever they want. They shape inter city policy to make that mob for them, and then unctuously tell the mob that they “sympathize”.
And when the mob latches on to a strong man even more evil that the LIRPs, and he starts to have the LIRPs whipped and Gulaged, and skinned alive, the LIRPs will have the nerve to be SURPRISED.
C. S. P. Schofield (a196fd) — 4/28/2015 @ 7:16 amNoted racist Michael Eric Dyson blamed a lack of equitable distribution of capital for the riots and a failure of the liberal model of government (not in those words but in actual effect) over the past 47 years to help the people of Baltimore.
daleyrocks (bf33e9) — 4/28/2015 @ 7:31 amI’d riot, but I have to go to work.
Patterico (9c670f) — 4/28/2015 @ 7:50 amFor the second straight day the baseball game at Camden Yards has been cancelled. In my opinion it is absolutely the right decision in order for them to be able prioritize law enforcement presence elsewhere and to assure the safety of both fans and the players. But yes, unfortunately, the terrorists in Baltimore are winning.
http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/12780175/baltimore-orioles-postpone-tuesday-game-vs-chicago-white-sox
elissa (cbcbbb) — 4/28/2015 @ 8:56 amWhat would help the situation is more illegal immigration because it would expand the economy according to our liberal overlords.
daleyrocks (bf33e9) — 4/28/2015 @ 8:58 am@wlissa;
“the terrorists in Baltimore are winning.”
So long as we clearly understand that, unless the officers whose sadism or negligence broke the spine of a prisoner in their custody are punished, “the terrorists” includes the Baltimore police. I don’t really much care what the guy had done. If it’s a righteous killing, you don’t find out about it when you go to get the guy out of his cell. The cops responsible for leaving him dead or dying in that cell need to be fired, and the ones responsible for breaking his spine need to be tried for murder. I don’t friggin’ care if he was a child molester and the biggest dope dealer on the East Coast, you don’t break the guy’s spine and then shove him in a cell and forget about him. And if you do, you need to be fired at an absolute minimum.
The consistent protection of troglodyte officers like this is a matter of LIRP POLICY. It keeps the inner city poor feeling oppressed and scares the middle of the roaders into pretending that everything is ducky. The LIRPs did this DELIBERATELY. They WANT race riots. My hope is that they get caught in them and trampled flat, damn them.
C. S. P. Schofield (a196fd) — 4/28/2015 @ 9:24 amAs tragic as the spine-broken man is, there’s one thing we can all agree upon:
These riots prove the utility, nay, the necessity of 30-round firearm magazines.
luagha (e5bf64) — 4/28/2015 @ 10:18 amI have not seen one person on this comment board defending the police in the Gray case. None. There are serious questions about what happened to him which need to be addressed and dealt with including possible charges that you suggest. That was clear to pretty much every decent person two weeks ago. Burning down or shutting down a city is not the way to “make things better”, though. Destroying a city will make things much much worse for the very people who are rioting. There is a difference between protesters and rioters. Rioters are terrorists in all respects.
elissa (cbcbbb) — 4/28/2015 @ 10:27 amPerhaps if these media mavens had not spent a night of conspicuous consumption on Saturday while this began (OH, right, nothing is more important than a self-reverential event for and of the Democrat Propaganda Apparat), and had focused the Nation’s attention on what was happening as it began, the Mayor might have been more willing to clamp down on the rioters before the “real” mayhem began following the funeral?
askeptic (efcf22) — 4/28/2015 @ 11:17 amBTW, was the Mayor at the WHCD? If so, that would explain a lot.
C. S. P. Schofield (a196fd) — 4/28/2015 @ 9:24 am
I understand that there were six officers involved, and that they are all on Administrative Leave (paid vacation).
askeptic (efcf22) — 4/28/2015 @ 11:22 amHas anyone mentioned the racial composition of these six, since the BPD is 52% Black?
It’s very sad for the shop owners who were burned-out and looted. From a news website (I think the Daily Mail?) I get the impression a lot of these people were immigrants. One store owner said something to the effect of, “How is this possible in the US? This is a nation of laws, and rights. I lost everything back in my homeland, and came here, I started with nothing, I built a business, and now I’ve lost everything- all over again.” Another store owner reported, “We called the police, over and over. They did not come. They protected City Hall, but they did not protect us.”
So, who’s going to want to move to Baltimore and start a business NOW? Little Miss Mayor “Give-’em-space” (like most Libs, most of the time) made the wrong call for her “community”. What they NEED is Rule-of-Law and to maintain order in the streets (despite the apparent fact that certain people –Marc Lamont Hill as an example– believe that “rule of law” and “maintain order” are exceedingly raycisss notions…)
A_Nonny_Mouse (d0385d) — 4/28/2015 @ 11:31 amAnd, why weren’t they in school?
askeptic (efcf22) — 4/28/2015 @ 11:36 amI can see the yearly gun-sales numbers a-rising now.
luagha (e5bf64) — 4/28/2015 @ 12:02 pmNot so much in MD as they have mimicked CA in drafting their “Gun Safety” laws:
askeptic (efcf22) — 4/28/2015 @ 12:54 pmNo mags over 10-rds, handguns have to be on the CA “Not Unsafe” list, no AW’s.
Perhaps those in Western MD will try to secede and join PA?
Certainly, those on the DelMarVa Peninsula might prefer another jurisdiction?
Wow. Have you ever heard of teams playing a baseball game with the park closed to spectators?
The Orioles announced that Wednesday’s game against the White Sox will be played, but it will not be open to the public.
Fans can watch on TV, but how totally weird is that going to be for the players to have no noise and empty stands!
elissa (6a947f) — 4/28/2015 @ 2:05 pmElissa -‘the road team will love it
JD (3b5483) — 4/28/2015 @ 2:11 pmI do hope so, JD!
elissa (6a947f) — 4/28/2015 @ 2:15 pmgo white sox
mg (31009b) — 4/28/2015 @ 2:47 pmA spectator sport with no spectators. Will it be televised?
DRJ (e80d46) — 4/28/2015 @ 2:55 pmBetween the 3 games of this series being postponed/closed to the public, and now the Orioles moving this weekend’s games from Baltimore to Florida, that’s a lot of lost money for the team, vendors and city.
DRJ (e80d46) — 4/28/2015 @ 2:57 pmSB Nation says the game will be televised. I hope they show it in my area. That would be a strange thing to watch and especially to listen to.
DRJ (e80d46) — 4/28/2015 @ 3:02 pmNew tradition: teh 7th Inning Riot.
Colonel Haiku (2601c0) — 4/28/2015 @ 3:02 pmmg-thanks. Perhaps they should just avoid road trips to the East Coast, because my poor team has kind of a history with this. They had just arrived in a Manhattan hotel to play the Yankees on 9-ll, and then they had to be spirited out of town at a time when all hell was breaking loose, no planes were flying, and all non emergency vehicle traffic in NYC was restricted. It’s actually kind of an interesting story.
http://espn.go.com/chicago/mlb/story/_/id/6949059/chicago-white-sox-recall-their-9-11-memories
elissa (6a947f) — 4/28/2015 @ 3:04 pmHilarious, Haiku. Sad to say, but still hilarious.
DRJ (e80d46) — 4/28/2015 @ 3:09 pmGood article, elissa.
DRJ (e80d46) — 4/28/2015 @ 3:15 pmTake me out
To the ball game
Take me out
To the crowd
Buy me some bullets
And gasoline
I don’t care if
teh cops make the scene
Let me shoot, shoot, shoot
Colonel Haiku (2601c0) — 4/28/2015 @ 3:22 pmat teh PO-lice
If my aim is off
It’s a shame
For it’s one, two,
Three strikes you’re out
At the Orioles game!
Colonel just performed a mic drop
JD (3b5483) — 4/28/2015 @ 4:39 pm#ExitStageRight
elissa- great read.
mg (31009b) — 4/28/2015 @ 4:40 pmfunny stuff, Col.
“According to John Thorn, official historian for Major League Baseball, this will be the first game with zero attendance. The previous low was 6, for a Sept. 28, 1882 game between the host Worcester Ruby Legs and Troy Trojans.”
Wonder what baseball historians will call this game.
The sounds of silence game?
The empty stands game?
The silent stands game?
elissa (6a947f) — 4/28/2015 @ 4:42 pmSounds like the Twins in the late 70’s, elissa. Calvin Griffith the owner, made all 200 people sit behind home plate.
mg (31009b) — 4/28/2015 @ 4:55 pmIf this doesn’t make you cut the chord, were softer than I thought.
mg (31009b) — 4/28/2015 @ 4:56 pmhttp://www.breitbart.com/big-journalism/2015/04/28/cnn-anchor-brooke-baldwin-blames-military-veterans-for-baltimore-riots/
You get only one guess… http://t.co/M0dleJmlt8
Colonel Haiku (2601c0) — 4/28/2015 @ 4:58 pmThere is no cure… http://t.co/E1LmcXtBuA
Colonel Haiku (2601c0) — 4/28/2015 @ 4:59 pmSports Idiots. espn is another reason to lower your expenses.
mg (31009b) — 4/28/2015 @ 5:00 pmhttp://www.breitbart.com/video/2015/04/28/espns-his-hers-likens-bmore-riots-to-boston-tea-party-catalyst-to-a-greater-movement/
yes yes yes espn sportstrash you shouldn’t spend your monies on them
happyfeet (831175) — 4/28/2015 @ 5:04 pmRoger Goodell just announced the NFL was suspending the Mom for 5 games and fining her $20,000 for the illegal head slap
steveg (fed1c9) — 4/28/2015 @ 6:18 pmhttp://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2015/04/another_thrilling_episode_of_blacks_behaving_badly.html
mg (31009b) — 4/29/2015 @ 2:12 amMr. Marcus understands.
I was out of town for the 1967 Detroit riots. I was honeymooning. So I got to see it on TV and hear relative’s stories when I got home. I escaped. We moved to California after we graduated from college. Within 10 years Detroit was visibly shabbier. It never got better. It’s then corrupt government and weak police force became shabbier and less responsive each year after the riots.
The Baltimore riots are like a flashback. We have a corrupt government holding a police department back from doing their jobs. We have a loss of the appearance of being a law abiding city, exactly as I saw in Detroit.
I wonder if we are seeing the funeral pyre for a once respectable city. Will it become Detroit before it gets better? Does it have to hit rock bottom before it is pushed back towards responsibility for itself and its own actions?
I feel sorry for the residents. Their hurt is going to become whole worlds worse than it had to had they simply taken responsibility for themselves and their communities within Baltimore. Instead it’s the black city government and 50% black police force that is blamed rather than the people who cannot raise honest law abiding citizens. It all comes down to the residents themselves when setting the tone for communities. The system merely reacts to the stimulus sent out by the residents.
{O_O} Joanne
JDow (770dee) — 4/29/2015 @ 2:13 am