When you listen to the politicians and the media "talking heads" (and not the people living in these neighborhoods), the disconnect - between the so-called leaders and the people whose voices are rarely heard - stands out in sharp contrast. Until we (individually, and as cities and a country) face poverty, prejudice and, injustice - frustration and anger continues. We must "walk the walk" (not just "talk the talk"). We must systemically address frustration and anger with the cruelty and disregard that results in deaths like Freddie Gray's, the lack of opportunity to get even close to "The American Dream," substandard dangerous housing, schools without resources, the failure to abide by education laws and policies that require decent education for children, and the fact that job opportunities for the disenfranchised simply do not exist.
I know that when I start my rant about inequality, I alienate some of my friends and family and people who read my words as defending looters. To that, I say - listen...talk...reach out and put yourself in the center of despair. Hearing and feeling and knowing the desperation, melancholy and fear leads to a different conclusion, in my opinion.
I'm certainly not saying violence is the solution. When one has no choices, lives in houses with rats, asbestos and lead paint, goes to underfunded schools, sees the cycle of poverty being perpetuated despite the wealth in this country, loses parents and relatives to a discriminatory criminal justice system, and has no hope - and THEN sees people brutally treated and killed by those who are supposed to uphold the law - the reaction can be understood.
There but for fortune (literally) would go a lot of us. I practiced law for 27 years and was a mediator for a number of years after that. I understand that in theory law and justice exist, but for many, it is just theory - an unattainable ideal. There is such a disparity between justice for those born into poverty, and the rest of us. Add to that disparity the fact that the wealthy 1% is growing larger. There is no "trickle-down" to those without wealth. The result: lack of hope, failure to thrive, frustration, anger.
This photo of Howard and Eutaw Streets in Baltimore City (NW corner), incidentally, was taken by me last August 2014 when I was there briefly on business. It is an image of a once thriving part of the city - shopping, restaurants, antique shops and lively bars with good music all surrounded this block. Enough said.