The news from Baltimore last night and today sounds terrible. I'm sure we are concerned for all the residents in the area, but I wanted to send out a special hope that all our S2000 friends in that area are ok, and that their property is undamaged.

 

I agree. Reports and assurances from our Maryland members would be welcome.

 

It appears most of the problems were in (unfortunately) areas that are already not so well off (about four miles west/northwest of downtown). Sad that the business owners who were affected (grocery stores, drug stores) will probably be wary of reinvesting in those neighborhoods. The CVS that was looted/burned was new. Destroying the senior housing/services center under construction was particularly bad. It had taken eight years to get it built. It was a big part of revitalizing that neighborhood and now it's gone. The immediate downtown (Inner Harbor/Camden Yards/Lexington Market) had heavy police presence to prevent people from starting trouble there. DC/Baltimore is considered to be one large metropolitan area, so it does have an effect beyond the limits of Baltimore itself.

The only ones I know off the top of my head from around Baltimore are Billy and Diane, and Roy and Carole. Maybe Billy or Roy will post.

 

We are far enough north of Baltimore to not be directly affected by the mayhem that began shortly after 3pm yesterday. Our county has sent a couple dozen officers to help the multi-jurisdictional effort to restore order, and we hope all will be safe. Other than being infuriated by the senselessness of what we have seen, all is well.

Kudos to the Governor, to Baltimore's police chief and to the officers on the front line for showing such incredible restraint. I wish I could say the same for the Mayor of Baltimore but cannot, as her remarks over this past weekend may well have contributed to the chaos and destruction.

 

I have no sympathy for rioters. It's a damn shame that the city officials didn't protect the rights and property of it's citizens.
I keep wondering how long the government's toleration of destruction and lack of an active police response will go on.

I don't care what color you are or what your ethnic derivation is if you're looting you need to arrested, shot or otherwise detained. It doesn't matter how old you are. It doesn't matter if you're socially enraged. There is no excuse. None.

This didn't have to happen. It was allowed to happen. It was preplanned, prestaged and with orchestrated.They knew it was coming. There were no secrets here, just a complete complete failure of planning and response.

fltsfshr

 

I totally agree. I grew up in Baltimore City and we never had issues like this. The root problem in Baltimore, Wilmington, DE where I retired from, which is now called "Murder Town USA" and other cities is mostly a social issue. Many inner city women have multiple illegitimate children conceived from various male acquaintances who fail to support and become a father to these kids. These kids have no family or religious values so they end up on the street where their only source of support are the drug dealers and other criminals. The welfare system supports these people who don't work and don't want to work. They end up being the type of people you see looting and rioting in Baltimore, Fergurson and other cities in America. They need to be treated in the same manner as they treat people and property. You can hire all the cops you want but nothing is going to change. They don't even wait for an investigation to concur before they start their rampage. I think it is just an excuse to riot based on their mindsets and absence of any values whatsoever. If I were King.......Never mind.

 

Well, whatever the cause I find it really sad that some people seem to look for any excuse to destroy their surroundings. The victims are the residents of the area who have lost access to businesses and a senior center.

I can understand how African Americans are getting a little tired of seeing their brothers, sons, and fathers killed mostly because of their skin color by over-reacting and poorly trained police officers. But then again it is as wrong to paint all law enforcement officers with the same brush it is wrong to do so with all people of any given race.

 

Thank you, Mike.

 

Not all of the cases involved poorly trained police officers. My son-in-law is a cop and he tells me cops lives matter too. Some of the decisions he has had to make are split second and yes there are some judgmental errors made, no excuses. He once said "walk a mile in my shoes" and maybe you would have a better perception of the dangers we face everyday. AND, those dangers are getting increasingly worse.

 

I am so upset over what happened yesterday that if I expressed my opinion I would get banned from this site and it would be justified!