As of Wednesday 04/29/15, I am beginning a new post (compare last Monday’s), as events prior to Monday afternoon 04/27/15 could be called “demonstrations,” but beginning that afternoon can instead be called “riots,” and I don’t want the two terms confused.
Tuesday 2015-04-29
From my diary:
16:00. Arrived 15:30.
Harbor Mart was open this afternoon, RA closed. Found a shorter detour [16:40] around police HQ, via Water Street.
There is a crowd of several hundred people at Pennsylvania and North Avenues. Many of them are white. Whoever organized this did so in poor taste. It’s like whistling at a woman the day after you raped her. It nauseates me.
As of 15:30, the CVS was on fire again.
[16:55.] “See? They startin’ shit.” Re: group marching down Fulton Av.
Wednesday 2015-04-29
The article fails to tell me where this event occurred, which is crucial as very different things are happening at different places in the city.
The crowd defying the curfew appeared to be much smaller than the ones out earlier today and, at times, it seemed the media may have outnumbered the residents.
Hooda thunkit?
The next article linked to here below says this crowd consisted of “several dozen.” If, as it appears, this was at Pennsylvania and North Avenues, “several dozen” hardly compares with the several hundred who had been there as of 15:30.
The riots began Monday afternoon shortly after the funeral of Gray …
This language erroneously suggests a linkage between the funeral and the riot. The Gray family had, in fact, asked that there be no “protests” on Monday, out of respect for their loss; and, in contrast, from days in advance, perpetrators had been planning a spasm of lawlessness to occur at Mondawmin Mall 15:00 Monday 04/27.
This article would lead you to believe the entire city lies in ruins, whereas nothing could be farther from the truth.
From my diary:
17:10. We watched a Bounce movie until 17:00. [In previous days it’s been, instead, live TV coverage of the activity on the streets.] I cannot hear anything that’s being said on TV.
Thursday 2015-04-30
The media play on this frames it as an effort by police to blame Freddie for his own injuries. That makes little sense given that the statement is wholly conjecture on the part of an individual who couldn’t even see Freddie. Such framing also ignores the intent of the document from which the statement is taken:
The affidavit is part of a search warrant seeking the seizure of the uniform worn by one of the officers involved in Gray’s arrest or transport.
Does that sound like a cover-up?
Four Pinnochios.
It’s politically correct, of course, to assume that massive spending can solve any problem. It can’t.
Last night, a friend and I discussed our overall situation. I began by saying there is no solution. He responded that there is, but that it’ll take decades, and untold “billions.” Well, if he admits that there is a solution, my answer now is, it can all be done for free. The spirit of the people is all that matters.
Another celebrity seeks to exploit our distress for his own gain.
I don’t normally allow myself to call any statement “absurd,” but this is absolutely absurd. I have seen similar accusations against our mayor from right-wing outlets.
“A young black Baltimore man named Freddie Gray ended up dead after being arrested for carrying a small, spring-assisted pocket knife.”
The same is also known as a “switchblade,” and the author’s use of the highly euphemistic alternative description made me very suspicious. In fairness, the article is a detailed examination of the right or non-right to carry knives in general.
As of 11:47, I am ISO an article I passed over yesterday as I did not think responding to it was the best use of my time. It was a HuffPost opinion piece by a college professor, who began by saying Freddie Gray was essentially murdered for “looking while Black,” and somehow went on to blame the CVS for its own destruction.
She wasn’t done. She said that, rather than models of black female achievement, Loretta Lynch, Linda Singh and Stephanie Rawlings-Blake are shills of the system.
If I find the article, I may respond in more detail in a separate post. It seems to me to perpetuate a tendency among blacks to dispossess themselves of power, the end being to evade the responsibility that power inevitably entails. One who owns power cannot go on forever blaming others for one’s own foibles.
Justice requires that blacks own power.
Speech such as this impedes it.
[Postscript, 2015-06-19: I found it. I had mistaken the source; it’s from Salon. Author Brittney Cooper: Black America’s Baltimore schism: Why the Freddie Gray tragedy demands serious soul-searching.]
From my diary:
14:01. Sun front page photo indicates a huge, successful demonstration on Calvert Street last night. I have seen no coverage of this in broadcast media or online.
Fox News is doing everything possible to blame the mayor for the riots. Yesterday they condemned her “destroy” remarks. Today they cited a nameless source to the effect she ordered the police to “stand down” Monday.
Gray family attorneys continue to express satisfaction with the pace of the official investigation.
Numerous online mentions lately that Baltimore is 63% black.
16:00. Another Bounce movie. Set in UK.
Friday 2015-05-01
From my diary:
12:00. Last night, WJZ gave live coverage to another extremely successful demonstration apparently involving thousands, that began on North Avenue and marched to City Hall. The Net has ignored it.
Al Sharpton is in town. Marilyn Mosby has announced charges against the six officers.
Reblogged 2021-09-16.
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