By Richard Garibay
Opinions Editor
On April 19, 25 year old Freddie Gray died from injuries sustained while in police custody and soon after his death Baltimore City erupted. Gray’s death has been ruled a homicide. I know you’ve seen the pictures of storefronts burning and mobs attacking policemen. I know you’ve heard newscasters reporting so many other incidents like this. And I know for a fact you’re asking yourself, “Why?” You’re wondering why the protesters are doing this; why are they looting, why they are attacking officers and why they are destroying their community. Because of this I know you have the wrong mind set.
You have the same mind set as the media that calls these people thugs. This isn’t the answer. You can’t label people in order to rationalize the wrongdoing of others. According to Baltimore City Councilman Carl Stokes, “These are children who have been set aside, marginalized, who have not been engaged by us. No, we don’t have to call them thugs. Just call the n——-s. Just call them n——-s.” When you call them thugs you place blame on them you say, “This was your fault because of how you were dressed when the police pulled you over”. You’re attacking the symptom instead of the cause.Why don’t we ask ourselves what drove people to do explode with such violence? It’s because it’s so much easier to blame regular people instead of an institution you’ve come to trust.
We need to stop criticizing frustrated and oppressed people for how they respond to unfair treatment and start demanding that law enforcement be held accountable. No one should fear for their life when they are approached by police officers. I cannot stand when I hear people say things like, “Well, they looked like a thug.” I do not condone violence but by focusing on the riots you are avoiding the real issue of excessive force.
Make the officers pay for their mistakes and there wouldn’t be rioting. These people are turning to the only solution they feel is left. The media never reports on the peaceful protests like they do with rioting. If you are one of those people that think the rioters are wrong for their response and insist that police officers don’t do wrong, you are a disgusting human being that is contributing more to the problem than the people who are burning Baltimore. If me saying that offended you I want you to imagine how those marginalized people feel when they read or watch reports that call the unarmed dead man a deserving thug.