Searching For Lost Time

Is Like Trapping Your Shadow

To Catch The Darkness

Baltimore Riots Revisited

It has recently come to my attention that I was the subject of a rebuttal in a classmate’s journal entry following a classroom conversation. The article cites one of my own entries and specifically mentions my name. At the time that his piece was posted I was unaware of the effect my comments had generated. In fact I was several thousand miles away engaged in recording interviews for my memory project while driving cross country. Although I’m a little late to rejoin the conversation, these issues are no less relevant than they were when the story first broke. I believe that the opinions and beliefs expressed in his entry are legitimate and come from a good place, however I continue to disagree with the reasoning behind them. I am acutely aware that I am expressing an unpopular opinion, and part of the reason I feel the need to make my position clear is that there are those in the class who appear to be dismissive of my perspective or unwilling to hear my point of view. Perhaps they think that my beliefs are intolerant or racist. If they would take the time to understand my argument, it would be evident to them that this is not the case. I do not view this as a partisan issue either, and it has nothing to do with however you might perceive my political affiliations.

To start with, I would like to address the implication that the rioters needed to resort to violence because they don’t have other viable options. To quote the journal entry in reference:

“Their response is that these people should go through traditional methods, including peaceful protests (which by the way DID happen simultaneously during the riots), through voting or IE all of the methods that won’t actually do anything to damage the status quo. Of course, again, the use of ‘traditional methods’ relies on the assumption that black youth in America have all of the same opportunities as their white counterparts. This is usually the first illusion ascribed to, that needs to be torn down.”

To suggest that changing the system without violence is impossible or impractical is ignorant of not only the current political situation, but all of history including the history of the civil rights movement within the United States. According to Wikipedia “From 1966 to 1999, nonviolent civic resistance played a critical role in 50 of 67 transitions from authoritarianism.”

Out of a curiosity inspired by our classroom discussions, I watched a Spike Lee movie outlining the life and beliefs of Huey Newton, the founder of The Black Panthers. While I agree with the reasoning and motivations behind much of his ideology, my support can extend no further than the violence of his intentions. Huey Newton, who also authored the manifesto Revolutionary Suicide, is quoted as saying “Sometimes if you want to get rid of the gun, you have to pick the gun up” and “The policemen or soldiers are only a gun in the establishments hand. They make the racist secure in his racism.” and also ”  “Existence is violent, I exist, therefore I’m violent. . . in that way.” He also discusses Dr Martin Luther King Jr with scorn, and seems to believe his methods to be ineffective. Although I acknowledge that it’s entirely possible that the FBI at that time may have been involved in the vilification and dismantling of his organization, the fact remains that ultimately whatever good his beliefs served was eclipsed by senseless violence, did not have a good outcome for race relations or civil rights, and lead to his untimely death. To compare the effect that he had on the struggle to uplift his community with Dr Martin Luther King’s ideals illustrates the futility of using violence as a tool to instigate productive change.

In modern times we have the benefit of modern technology and social media, which have already sparked many populist uprisings worldwide. Every video of police brutality made viral is another victory for civil liberties and a step in the right direction towards correcting some of the injustices facing black communities. There are also reforms underway to begin to address the inequalities and prejudices that contribute to the disproportionate incarceration of African Americans. For example, while many people are arrested and unfairly targeted for enforcement over minor drug offenses, there is also a movement that is increasingly gaining traction to decriminalize marijuana, a policy which surely has positive implications. Also surely it’s a good thing that many of Baltimore’s leaders in government are black, including the Mayor and Police Chief. Again, I am not saying that the people who rioted don’t have the right to be upset. It was the last straw for a community that has faced systematic oppression long before that incident. What I’m saying is that using violence is ineffective and morally reprehensible, and that alternative solutions definitely exist.

The article I’m responding to seems to indicate that rioters have a larger goal which is being ignored by the media. I think that in glorifying violence, you are losing sight of what that violence actually is. Statistics and newspaper articles don’t tell the whole story. Maybe you have never seen what a rioting crowd can be like. I could rattle off statistics about the riots; there were 144 vehicle fires, 19 structural fires, and nearly 200 arrests, over 200 small businesses were unable to reopen, etc, but that is nothing compared to this:

Having myself been the victim of gang violence on more than one occasion, I can relate to the feeling of victimization from the senseless ferocity of an unprovoked violent attack. While many people may assume that the protesters committed “victim-less” crimes that only targeted property, they are ignoring the reality of the hatred and violence at a riot’s essence. When I was attacked by a gang of about 7 thugs while traveling in Peru who jumped on me from behind and began repeatedly striking me in the face while brandishing broken bottles as weapons, nobody suggested that their actions should be excused because of the history of inequality between our races or their impoverished background. Nobody suggested that since they never intended to kill me, only to steal from me by force, that I wasn’t really being victimized. By the same token the act of rioting invalidates what would otherwise be a valid motive.

Perhaps another part of my own background that makes the concept abhorrent to me is the legacy of rioting in my own city. The following is an account of the Crown Heights Riots in Brooklyn, an event that has always resonated with me even though I was too young to remember it.

 “Lifsh’s vehicle struck a car in an intersection, veered onto the sidewalk, and pinned two children against building. Seven-year-old Gavin Cato, the son of Guyanese immigrants, who was on the sidewalk, died instantly. His seven-year-old cousin survived but was severely injured. The EMS unit that arrived on the scene about three minutes after the accident said that Lifsh was being beaten and pulled out of the station wagon by three or four men. All accounts agree that Lifsh was beaten before ambulances and police arrived. A volunteer ambulance from the Hatzolah ambulance corps arrived on the scene followed shortly by police and a City ambulance, which took Gavin to the Hospital where he was pronounced dead. Volunteers from a second Hatzolah ambulance helped Angela Cato.

Two attending police officers, as well as a technician from the City ambulance, directed the Hatzolah driver to remove Lifsh from the scene for his safety, while Gavin was being removed from beneath the station wagon. According to the New York Times, more than 250 neighborhood residents, mostly black teenagers, many of whom were shouting “Jews! Jews! Jews!”, jeered the driver of the car and then turned their anger on the police.

Some members of the community were outraged because Lifsh was taken from the scene by a private ambulance service while city emergency workers were still trying to free the children who were pinned under the car. Some believed that Gavin Cato died because the Hatzolah ambulance crew was unwilling to help non-Jews.

Later that evening, as the crowds and rumors grew, people threw bottles and rocks. At about 11:00 pm, someone reportedly shouted, “Let’s go to Kingston Avenue and get a Jew!” A number of black youths then set off westward to a street of predominantly Jewish residents several blocks away, vandalizing cars and heaving rocks and bottles as they went. After the death of Gavin Cato, members of the black community believed that the decision to remove Lifsh from the scene first was racially motivated. They also maintained that this was one example of a perceived system of preferential treatment afforded to Jews in Crown Heights. Furthermore, many members of the black community were concerned about the expansion of Jews moving into the neighborhood, believing the latter were buying all of the property. It was widely believed in the Jewish community that these allegations were an attempt to mask blatant anti-Semitism committed against Jews during the riot. As examples, they point to anti-Semitic statements made by protesters throughout the rioting, and comments made at Gavin Cato’s funeral. In his eulogy at the funeral, the Rev. Al Sharpton made comments about “diamond dealers” and commented “It’s an accident to allow an apartheid ambulance service in the middle of Crown Heights.” In addition, a banner displayed at the funeral read “Hitler did not do the job”. Edward Shapiro, later called the riot “the most serious anti-Semitic incident in American history“.

In a sense this reference is a little off topic, but at the same time when I think of the lawlessness and mob mentality this is the first place my mind goes. The Nazis were a prime example of what kind of effect the feelings of anonymity fostered in a crowd can generate. Mob mentality is a phenomenon that has been studied in psychology and can result in levels of inhuman behavior that people would never ordinarily stoop to as individuals.

As for the “just cause” of the rioters that the media lost sight of? This New York Times article sums it all up.

“Back across town, next to his own Southern Baptist Church, a $16 million, half-built senior housing project and community center were ablaze. He had worked for years on the project, an extraordinary investment in a neighborhood that has suffered for years from poverty, drugs and neglect.” “I can’t make sense out of nonsense,” he said of the unknown arsonists. “Whoever did this was someone who didn’t understand what we were trying to do.”

“They’re destroying and undermining businesses and opportunities in their own communities that rob jobs and opportunity from people in that area,”

Maybe I haven’t stressed enough how outraged I am by the disturbing legacy of police brutality in this country. I am sympathetic to the plight of the disenfranchised black community of Baltimore and the hardships that they have endured. Although I am privileged enough not to have to experience police brutality or the grip of extreme poverty firsthand, I am also lucky enough to be able to enrich my perspective with a serious academic inquiry into the topic and consider myself fairly knowledgeable on many contemporary issues of race relations. It is only fair that if I am to find the violence and brutality of police officers abhorrent that I must be equally disgusted by the violence committed under the banner of any other cause.