The Messages sent by the Rioters and Looters of Baltimore

All across the television we saw peaceful protests being combined with rioting and looting, many of us thinking that all that violence was a part of it.  We watched as those facing the cameras had all types of descriptions to justify the actions taken and excuses of why it happened.  We heard from people who say that they were angry about the violence being perpetrated upon their community and how they lack closure because nothing seems to ever be done about it.  They say that if only we would have accountability and hold those responsible clearly responsible then this type of violence would not befall a city.  They say that it is because the schools fail to provide all children with a way out and a way up, that what is learned in school is not sufficient to give a child the dream of being all that they can be.  They say all this, yet as we watch the video of the rioting and looting, none of this appears true and it is time for the truth.

Who ever said that the best way to affect change is to riot and loot failed to consider the years and tears of history that contradicts.  Over 40 some years ago Baltimore rioted, looted and burned, yet still the thing that was said to have caused that action then is the same thing that is said to have caused this action now.  Nothing has changed except the players in the game but the rules and the game itself is still the same.  There is still rampant hatred toward one group or another and the violence of the past begets the violence of today.  The ideas of those who seek positive changes have been laid out but the majority of those living within those borders have refused to embrace and fully accept them because even if a few put forth a positive vision, it takes a majority to see that vision become a reality.

When it comes to what our school systems lacks in regards to preparation of our children to excel, it is then the role of the parent to supplement or take charge and teach.  Our children, left to the demise of a broken down education system, is a fault laid directly at the feet of a parent.  Just because things do not happen as we would like them to be no excuse to bring down upon those that we can pain and suffering because we are mad.  Being upset does not justify and never will justify violence because violence does not and never can be justified.  As we watched the video of the rioting and looting, one image was perfectly clear.  A bunch of parents sat back and some agitated their young children to run amuck within a city and join into an action that if you caught them one on one would quickly tell you that they do not condone or support it.  The videos showed people breaking into stores and leaving with one bottle of booze or bags filled with groceries.  This was not the actions of young people and we all know it.  It was the actions of a few so-called adults, whose children watched and learned from them that when you are mad, it is okay to rob, steal, burn and fight.  Whom else can our children learn more from than those that they see as role-model each and every day?

The rioters and looters taught us one valuable lesson that these actions is and never will be about justice because these actions ignore justice.  It will and never be about creating a more perfect society because you will never do that through violence, history teaches that.  It was an opportunity for a group of people looking for a reason to gather and take what they think belongs to them from people who have probably been a part of that very same community for years.  Local people who also call that part of town home and large businesses that considered those areas the best possible location to serve that community.  You wish to fix the police department instead of turning and burning, join the force, get promoted to positions of power and then make those changes that you know needs to be made.  If cops are your enemy, then the best way to destroy your enemy is from within.  If your child is not getting the education you think that they deserve then stop yelling at the teachers and administrators and start teaching and administrating at home.  Take some of that energy you have to riot and loot, use it to educate and elevate your children even if you have to do it on the weekends. Don't say that you took part in those violent activities because you were moaning the loss of Freddy Gray because those actions did nothing to honor Freddy Gray or his family, it was done so that you could feel better about yourself and get something for nothing period, real talk.

Some people wish to believe that we are not in control of our lives and to them I say this.  Life is nothing but a group of decisions and choices and we are very much in control of them.  You can choose to follow a group or stand alone.  You can choose to throw a rock or pick up a book.  You can choose to allow evil control of your actions or you can cast out those demons and control your own actions. You can choose to repeat history or you can choose to learn from it. All this are choices that each and every one of us must make and the choices that we do, will determine which track our lives will take, so tell me again how we are not in charge of our lives.