The #BaltimoreRiots are currently the top trend on Twitter, dominating the front page of major news outlets--including Fox, CNN, CBS and more--and are basically reigniting nightmares we thought we left behind on the outskirts of St. Louis. It's a horror story.
There are so many things logically incorrect about this situation, but let's just forget about the root issue for a minute. The bigger deal here is people's reactions. Hundreds, and even thousands, of people have been violently fighting and "protesting for justice" for the past days in northern Maryland. In their minds, their actions are heroic; they are trying to avenge the death of one of their own.
When, in fact, these people are hurting so many and so much more than was damaged in the first place. Twenty police officers have been injured, and one is in critical condition. Countless businesses have been looted and destroyed.
Even on the smaller scale of things, lashing out like this is disrupting typical societal norms. Rick Leventhal, Fox Senior Correspondent, took a team down to West Baltimore where the protests are "still hot." He relayed the story of being attacked, saying, "Well, you know, our job is to cover what's happening, and we got out to do that, you know. We parked the vehicle, we went down and had our camera and our microphone, and I'm happy to talk to people about why they're upset, you know, but they didn't really want to talk. They just wanted to yell at us and start throwing things at us. So they made it very difficult for us to do our jobs."
Leventhal went on to express that he and his colleagues got out of there as quickly and safely as possible. These are just reporters. They didn't do anything wrong; as Leventhal said it, they were just trying to do their jobs. Yet they were attacked and potentially injured because of skyrocketed tensions in an otherwise nice city.
That doesn't make sense.
Albert Einstein famously defined insanity as "doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results." Sound familiar? We watched Ferguson go up in flames, and the aftershocks in various cities from that, too. Now, the new victim is Baltimore. And I don't say "victim" in reference to the looters, arsonists and criminals.
What do they think will happen differently? Generally, temper tantrums don't actually yield desired results. They only lead to increased frustration.
And what, based on the title above, do I think is the "missing link"?
I'm glad you asked.
The missing link, in my opinion, is simply common sense. It's clear, levelheaded, patient thinking, unbridled by violent instincts or oppressive terror.
I am certainly not the only one to feel this way. Two of the greatest men in American history have made statements fundamental to my opinions. And both of these men spoke in times of heavy racial tensions.
Firstly, Dr. Martin Luther King offered his sentiment, "I have decided to stick with love. Hate is too great a burden to bear." Coming from a black man--the primary leader of the Civil Rights Movement in discrimination-ridden 60s America--specifically, this statement holds a lot of weight. There's a big difference between peaceful protest for a changed nation and horrifying riots repeated throughout the States, attempting to avenge perceived injustice.
Lastly, the words of President Abraham Lincoln: "America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves." Nearly 200 years prior to the issues spread throughout 2014 and 2015, this great President managed to prophesy what is, indeed, happening.
People are attempting to destroy the structure of our society; they're attacking public servants like our law enforcement is the enemy. What does that mean? It means that they are slowly, but surely, destroying themselves.
Honest Abe was right. Again.
If we had more people like him, who spread the missing link like the common knowledge it should be, we'd be a lot better off.
There are so many things logically incorrect about this situation, but let's just forget about the root issue for a minute. The bigger deal here is people's reactions. Hundreds, and even thousands, of people have been violently fighting and "protesting for justice" for the past days in northern Maryland. In their minds, their actions are heroic; they are trying to avenge the death of one of their own.
When, in fact, these people are hurting so many and so much more than was damaged in the first place. Twenty police officers have been injured, and one is in critical condition. Countless businesses have been looted and destroyed.
Even on the smaller scale of things, lashing out like this is disrupting typical societal norms. Rick Leventhal, Fox Senior Correspondent, took a team down to West Baltimore where the protests are "still hot." He relayed the story of being attacked, saying, "Well, you know, our job is to cover what's happening, and we got out to do that, you know. We parked the vehicle, we went down and had our camera and our microphone, and I'm happy to talk to people about why they're upset, you know, but they didn't really want to talk. They just wanted to yell at us and start throwing things at us. So they made it very difficult for us to do our jobs."
Leventhal went on to express that he and his colleagues got out of there as quickly and safely as possible. These are just reporters. They didn't do anything wrong; as Leventhal said it, they were just trying to do their jobs. Yet they were attacked and potentially injured because of skyrocketed tensions in an otherwise nice city.
That doesn't make sense.
Albert Einstein famously defined insanity as "doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results." Sound familiar? We watched Ferguson go up in flames, and the aftershocks in various cities from that, too. Now, the new victim is Baltimore. And I don't say "victim" in reference to the looters, arsonists and criminals.
What do they think will happen differently? Generally, temper tantrums don't actually yield desired results. They only lead to increased frustration.
And what, based on the title above, do I think is the "missing link"?
I'm glad you asked.
The missing link, in my opinion, is simply common sense. It's clear, levelheaded, patient thinking, unbridled by violent instincts or oppressive terror.
I am certainly not the only one to feel this way. Two of the greatest men in American history have made statements fundamental to my opinions. And both of these men spoke in times of heavy racial tensions.
Firstly, Dr. Martin Luther King offered his sentiment, "I have decided to stick with love. Hate is too great a burden to bear." Coming from a black man--the primary leader of the Civil Rights Movement in discrimination-ridden 60s America--specifically, this statement holds a lot of weight. There's a big difference between peaceful protest for a changed nation and horrifying riots repeated throughout the States, attempting to avenge perceived injustice.
Lastly, the words of President Abraham Lincoln: "America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves." Nearly 200 years prior to the issues spread throughout 2014 and 2015, this great President managed to prophesy what is, indeed, happening.
People are attempting to destroy the structure of our society; they're attacking public servants like our law enforcement is the enemy. What does that mean? It means that they are slowly, but surely, destroying themselves.
Honest Abe was right. Again.
If we had more people like him, who spread the missing link like the common knowledge it should be, we'd be a lot better off.