Skipper is a sophomore computer science
and English literature double major
from Gaithersburg, Maryland.
PHOTO COURTESY OF LINDA STRIGGO
As someone from the greater Baltimore area, I have been following the recent protests in the city with great curiosity. Whether or not you support or denounce the recent violence in the city it is important to keep in mind that there is no ‘correct’ answer in whether the escalation has been warranted or not. Why however, do certain circumstances make violence appear like the better option?
When a voice repeatedly attempts to be heard and acknowledged, and time and time again it is ignored, it is understandable that resentment and frustration can build to the point where violence appears to be the only alternative capable of forcing the issue. Does violence such as the rioting and looting sparked in Baltimore reinforce the issues it wants to call attention to, or does it take away from its potential for positive change?
Prior to the eruption in Baltimore there had been an entire week full of peaceful demonstrations and unity by the Baltimore community. Unfortunately the peace and good intention of these protestors has been completely forgotten in the eye of the American public due to the increasingly sensational and slanted narratives of the media.
While it is understandable that the media would want to zero-in on the radical violence of the past few days, they are shifting the mind of the average American away from the heart of the issues that caused the violence in the first place. Instead of reporting on the collective community of Baltimore’s distrust of the justice system and advocacy for a real, tangible change, it has instead further divided the American public. Baltimore’s own mayor, in the span of five days, went from applauding the protestors in Baltimore, to calling the looters and rioters produced from the movement, “thugs.” The mayor has since retracted her statement, but this example still shows the diverting potential violent protesting can cause.
Go to class and ask your peers for their opinion on what is taking place in Baltimore. I’d bet that the vast majority of them are from nowhere near the Baltimore area, yet they will still have very polar opinions on the issue. Which is fine, everyone is entitled to their own opinions. It’s just that the focus of many people’s attention is on the sensationalism, not the actual issues. This is upsetting, not because people are so invested in the events taking place in the city (which I contend, is a good thing), but because the issue of injustice and cries for actual change are being put on the back burner, behind that of sensationalized buzz news media.
It hurts to see my peers more interested in browsing and sharing on social media articles such as, “25 Shocking Pictures of the Baltimore Protests,” rather than something more constructive like, “John’s Hopkins President Calls for Further Investigation Into Freddie Gray’s Death.”