Why We Need to Shut-Up About the Riots

I will not get into the gritty details of the protests that have been taking place in Baltimore over the past few days, however anyone who doesn't live under a rock knows of what's going on. Freddie Gray, a 25 year old black man, died on April 19th. He died from injuries he suffered while in police custody on April 12th. On the 19th he died from a variety of "mysterious" injuries, chiefly to his spine. A simple summary would be that Gray was another victim in a long line of police brutality killing innocent people without any sort of due process. Videos of Gray show him being dragged, unable to properly walk. He also suffered from asthma and was denied an inhaler when he was struggling to breathe. Despite all this it was his broken spine that killed him seven days later.

I'm not qualified to go into detail about the oppression and racism but many feel qualified to share their views on social media, condemning the violence caused by the protests. I implore these people to answer the question: "Why?"

What pent up oppression have these people been going through, for how long, that they erupt in anger like this? What kind of actions have muzzled a group's voice, and for how long, that rioting is only way they can be heard? What must it feel like to turn on the news everyday and think another person just like me got murdered by the people who are supposed to protect me? What must it feel like to try all the "acceptable" mediums of change and get absolutely nowhere near where you should've been in fifty years? What must it feel like to read of people like me in the 1800's being lynched, and then see it happen on the news 200 years later? What must it feel like to think that you or someone you love can easily be next?

I don't know.

Which is why I'm not going to sit on my couch, safe from all the above, and tell black people how they should go about making change. And while we're on the subject let's make some straw men very clear. Nobody is saying "all policemen" are bad or engage in police brutality. However the percentage of those who do is absolutely way too high and nothing is being done to combat this. Eric Garner was killed by police over an accusation of selling single cigarettes. The officer was cleared by a grand jury. Officer Darren Wilson shot Mike Brown SIX times and wasn't indicted. Until the structures that allow murderers of innocent black men to walk free the riots won't stop. Not sure if these men were innocent? Innocent until proven guilty and unfortunately they were never given the chance to be declared anything except dead. Baltimore will die down eventually only to crop up wherever the next instance happens. Until the root of the problem is treated the riots won't stop.

The internet tells me JFK said "Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable." Baltimore hasn't been living in a vacuum. This extreme reaction has been brewing and brewing from decades of systematic oppression. If you can't see that, you really should do the world a favor and stick to posting about sports. Which, by the way, have caused way more violent riots recently than racism has.