There’s a bunch of headlines saying that Baltimore residents are blaming Black Lives Matter for skyrocketing murder rates in the city. That’s not quite right.
But here’s what they ARE saying:
Some residents attribute the high murder rate to relaxed police patrols in the city following high-profile cases of police brutality. Officers have backed off in neighborhoods, like the one where Freddie Gray was arrested.
The Rev. Kinji Scott, a pastor in Baltimore who’s held positions in local city government, says the opposite needs to happen.
“We wanted the police there,” Scott says. “We wanted them engaged in the community. We didn’t want them beating the hell out of us, we didn’t want that.”
He’s among activists who are calling for police reform to reduce the violence in Baltimore and several other high-crime cities across the U.S. that he says haven’t seen change. That change begins with a conversation between the communities directly involved, Scott says.
“We need the front line police officers and we need the heart of the black community to step to the forefront of this discussion,” he says. “And that’s when we’re going to see a decrease in crime.”
So, no, they are still saying they needed to protest, only that there needs to be cooperation between the neighborhood and the police. I don’t see why we, as conservatives, should have a problem with that. It’s the more extremist anti-police morons that need to be shut down.
It would be more useful if community advocates shut out the more extremist elements screaming for violence, and embraced those moderating voices who want real cooperation with the police. Unfortunately, man on our side are not welcoming to either option on the right.
For example, Tucker Carlson tackles the issue with all the subtlety of a bulldozer:
The problem is that reframing these issues to appease our less-witted right-wing compatriots doesn’t do anything to actually make America better. Not that Carlson gives a damn about that…